fit_of_vanity

Is there a way to wax black cars without showing the circular motions that you waxed the car in?
Or what is a good alternative to waxing?

RX8Bliss

Zaino. Its pricey. Its worth it.

Labop

I used the new Meguires product, NXT this weekend for the first time. Only two coats and it looks great, it even hid some swirl marks that have been there since I purchased the car. I also splurged and bought an orbital buffer. It was a 10 inch model so it couldn't get into the cracks, but it covered 97% (ish of the car) and the rest I did by hand. It looks great! If I had the money though, I'd go for the zaino, everyone I talk to raves about the stuff, especially in this board.

SLiM8

Always work on a cool surface and out of direct sunlight. What kind of wax do you use? are you looking for a real carnuaba wax or synthetic? There are some high quality waxes like p21s (s100), pinnacle souveran, meguiars #26, etc... I personally like pinnacle souveran on black cars. It produces the deepest, wettest shine i've ever seen. It's a bit pricey for $60 for an 8 oz but it's a really nice wax especially on black and red cars. my next fav is p21s. It's very easy to use and produce a nice wet glow of a carnauba wax. It's also less expensive than souveran at $30 for 6 oz. you can also find a harley davidson dealer and they have s100. It's exactly the same as p21s and it's only $15. Also, don't forget to purchase the s100 shine enhancing cleanser. It'll prep your paint prior to using the s100 wax. If you want to learn more about detailing, visit autopia.org or detailcity.com. they have a lot of information on how to keep your car top notch all the time. hope this helps.

takahashi

Light motion with thin layer of wax... Use anywax you like --- makesure the car is without dust.

The swirl marks are from scratching -- let yourself a tube of Meguire scratch X to smooth it and wax it with liquid type resin polish and coated with liquid layer of strong wax compound... I use AutoGlyn (spelling?)

TonyTyger

The absolute BEST wax combination on the market for black finish is as follows:
1) Start with Meguires cleaner/conditioner or "swirl remover" if you have that problem.
2) Wax with Mequires #26 Yellow High-Tech wax.
Best when applied with a random orbital buffer.
Try it...you won't be disappointed with the results.

http://www.meguires.com

rotaryxlr8

I used the cleaner/wax from Meguiars...good product. I've used Meguiar's NXT as well...even better although the cleaner/wax seemed to take up stuff better. Try Zymol. Did a side by side with NXT and while NXT was a little easier to take up, Zymol was darker on my wife's dark blue Expedition. One of the things to keep from showing the swirls on your black car that I haven't seen mentioned yet is just to always wipe your car from front to back. Even though my car is red now, I still do it having learned from when I had a black car previously. There's nothing like the shine of a clean black car but that's got to be the shortest lived shine I know.

AbusiveWombat

Can't agree more. Start with a good education at autopia.org. That's where the real detail pro's hang out. It's full of great information and reviews of all the latest equipment/towels/..etc. It even include links on where to find some of the best deals.

beachdog

I won't get into specific products, everyone has favorites. The most important element of keeping your car swirl-free is to use CLEAN water, CLEAN wash cloth/mit (100% cotton), CLEAN drying cloth (100% cotton), CLEAN wax/polish applicator and CLEAN polishing cloth. I buy 100% cotton towels at the linen factory outlets and throw them away after a few uses and washes. Never use the same cloth you used for the wheels, wheel wells, rocker panels, exhaust tips on the rest of the paint.

The second most important thing, don't use a circular motion when washing or waxing. I think that everyone got into circular motion from reading the old Simoniz paste wax instructions. Use light pressure and straight back and forth motion. Pick a direction and use it for the entire car and never change. The easiest to remember is front to back. That way you don't change the next time you wash the car.

Read more at www.autopia.org