Well after owning my BLACK 03 cobra for a few months I am almost ready to lose my mind , I have tried everything to keep this cars paint looking perfect. after buying my first black car I know what everyone was saying about owning one . first off I already washed , claybar'd , polished using a pc7424xp with a gray pad and m205, and waxed using poorboys natty blue wax. I use a California duster to dust it off before I take it out of the garage , the car has only been washed maybe 3 times since I polished it and inbetween washes I dust it off and QD it with a microfiber . Today I pulled the car into the sun and my jaw hit the floor , micro marring and light swirls everywhere, it looked great in the shade and after I buffed it but holy crap what am I doing wrong ??? Is the duster scratching my paint ? I am about to give it one more shot with the pc7424xp , gray pad and maybe manzerna po85rd and see if the marring goes away . ANY tips would be greatly appreciated
Almost ready to sell my BLACK '03 cobra
- Thread starter CtSvt
- Start date
Are you grinding the duster into your paint? If so, then yes that's what's causing it.
The duster works if you use proper technique. Lightly, gently dust it by hovering the "bristles" over the paint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gVU4C_6wOE
The duster works if you use proper technique. Lightly, gently dust it by hovering the "bristles" over the paint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gVU4C_6wOE
I know your pain. I only take it out at night now to avoid heartbreak 
Now that you brought that to my attention I guess yes I have been alittle rough with the duster but damn im afraid to touch this car with anything now ..... :mj:
Black is a never ending battle. It's maddening.
Well I guess im going to try to polish it one last time with po85rd and a gray pad and try not to mess it up this time
black is the WORST color if having a even mildly dirty car bothers you. I spend 2-3 hours washing mine, and literally 15 minutes of driving you can hardly tell.
Just gotta roll with it! Of course mine's a daily driver.
Just gotta roll with it! Of course mine's a daily driver.
Idk what you guys are talking about black is not that difficult. Grab back to black turtle wax and be done with it.
My bike and my srt8 jeep are black and looks like looking in a mirror. No swirl marks nothing.
My bike and my srt8 jeep are black and looks like looking in a mirror. No swirl marks nothing.
Don't use the duster ever. Hose it off with some compressed air instead. Wash it when its dirty. Polish once a year.
What is this Gray pad you speak of? If you want to jewel your paint, try using a blue or red or gold lake country CCS pad with po85rd.
I find m205 is ok for finishing silvers, but it is non diminishing and I have never been able to finish a black car with it
Use Po85Rd.
What is this Gray pad you speak of? If you want to jewel your paint, try using a blue or red or gold lake country CCS pad with po85rd.
I find m205 is ok for finishing silvers, but it is non diminishing and I have never been able to finish a black car with it
Use Po85Rd.
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last time I finished with the LC CCS gray finishing pad and m205, the car didn't really need m105/orange pad so I skipped right to the m205 , im going to try menzerna po85rd this time with a gray pad and a blue/red pad , I have an order coming in a few days so I can try a few different pads out
I found the gray pad to be useless, it does not have enough cut to properly polish and remove light swirls, and its too aggressive to properly finish.
I polish with the white pad w/ PO85RD, finish with the blue pad w/ PO85RD
If you have Menzerna PO85RD and have not been using it, you are missing out. It cuts like m205, finishes much finer, and is incredibly easy to work with thanks to the polishing oils that Menzerna uses.
When detailing really bad paint
M105 with wool pad
PO85RD with White LC CCS
PO85RD with Blue LC CCS
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First things first. Toss the cali duster in the trash. your just wiping the dust into the paint and making this worse. You need to get a good sealant on it. something like Opti-guard or my choice Gtechniq C1. Shoot me a message if I can help. Im in Danbury.
My year round daily driver in New England is black, my G8 GT. If you have a black car that gets driven, just be ready to accept the fact that your car can never be 100% perfect all the time. All the prep work you do BEFORE polishing is very key, as well as polishing with plenty of light. Maintaining that finish after you've sealed or waxed it is another story.
