Please suggest a 2 in 1 or 3 in 1 product for black car that is easy to use without smudges

[DaveT435]

Thanks Dave! Since this was the first time I have used a DA in 20 years I was cautious. I got very good results but I may go for another pass in the future. The few paint issues I had are 95% gone. Since I put polish and wax over top I will wait some time before going after it again with compound. I have no idea what paint is hard or soft. Is one better than the other?

Harder paint is usually a little more scratch resistant in the sense that it’s a little less susceptible to washing induced marring and swirls. This definitely isn’t implying that care doesn’t need to be taken when washing, just that it takes just a little more to scratch or mar the paint. On the flip side it takes more effort to remove scratches, swirls, and marring you do get.

Soft paint scratches very easily and is easier to correct unless it’s really soft, then sometimes it’s hard to do finish without marring. Then there are some hard paints that actually scratch pretty easily.

As long as you take care of the paint and take care washing/drying I don’t think you can really say one is better than the other. This is kind of speaking in general. For every rule there are exceptions.

It’s been my experience that a vehicle with harder paint that has a good sealant or ceramic coating will maintain that just polished look for a long time as long as it’s maintained properly. A proper washing and drying method is probably the biggest factor in having a great looking car for a long period of time. Both the sealant and coatings will keep dirt and grime on the surface and it will wash off incredibly easy. They also add a little gloss to the finely polished paint.

The BMW’s I did were in pretty bad shape but I had to use a rotary with a wool pad for my first cut.

[Dr Oldz]

HD Speed. Simple.

[corvetteman71]

Harder paint is usually a little more scratch resistant in the sense that it’s a little less susceptible to washing induced marring and swirls. This definitely isn’t implying that care doesn’t need to be taken when washing, just that it takes just a little more to scratch or mar the paint. On the flip side it takes more effort to remove scratches, swirls, and marring you do get.

Soft paint scratches very easily and is easier to correct unless it’s really soft, then sometimes it’s hard to do finish without marring. Then there are some hard paints that actually scratch pretty easily.

As long as you take care of the paint and take care washing/drying I don’t think you can really say one is better than the other. This is kind of speaking in general. For every rule there are exceptions.

It’s been my experience that a vehicle with harder paint that has a good sealant or ceramic coating will maintain that just polished look for a long time as long as it’s maintained properly. A proper washing and drying method is probably the biggest factor in having a great looking car for a long period of time. Both the sealant and coatings will keep dirt and grime on the surface and it will wash off incredibly easy. They also add a little gloss to the finely polished paint.

The BMW’s I did were in pretty bad shape but I had to use a rotary with a wool pad for my first cut.

Hi Dave. Thanks for all the explanations. Its crazy how many variables car paints have. Then so many choices with products. I wish there were some simple explanations and products for everything. I was happy with the results I got yesterday. The DA worked really well. Now I`m just trying to figure out my future plan. I think next time I will just use the compound on a few small areas that need some help instead of doing the whole trunk and hood again.

[corvetteman71]

HD Speed. Simple.

I never heard of that before yesterday but I will take a look. Thank you.

[Accumulator]

Thanks for the welcome! It is a Jet Black BMW Z4. The Corvette name comes from 18 years ago when I was on this board previously

Oh for cryin` out loud, I should`ve caught that Sheesh...

OK, Jet Black...oy vey. I`ll defer to what the people experienced with that stuff suggest.

Welcome to the forum! If it’s anything like the jet black M3’s I did the paint is rock hard.

Hold on, now I`m confused! I thought the Jet Black was usually very soft.

[Bill D]

Everything I read also led me to believe jet black is the softest black in existence.

[Accumulator]

Paint hardness- I`ve never encountered any autopaint that was so hard as to not get marred if improperly washed or otherwise abused (i.e., touched between washes). Even the old single-stage white enamels that people used to say were SO hard. There are paints that were very soft, but I`ve just never found one that was genuinely what I`d call "hard". The single-stage lacquer on my Jag is supposedly soft; the clear on my Audis is supposedly hard, but for practical purposes the only diff is that the Jag corrects a bit quicker. The only ceramiclear Benz I`ve ever done..well, I corrected it without realizing it was supposedly hard, was surprised when told "gee, bet it took a long time to correct that hard clear"..huh, OK..guess it did take a bit longer than my v1.0 b/c Benzes did (those early lacquer clearcoats were kinda soft, hence products like 1Z Metallic Polish).

Anyhow..


corvetman71- I`m still a but confused about the Detailing Spray smudging..guess this is my thread to be clueless on!

What are you using the spray for?

FWIW, I`ve gradually gotten away from Quick Detailers in favor of Garry Dean`s Infinite Use Detail Juice (a rinseless wash, which I usually disdain). Seems to do most everything just as well as my many QDs.

