seriously, how hard can this be?
ive never had a black car before the fl2, and it looks pants after a clean and polish with autoglym, any tips or tricks?

£6 at your local Eastern European car wash. Works for me every time.  Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

Tell us what you are doing and we can suggest Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I had a black mini Metro in 1983 and swore then Id never have a black car again. Was persuaded to buy a black FL2 a few years ago against my better judgement. Was proved right - it was a complete PITA too keep clean and washing it was simply demoralising. Now have a red one.
I'll admit I dislike washing cars and have developed a fairly efficient way of doing a reasonable job. I do apply polish twice a year. I've been known to choose a design of alloy wheels based on how easy they are too clean.  Jules

Black is a nightmare as it shows every swirl mark in bright sunshine. You could opt to clay bar the surface to clean off the top layer of crud that builds up (you'd be surprised what comes off) and then buy a quality polish specifically for dark coloured cars. There are plenty of detailing sites that you could take a look at as they can give you a lot of helpful tips.

Black cars are a nightmare as they show every particle of dust and dirt. If the car is more than a couple of years old it will probably be covered in swirl marks in the lacquer due to inappropriate cleaning (particularly if our eastern european cousins have been near it). If that is the case it will never look truly stunning unless it is machine polished with a DA (dual action) polisher to remove the swirls and get back to a smooth finish. This process does remove a layer of lacquer so is probably best left to a detailer unless you know what you are doing. Then a surface protector layer(s) of wax or a more modern sealant can be applied. That should get it back to as good if not better than when it left the showroom. I find sealants much easier to apply than wax and if you use something like Autosmart Topaz you can go straight over the trim without leaving white marks which you often get with wax. This makes application very easy and quick and it does seem to help shed dirt when you wash the car next time.
Regarding washing, that seems to be a whole topic in its own right but basically you need to ensure that dirt/grit is floated off with water rather than grinding it into the paintwork and hence putting back all the swirl marks. Detaling websites cover all this in great detail but do tend to get a bit anal over the best way to do things. FL2 Metropolis, Loire Blue, ebony/ivory

ooh this takes me back to when I had a nearly new V reg midnight blue Ford Escort GL. I swear it never looked the same as the day I collected it from the garage, a complete nightmare to polish/wash. I opted for the 'rally style' finish with a layer of mud all over it !(still I was only 22 and looking for street cred )

what im doing is
wetting the car with the hose
washing with sponge and car shampoo
rinsing off with hose
using a chamois to dry
applying autoglym silicon resin
buffing off

I have only done one wash so far, i normally then use harley carnuba wax over that.
I was just disappointed by all the visible marks and swirls after the resin stage

Im not into super anal detailing, i just like to give a good clean maybe 4 times a year
Oh its 4 years old metalic black

Never go to those Eastern Europeans, they'll do more damage than good with they way the clean vehicles, okay for an interior valet though. When cleaning a car no matter what colour, use 2 buckets, 1 with clean soapy water, the other with plain water, use this to rinse your sponge or whatever you're using after each use, this allows bits of grit etc to deposit in there, rather than in your soapy water, where you can pick it up again and scratch the paintwork! Can I suggest you do with your black car what I did (only had mine a week or 2 and thought I've had enough) get it wrapped, easier to keep clean and protects the original paintwork!

Click image to enlarge

You could try and remove the swirls by hand using something like ScratchX but it will be bloody hard work. The only real way is machine polishing. There are some polishes that contain fillers which can mask the swirls and give a better finish and funnily enough your Super Resin Polish is one of them. Meguiars tech wax is another. If you want the car looking nice I'd personally bite the bullet and get a professional to do it, then you can look after it yourself once it is up to scratch (or not scratched ). FL2 Metropolis, Loire Blue, ebony/ivory

Last edited by bbrap on 13th Apr 2017 8:27 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Sponge is a no no.

I use a mitt

Yes it was for the OP.

problem is when it goes in for a service it gets hammered by the wash boys, which can ruin all previous care taken.

Iain