Here's my take on the California Duster- They work, as long as you're only using it for very light dust, and if you're applying very light pressure. They will definitely swirl your paint if you try to get anything heavy off with it. I also recommend getting a microfiber style duster instead, because the California Duster uses wax imbedded fibers that tend to hold onto dirt. The microfiber ones shake out a lot nicer.
IF you have wax on the car... particularly a thicker layer of wax, and the sun has been out, when you use the duster and see swirls, you are actually putting those swirls into the wax layer because it's so soft. That's why I switched to a sealant.
Next, your polishing technique. You cannot hurt your paint with the PC 7472xp if used properly. I see you polished with M205 and a gray pad. Gray pads are for applying sealants or waxes, and M205 is a finishing polish. And the gray pads do not cut, especially on just the PC. Therefore you are doing almost no paint correction with it.
You really should try this over again except this time, use an orange Hex-Logic pad (Chemical Guys sells them) and a white Hex Logic finishing pad.
Start off with the M105 and orange pad. Finish with the M205 and white pad. Wax later with the gray pad. These Meguiar's polishes are two step polishes and that's how they're designed to be used.
I also suggest hopping onto YouTube and checking out Junkman's guide to polishing for novices. You will be pleased.
Here's my take on the California Duster- They work, as long as you're only using it for very light dust, and if you're applying very light pressure. They will definitely swirl your paint if you try to get anything heavy off with it. I also recommend getting a microfiber style duster instead, because the California Duster uses wax imbedded fibers that tend to hold onto dirt. The microfiber ones shake out a lot nicer.
IF you have wax on the car... particularly a thicker layer of wax, and the sun has been out, when you use the duster and see swirls, you are actually putting those swirls into the wax layer because it's so soft. That's why I switched to a sealant.
Next, your polishing technique. You cannot hurt your paint with the PC 7472xp if used properly. I see you polished with M205 and a gray pad. Gray pads are for applying sealants or waxes, and M205 is a finishing polish. And the gray pads do not cut, especially on just the PC. Therefore you are doing almost no paint correction with it.
You really should try this over again except this time, use an orange Hex-Logic pad (Chemical Guys sells them) and a white Hex Logic finishing pad.
Start off with the M105 and orange pad. Finish with the M205 and white pad. Wax later with the gray pad. These Meguiar's polishes are two step polishes and that's how they're designed to be used.
I also suggest hopping onto YouTube and checking out Junkman's guide to polishing for novices. You will be pleased.
I use turtle wax premium car wash, and the two bucket method. After that I use Tech Shine! This stuff is awesome! Takes 5-10 minutes to apply and rinse and keeps the black looking good!:coolman:
Sure cant beat the look of a shined up black car! Badass looking btw, eg03
I sold my 88 Coupe though cause it drove me nuts seeing the pollen and dust on it within minutes of being outside. Just looking out across the hood aggrevated me. I am very meticulous about my cars though, to the extreme....as I know lots of people on here are.
I sold my 88 Coupe though cause it drove me nuts seeing the pollen and dust on it within minutes of being outside. Just looking out across the hood aggrevated me. I am very meticulous about my cars though, to the extreme....as I know lots of people on here are.
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I use turtle wax premium car wash, and the two bucket method. After that I use Tech Shine! This stuff is awesome! Takes 5-10 minutes to apply and rinse and keeps the black looking good!:coolman:
Looking good!
Thanks guys! Yeah I would have to agree....black is a lifestyle. In the end don't stress about it to much, because you'll forget to actually enjoy the car.
Like everyone else says....don't use a duster.
Thanks for the advice guys , after wiping a spot with a microfiber rag it's almost like the marring goes away which leaves me to believe its scratching the wax coat i put on a few days ago , I'm going to try to take a good picture to show you guys tomorrow when I get out of work so you can see what I'm talking about
I inspected this car today. After looking at it, It seems to be to much product on the car. We put my lights in it and I wiped a spot down with 50/50 IPA and water which cleaned it up.
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