First new black car

[Black Knight]

I recently purchased a black 2013 Toyota Avalon Touring. I`ve never had a new car or a black car. I plan to wash, clay,wash, meguiars ultimate wax then meguiars 26. Does anyone have any suggestions or critiques?

[pwaug]

Get ready for some fun with the black!!!! Sounds like a good plan if it is swirl free. Otherwise you might need to polish before the Ultimate Wax. No need to wash again after you clay the car especially if you use ONR as a lube. If you are not going to polish make sure you use a mild clay.



On my wife`s non metallic black Golf I`ve had good luck by first putting on a coat of DG105 then topping it with HD Poxy--the 105 offers long lasting protection and the wax in the Poxy adds nice depth and wetness.

[Black Knight]

Thanks for the feedback pwaug. What is ONR?

[tguil]

ONR is Optimum No Rinse wash. A very popular product with many detailers on this forum as well as other detailing forums.



If you are new to detailing, I suggest that you start with products that are readily available over the counter at your local Autozone, O`Reilly`s, etc. Over the years I have found that you are always "safe" using Meguiar`s products.



I further suggest that you keep it simple. You may or may not need to clay your new car. If the paint surface is really smooth to the touch, it probably doesn`t need to be clayed. When I picked up my new Ram a year ago, I washed it, felt to see how smooth the surface was and decided not to use clay. I went straight to Meguiar`s Ultimate. There is absolutely no reason to top Ultimate with #26.



Once you get this good layer of protection on your new car, you can think about what you might do to make black really "pop". This forum as well as a couple of others have a wealth of information.



Now about black....I drove black vehicles exclusively for thirty years. Six years ago I switched over to white and have been smiling ever since.



Tom :cool:

[Black Knight]

Thanks tguil. I`ll try the touch test first. I wanted to try black because my last two cars were light grey and seemed to look the same clean or dirty. So the 26 won`t make it pop?

[tguil]

The Meguiar`s "pros" don`t think that Ultimate needs to be topped with anything. I`m sure that some other forum members will chime in with suggestions for boutique waxes that will give you exactly what you want. The secret weapon for a black vehicle is a dual action polisher and a good polish to get all the swirls out. Then a layer of good wax. You need to be super careful with your washing technique to avoid instilling more swirls. My two black Harley`s both have very soft clear coat. They seem to develop swirls simply by being looked at.



Tom :cool:

[Dan]

UW is fantastic on black (and Red). Topping with #26 will only give you more of that rainbow/oily look instead of a deep and rich black. It also might compromise the fantastic durability of UW. One thing to note, if you really love your black looking like a mirror, UW is not the wax to use on it, its much more of a deep black look, where you get to enjoy the color vs reflections.



Sadly UW doesn`t get much attention because NXT left such a sour taste in so many people`s minds, mostly due to the poor water beading.

[Black Knight]

Thank Dan. So what should I use instead of the 26 after the UW?

[Accumulator]

Black Knight-I`d be far less concerned about what wax to use and far more concerned about how you`re gonna wash it without inducing marring. I couldn`t wash it marring-free with ONR, but that`s just me.



Eh, I never top/combine LSPs (Last Step Products, i.e., waxes and sealants) any more, I just use a single one, whichever`s right for the job.



I`d probably lean towards waxing that with some wax from Collinite.

[Dan]

Thank Dan. So what should I use instead of the 26 after the UW?



Another coat of UW if you feel compelled to do anything else. Top with UQW after every wash.

[Black Knight]

I was going to use a mitt and the two bucket wash to prevent marring.

[Accumulator]

I was going to use a mitt and the two bucket wash to prevent marring.



Can`t get into the intricacies of wash methodology here/now (it`s a long, complicated subject IMO), but my view is that the usual two-bucket method is just the tip of the iceberg. Yeah...regulars here know I`m really off the deep end with my wash techniques, but black is pretty unforgiving.

[Black Knight]

Are there any washing suggestions in addition to the mitt and two buckets?

[pwaug]

Are there any washing suggestions in addition to the mitt and two buckets? The mitt can make a big difference--take a look at the CarPro Sheepskin mitt (up a couple of sections and you can get to the website)--it`s only $20 and a fantastic mitt.

[Guitarist302008]

had one black car... looks great clean, but i`ll never own another one.