Black is not a color, it's a hobby

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Phoenix
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Remember all, black is not a color, it's a hobby. Just a heads up to anyone who has never owned a black car.

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Do you take it to automatic car washes? Our dark blue looks nothing like that, but has always been carefully hand washed/waxed.
 
This can be a problem with any dark colour. I hand wash my machine grey car only.
No car washes with brushes, ever, and I also make sure if I take it in for service that they do not wash the car.
 
Remember all, black is not a color, it's a hobby. Just a heads up to anyone who has never owned a black car.

Lol, this is VERY true if you care about keeping the black paint looking the way it did from the factory. I have to remember to take a picture of my wife's black Civic. She has never, ever detailed or even waxed her car since she bought it new in 2006. Maintaining nice black paint is definitely a hobby that is both punishing and rewarding at the same time.
 
Black color is only for people who really enjoy hand-washing their vehicles.
Yes, I owned one before.
 
This can be a problem with any dark colour. I hand wash my machine grey car only.
No car washes with brushes, ever, and I also make sure if I take it in for service that they do not wash the car.
Yep... Handwash mostly or if pressed for time, use self service wands and lastly brushless autowash in emergency situations...(f.i. important meeting, traffic line paint or concrete truck splashes concrete on car.
 
Lol, this is VERY true if you care about keeping the black paint looking the way it did from the factory. I have to remember to take a picture of my wife's black Civic. She has never, ever detailed or even waxed her car since she bought it new in 2006.
For a lot of people, a car is nothing more than a tool to be used until it wears out, to be replaced by a new one.
Not everyone goes to the time and trouble of cleaning and maintaining their vehicles. My wife always mocks me when I go outside to clean or tinker with the car. She thinks it's a total waste of time. Funny thing is, she's also the first to complain when something goes wrong with it, and gets on my case to get it fixed.....at no cost of course.
My two sons also don't give a crap about their vehicles. They don't get washed, let alone waxed, and they don't get the routine maintenance done until well after it's due, if at all. I don't even want to sit in their cars because they are so filthy. Their houses are not much better. My wife refuses to set foot in our older son's house because it's such a pigsty. I thought I set an example when they were growing up, but something went amiss. Makes me sad.
 
What's crazy is some people see the swirls as 'shiny' paint.
After correcting my Golf R last year, I cringe every time I see swirled out (aka hammered) paint.
When I was correcting the paint, I thought it looked less shiny, but after ceramic coating and getting it in the sun, it looked like candy (Red).
 
YEs, handwashing helps, but even microfibers introduce scratches, especiall if you're not using a high quality one. Those in the 18 pack from the store are not high quality. Also are you using the two bucket method?

My original point stands as posted. While you can be as careful as you want, black is going to show every imperfection. I'm not saying don't buy black, I'm just pointing it out to the newbies that say "oooh, look at then sleek shiny new car"
 
I went down the detailing rabbit hole when I got my first black car, a 2006 Honda Accord. I bought a ton of microfibers and a DA with several pads and a bunch of polishes and sealants and other cleaning supplies. I tried out all the different techniques on it and I believe I just wore through the clear coat. LOL. Around 9 years I got clear coat failure. Of course by then, my enthusiasm had waned so it could have just been the couple years of brutal sun and neglect that caused the paint to fail. Now I polish and apply sealant to my cars once a year and use spray sealant after washes.

Also, the latest trend now seems to be the one bucket method where you get a bunch of MF towels or wash mitts, fill up a bucket with enough soap/wash solution and water and put the towels/mitts in there to soak. You use one towel at a time and flip it over once the first side gets dirty. When that towel is used up, put it aside and get a new towel. The thought is you eliminate the risk of dirt getting back on to your wash towel when you dunk it in your bucket of “clean” water to try and rinse it off. And you are also eliminating that dunk/rinse step.
 
The thought is you eliminate the risk of dirt getting back on to your wash towel when you dunk it in your bucket of “clean” water to try and rinse it off. And you are also eliminating that dunk/rinse step.
Yep.. that's exactly what I was doing before ppf and ceramic coating. Usually the 2 buckets method is the safest one. The next would be the "Touchless" wash but you'll end up using microfiber towels at the end of every wash. The Soft touch could be good also but I'd avoid it during winter time.
 
Kia and Hyundai have a matte gray paint available on some models (EV6 and Ioniq5 among others). It's not black but kind of graphite/charcoal. It would be my choice if I want to change from my usual white and silver of the past decades as it used to be available only on luxury vehicles. There is a Tesla Model 3 near my place with a similar color and it looks great IMO.
 
Now I polish and apply sealant to my cars once a year and use spray sealant after washes.

Also, the latest trend now seems to be the one bucket method where you get a bunch of MF towels or wash mitts, fill up a bucket with enough soap/wash solution and water and put the towels/mitts in there to soak. You use one towel at a time and flip it over once the first side gets dirty. When that towel is used up, put it aside and get a new towel. The thought is you eliminate the risk of dirt getting back on to your wash towel when you dunk it in your bucket of “clean” water to try and rinse it off. And you are also eliminating that dunk/rinse step.

This is pretty much where I'm at now, lol. Never went as far as doing a multi-stage correction, I'd just claybar, polish, wax, then wipe clean. Currently using an all-in-one product now, so I just claybar, then polish/wax and wipe clean.

I've been doing the 1-bucket, many microfiber method for years. Even lower risk of scratching the paint with dirt from a microfiber than the 2-bucket method with grit guards.
 
I've been doing the 1-bucket, many microfiber method for years. Even lower risk of scratching the paint with dirt from a microfiber than the 2-bucket method with grit guards.

On that too! bunch of MF towels are also good. I went ahead and did the ppf film on the whole front (bumper, hood, fenders and side mirrors) then a ceramic coating. After a year I went in to apply another layer to make it more slick and 'waterproof'. Then all I do is go in the touchless wash (without the wax) and wipe off the water excess with mf towels. Car looks just like the first time at the dealership. Tho I'd only recommend this if you'll keep the car for more than 3 yrs. It's worth every penny.
 
I'm also part of the 1 bucket and pile of microfiber towels crew.
Seems to be the best at keeping dirt out of the soap bucket.

The 2 bucket method is good, but I feel like you still risk scratches because you won't get all the dirt rinsed off the mitt before dipping back into the soap.
 
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