Black paint

[B@tm@n]

A friend of mine said that by buffing a black car I will alwais get swirls. Is that true?

[imported_Dave KG]

Nope, that is not true. What is true is that black paint will show the very faintest of swirls and so is one of the harder colours to get to look perfect because it really has to be perfect. But you can get it perfect, with a rotary polisher and the correct polishes and techniques... Here`s a before and after of a BMW 3-series with solid black paint that I machine polishes by rotary using Menzerna products:



Before:

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2073/rb320beforezp2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



After:

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/8129/tc320afterdg0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



As with all colours, taking the correct care and using the correct techniques can deliver a flawless finish.



What is true is that the PC will induce a very slight micromarring that is always there as the tool is too gentle to thoroughly break down a polish... On most colours, you cannot notice this marring but on solid dark colours you can see it if you look hard, and solid black is the best colour of all for spotting this. However, you certainly wont have swirls.

[coupe]

Ive never had a problem getting a perfect finish on black with my PC.

[Cleaning Fool]

Its true if you are inexperienced and you don`t know what you are doing..Its all in the operator not the polish or machine

[B@tm@n]

So I wont be able to get it perfect with a PC?

[sixty7mustang22]

I have gotten it perfect with a PC. It is just easier with a rotary if you use the right techniques and chemicals.

[coupe]

So I wont be able to get it perfect with a PC?






Ive never had a problem getting a perfect finish on black with my PC.







12 characters

[Cleaning Fool]

Look, a Porter Cable oscillator is a very nice machine indeed, however it does take some time and experience to master. Put a PC in the hands of a poor operator you will get less than perfect results..Like anything in life, the more you use it, hopefully the better you get at it..

[Accumulator]

Saying you can`t get black perfect is like saying you can`t get a knife razor sharp- many people can`t do it but some do it all the time; saying you can`t get black perfect via [use of a specific tool] is the same way.



There are rare cases where a certain tool won`t do it on a certain job, but IMO those are uncommon compared to the cases where it`s a matter of the person doing the work. Note that on many paints *I* need to use a rotary, but that`s probably because I`m not gonna spend many hours doing a single panel if I can help it. NO matter how you do it (hand/PC/rotary) It`s simply a matter of mechanical abrasion where the polishing product/media is more abrasive than the paint- you "sand" off paint until it`s smooth.



And while black shows many flaws more than other colors, if it`s basecoat/clearcoat, as most vehicles are these days, well... clearcoat is clearcoat- doesn`t matter what color is underneath it. Black single-stage, with *no* clearcoat, is usually so soft that it`s pretty easy to get nice if you use the right (very gentle) stuff.

[604_Coast]

On my black Lexus (99 SC300) my PC with yellow pad and OHC won`t TOUCH any swirls or random scratches. In this case, I am figuring that I need a rotary, because it doesn`t get much more abrasive than yellow pads and Hypercompound.

[CleanGSR]

I can always polish my black daily driver to completely swirl free using the PC. Keeping it swirl free is the harder part. I`ve also detailed other black cars with the same results.



Question: What does the color of the car have to do with getting it swril free. Black paint is no different when polishing than any other color.....just the amount that you can see in the paint is. If you can`t get black swirl free.......then you can`t get any paint swirl free.

[coupe]

Question: What does the color of the car have to do with getting it swril free. Black paint is no different when polishing than any other color.....just the amount that you can see in the paint is. If you can`t get black swirl free.......then you can`t get any paint swirl free.





X 1 million

[Accumulator]

IQuestion: What does the color of the car have to do with getting it swril free. Black paint is no different when polishing than any other color.....just the amount that you can see in the paint is. If you can`t get black swirl free.......then you can`t get any paint swirl free.



The one exception regards single stage paints. Most black ss is very soft.



Otherwise, I definitely agree with the getting/keeping black flawless as compared with other colors. I sometimes think silver ("it doesn`t show swirls!" :rolleyes: ) is *tougher* because I have to kill myself inspecting whereas with black I can see what I`m dealing with.



604_Coast- You might try 4" pads with a product like Hi-Temp Extreme Cut Leveler. It can do some pretty impressive work, even by PC, but the smaller pads make all the difference.

[01bluecls]

I do not know what to say. I do know exactly what Dave KG means!



There are some cars that I have done that have very soft paint and will mircomarr with a PC and wont with a rotary. One particular example is a black Supra I worked on a while back. I polished the hood to near perfection then thought I would use the PC with a finish pad and RMG. The combo put fine micromarring back into the finish. No the pad was not contaminated as it was a fresh pad and inspected. I then had to use the rotary to clean up the mirco marring. Some paints just do not respond well to the "jiggling" of the PC. Say what you want about techique etc, but I have experienced this with quite a few finishes. All finishes are different and on harder clear coats I do not see PC being a problem finishing down.

[01bluecls]

BTW, the color black does not make it more prone to marring it just makes the marring 10 times more visible to the human eye then most colors. Non-metallic clear coat or single stage black is THE most difficult to perfect. Dave KG`s pic is an excellent example of what skilled work is capable of on that kind of finish.