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How do I maintain a black car?
There is no doubt that black cars are the most difficult to maintain. However there is no better color than black when it comes to that deep rich shine after a proper polish and wax.
Claying won't prevent or remove swirls. It is an important step to help your wax bond properly to the paint once it has been polished.
Ask yourself some important questions.
1.) Will your car be garaged?
2.) Can you honestly give up the local car wash and complimentary dealership washes?
3.) How OCD are you? Will a little dust bother you on a perfectly clean surface?
4.) Are you willing to invest the time to maintain a black car??
Some real life case studies:
Customer A has a black AMG E63 with soft paint. Another detailer completely wrecked the paint, but we restored it and the owner maintained it. Six months and one year later, it looked nearly identical to when we did the work. What was his trick? He followed our suggestions.
-Control who touches your paint (His wife thinks he's crazy)
-Avoid abrading your paint (Use a foam cannon to wash the paint, rinse with spot free water, blow dry with air blowers)
-Use our recommended spray wax, Prima Hydro
-A year later we only had to do a very easy Enhancement Detail to replenish the wax. The first detail was the most expensive, but proper maintenance means much lower costs down the road plus the benefit the paint will always look like a brand new car.
Another option is to go with a coating like Opti-Coat. This will greatly reduce your need to be OCD to maintain your paint. You still can't take it to the car wash, but it's a permanent coating that is super hydrophobic. It resists scratches and marring and even protects from bird bombs with any stains evaporating within days after it is cleaned. It's a great solution and has been proven over the years. The coating lasts for about 2 years before it needs to be reapplied. We recommend evaluating and polishing the paint first before doing the Opti-Coat as if there are any defects you decide you want to remove, we have to remove (sand off) the Opti-Coat first! So it's best to perfect the paint, then Opti-Coat it.