IS300h - Velvet Black…

[HoofHearted]

Got an IS300h at the weekend. It’s a 15 plate so paint won’t be perfect but it’s doing my tits in how easily marks show up. So much as a finger print and it’s a massive smudge. 
 

flies as well. Had it washed yesterday and it already looks like it needs done again.

can anybody recommend good products or services that’ll help the car keep a shine to it? 

[NemesisUK]

Black cars show dirt easily, end of really..

To make it easier to clean, get it professionally detailed/paint corrected and then ceramic coated. Not cheap but dirt will wash off much more easily. Apply a secondary wax coat and then wipe the car down each day with a good detailing spray to keep the dust off. (as long as it doesn't rain)

Oh and stay away from those hand/auto washes if you want to keep a shine on it.

Black cars are hard work

[CypressPhil]

They say black cars are a hobby. I’m on my 3rd black car (must be a slow learner). Agree with everything Nemesis has said above. You want to use products that make it harder for dirt to stick to the car. A good ceramic coating will give you good protection, but if you go down that route, don’t skimp on the prep. Applying a ceramic coating over the top of poorly prepped paint can actually emphasise any swirls and scratches and will not last as long, so having the car professionally cleaned and decontaminated, followed by paint correction is a must. 
 

If you don’t want to go to that expense, then a good paste wax will help. I’m using Bilt Hamber at the moment, but Fusso Coat is supposed to be really good, so I’ll be giving that a whirl at some point. If you prefer using a DA polisher rather than applying by hand, you can’t go far wrong with Autoglym Super Resin Polish. Follow up with Extra Gloss Protection for a deeper shine. 
 

You can stretch the time out between maintenance washes by keeping the dust off as much as possible. A good quick detailer spray using a very soft microfibre cloth will help you achieve this. Make sure you use a good quality super soft microfibre though, as you’ll be introducing more scratches otherwise. Once it rains it’s game over. Don’t be tempted to use a quick detailer after it’s rained. Bust out the buckets and do a maintenance wash. 
 

Personally, I think black cars are worth the effort and am one of those weird guys that likes cleaning their car. They do look great for a whole 5mins after cleaning, so be sure to appreciate that time 🙂

[HoofHearted]

50 minutes ago, CypressPhil said:

They say black cars are a hobby. I’m on my 3rd black car (must be a slow learner). Agree with everything Nemesis has said above. You want to use products that make it harder for dirt to stick to the car. A good ceramic coating will give you good protection, but if you go down that route, don’t skimp on the prep. Applying a ceramic coating over the top of poorly prepped paint can actually emphasise any swirls and scratches and will not last as long, so having the car professionally cleaned and decontaminated, followed by paint correction is a must. 
 

If you don’t want to go to that expense, then a good paste wax will help. I’m using Bilt Hamber at the moment, but Fusso Coat is supposed to be really good, so I’ll be giving that a whirl at some point. If you prefer using a DA polisher rather than applying by hand, you can’t go far wrong with Autoglym Super Resin Polish. Follow up with Extra Gloss Protection for a deeper shine. 
 

You can stretch the time out between maintenance washes by keeping the dust off as much as possible. A good quick detailer spray using a very soft microfibre cloth will help you achieve this. Make sure you use a good quality super soft microfibre though, as you’ll be introducing more scratches otherwise. Once it rains it’s game over. Don’t be tempted to use a quick detailer after it’s rained. Bust out the buckets and do a maintenance wash. 
 

Personally, I think black cars are worth the effort and am one of those weird guys that likes cleaning their car. They do look great for a whole 5mins after cleaning, so be sure to appreciate that time 🙂

Appreciate the input from both of you.

im hopeless at washing a car, not to mention I stay in a flat so it’s not easy to wash it with a hose or whatever. I’m the kind who would wash it, think it looks fine then notice that it doesn’t look right later. 
 

ideally wanting to just give somebody a few quid every now and then to have it waxed/polished or whatever. 
 

the hand wash places that are everywhere now… soap, water and a pressure washer? Are they bad for the cars paint or? 
 

sorry for the never ending questions but this is the first car I’ve had that is really worth looking after.

[LenT]

 

3 hours ago, HoofHearted said:

I’m hopeless at washing a car, not to mention I stay in a flat so it’s not easy to wash it with a hose or whatever

I rather think you’ve answered your own question, Graeme.

What ever needs to be done, you prefer someone else to do it - apart from the fact that car washing is not very easy where you live, anyway.

I think the two responses you’ve already had are spot on.  Now’s the time to find a good Detailer and have the car properly prepared for ceramic coating.  From then on the finish will be easier to maintain and will last far longer than even a good wax finish.

But it also means avoiding car washes and the bucket ‘n sponge brigade.  That’s how cars acquire swirls and scratches!