The words "polish" and "glaze" get used in different ways by different people/companies. Klasse Sealant Glaze (KSG) is a liquid sealant.

Nothing wrong with the Klasse twins if you like that look. It *is* a bit of a hassle building up enough layers of KSG to make it a worthwhile choice (IME if you`re not using at least four layers you`d be better off with something else).

[corvetteman71]

Paint hardness- I`ve never encountered any autopaint that was so hard as to not get marred if improperly washed or otherwise abused (i.e., touched between washes). Even the old single-stage white enamels that people used to say were SO hard. There are paints that were very soft, but I`ve just never found one that was genuinely what I`d call "hard". The single-stage lacquer on my Jag is supposedly soft; the clear on my Audis is supposedly hard, but for practical purposes the only diff is that the Jag corrects a bit quicker. The only ceramiclear Benz I`ve ever done..well, I corrected it without realizing it was supposedly hard, was surprised when told "gee, bet it took a long time to correct that hard clear"..huh, OK..guess it did take a bit longer than my v1.0 b/c Benzes did (those early lacquer clearcoats were kinda soft, hence products like 1Z Metallic Polish).

Anyhow..


corvetman71- I`m still a but confused about the Detailing Spray smudging..guess this is my thread to be clueless on!

What are you using the spray for?

FWIW, I`ve gradually gotten away from Quick Detailers in favor of Garry Dean`s Infinite Use Detail Juice (a rinseless wash, which I usually disdain). Seems to do most everything just as well as my many QDs.

The words "polish" and "glaze" get used in different ways by different people/companies. Klasse Sealant Glaze (KSG) is a liquid sealant.

Nothing wrong with the Klasse twins if you like that look. It *is* a bit of a hassle building up enough layers of KSG to make it a worthwhile choice (IME if you`re not using at least four layers you`d be better off with something else).

I do not want to use Klasse anymore. That was years ago.

Maybe smudge is the wrong word. I see streaks when I use Megs quik detailer. Mothers also.

[BudgetPlan1]

IGL Premier is a nice, easy to use spray Ceramic sealant once paint is where ya want it. Not a quick detailer, per se but for quick clean ups on an already sealed or waxed surface, poorboys Spray & Wipe is nice.

[corvetteman71]

IGL Premier is a nice, easy to use spray Ceramic sealant once paint is where ya want it. Not a quick detailer, per se but for quick clean ups on an already sealed or waxed surface, poorboys Spray & Wipe is nice.

That sounds good. Does it streak?

[Accumulator]

Maybe the streaking is caused by the surface not being clean enough (before the spray is used). No way I`d touch Jet Black between washes, not with anything.

[corvetteman71]

Having trouble adding pics

Here are a couple of links to pics. Sorry they are not the best quality.

https://ibb.co/YPVDQK5


https://ibb.co/sWxgMbj

[DaveT435]

I do not want to use Klasse anymore. That was years ago.

Maybe smudge is the wrong word. I see streaks when I use Megs quik detailer. Mothers also.

If it’s just product streaking that’s completely different. I was thinking the QD was possibly removing fillers or polishing oils and exposing marring or a particular scratch pattern.

[DaveT435]

Paint hardness- I`ve never encountered any autopaint that was so hard as to not get marred if improperly washed or otherwise abused (i.e., touched between washes). Even the old single-stage white enamels that people used to say were SO hard. There are paints that were very soft, but I`ve just never found one that was genuinely what I`d call "hard". The single-stage lacquer on my Jag is supposedly soft; the clear on my Audis is supposedly hard, but for practical purposes the only diff is that the Jag corrects a bit quicker. The only ceramiclear Benz I`ve ever done..well, I corrected it without realizing it was supposedly hard, was surprised when told "gee, bet it took a long time to correct that hard clear"..huh, OK..guess it did take a bit longer than my v1.0 b/c Benzes did (those early lacquer clearcoats were kinda soft, hence products like 1Z Metallic Polish).

Anyhow..


corvetman71- I`m still a but confused about the Detailing Spray smudging..guess this is my thread to be clueless on!

What are you using the spray for?

FWIW, I`ve gradually gotten away from Quick Detailers in favor of Garry Dean`s Infinite Use Detail Juice (a rinseless wash, which I usually disdain). Seems to do most everything just as well as my many QDs.

The words "polish" and "glaze" get used in different ways by different people/companies. Klasse Sealant Glaze (KSG) is a liquid sealant.

Nothing wrong with the Klasse twins if you like that look. It *is* a bit of a hassle building up enough layers of KSG to make it a worthwhile choice (IME if you`re not using at least four layers you`d be better off with something else).

Who said anything about about paint so hard it couldn’t be scratched or marred from improper washing??

[BudgetPlan1]

That sounds good. Does it streak?

Not in my experience and I am a Master Streaker if ever there was one.