Once you have a good ceramic finish, it is possible to maintain it with what’s called the ‘Two Bucket Method’.  It requires a car shampoo, a wash mitt, microfibre cloths, a drying towel and …. Two Buckets.  And, unfortunately, some way of getting water over the car before you start and for rinsing off.  But there are any number of helpful videos describing it.

It can get a whole lot more complicated than that, but if it’s not the sort of thing you’re inclined to commit to, then there is another option.  It may be that there’s a mobile detailing operation near you.

These are car detailers who carry all they need in a van and come to you.  Some times they may need a power supply, which I guess could be a problem.  It’s certainly more expensive than doing it yourself.  But the ceramic finish ensures that you’ll need it doing less than if it was a wax finish.

If, as you say, this is the first car you’ve had that’s really worth looking after, then I would start with the professional detailing and then get advice on maintenance.

[J Henderson]

Poorboy's Black Hole is great at hiding scratches and stuff on a black car.

Ignore the fact that a machine polisher is used in the video. You can get the same results by hand.

As for washing the car with no hosepipe or pressure washer. You could invest in a large bucket with a sealable lid, fill it with shampoo and water at home, and then take it with you to a petrol station and make use of the coin-operated machines.

A pump sprayer filled with snowfoam or some other kind of pre-wash could be welcome extra step to the process.

Obviously, it would be ideal to do this at a quiet period, to avoid hogging the machine. 🙂

[Linas.P]

4 hours ago, J Henderson said:

Ignore the fact that a machine polisher is used in the video. You can get the same results by hand.

I am sure you could, but doing entire car by hand would be a massive and needless torture. 

As for the maintenance of black car, there isn't much to say, I always thought white would be unpractical (actually it is much easier than black), but black is on another level. It just basically shows any scratches and any dirt on it. I had few gloss black cars and they are absolutely worst for that, especially Lexus with it's soft paint... but when polished and waxed or with coat of ceramic they look stunning. Little bit better is black metallic or pearl, the IS mk3 F-Sport should be almost pear colour, I believe it is called black graphite and this helps a lot, the flakes in the paint hides the scratches little bit better, obviously you will never get black "mirror" effect in the photos, but in person in real life it is easier to keep it looking nice, but still requires a lot of effort.

As to specific products, get it detailed and get it ceramically coated, this will make it easier to wash and dirt won't get's stuck as easily. But that is not silver bullet... if you take car to hand or automatic scratchers it will be scratched again, there is just no other way. Really the only way to wash car minimising the scratches is to do it yourself with right products. You could go to self-service washes, but that is massive pain and requires proper technique - I know because I live in the flat as well and I can't wash my car either. Now when it comes to technique and the products it really depends of how deep into rabbit hole you planning to go, because detailing is never ending pit.

For beginners and using self-service I would recommend all purpose cleaner (APC - say 10:1 Surfex HD) as prewash, just spray liberally to soften the dirt, then use pressure washer, DO NOT use the brush (except maybe wheels or underside), take two buckets (often there are signs saying your are not allowed to have them, but I ignore them, just choose quiet time), one with shampoo an one for rinsing and gently wash the car with microfiber mitt (I found they scratch the least), ideally use two mitts, one for upper half to of the car start with and one for lower, with mitts try to do straight rather than round strokes following body lines (still scratches the car, but is less visible and easier to polish), pressure washer again and then apply quick detailer spay (QD - use the one suitable as top-up for ceramic coating) still on the wet paint before drying with large microfibre towel. Then I would usually go again over the pain with normal microfibre and QD for second time. You will need a lot of microfibre, never reuse if dropped and ideally keep rotating it, use few times on the paint if still clean, then as soon as dirty was and use on the wheels, then throw away. This is absolute minimum and it is already quite a bit if you not into it, and this is before we even touch on wheels or interior, or glass. But that is only way.

In summary - full detail with ceramic coating, do hand wash yourself with correct technique, repeat detail every 1-2 years. If you can't detail your own car and can't or not willing to wash it yourself, then keeping black car in pristine condition will be costly. Although "pristine condition" really depends on personal definition, I have seen cars scratched to absolute crap and looking like owner "detailed" them vegetable oil or WD40, yet they still in their mind thought the cars are looking "pristine". There is no silver bullet - black paint will require extra attention and extra care. 

[Bounce75]

I used to own a black Volvo C30 & it was a nightmare. I found Meguires quick wax was my friend & I still use it now.👍

[rayaans]

I think you're going to need to take it to a detailer and put a proper ceramic coating on it

Something like Ceramic pro which requires a yearly maintenance - Would be about £750 to do it and £150 a year annually but its guaranteed for 5-10 years depending on which package you get

[cadman2k]

There,s a raft of information on the forums and you can spend a lot of £££ around car cosmetics.

When I first purchased mine I spent a limited amount of money to start out with on getting the car to a manageable level 

Read about it here