I know there are several topics regarding detailing black paint, but I feel my situation is slightly unique. My car is a 1992 Z28 with the original black Van Nuys paint (which in itself is a miracle). Compared to practically most black thirdgens it looks immaculate, but it has its imperfections and mild swirl marks from 15 years and 31,000 miles.

Anyway, I dont have a porter cable, nor do i intend to use one for this project...but i would like to do a few more steps that I have done in order to really freshen up this paint and bring out 100% of its beauty. So this means any product I will use, must be applied by hand. Im looking for suggestions on what products to use. I plan on washing, claying, washing...and then im open to suggestions as to what to use next.... I will probably finish it all up with my Moose Wax (a carnuba).

 

Well i have freshend up 3 black cars and this is what i did, My iroc was just neglected wax wise and had the origional paint, so i buffed it. Then i used this special wax body shops use and toped it off with ice. The next black car i did was another 86 iroc, this one i used the turtle wax clay liquid! Amazing, i found the trick is to do this on a cloudy or rainy day, actualy wet the car then scrup the car with the pad while aplying the liquid clay, after that actualy go over the car with it and use the hose to rinse it clean, then use a good wax and it comes out amazing! The 3rd car i did was an 86 trans am which had horible fading to it, This one took a day, i wet sanded the whole car then buffed it, after that i glazed it then used an anti swirl remover and finaly washed it with the clay liquid and applied a coat of wax, it actualy looked like it just got painted, the hood was bad so it still is grey in some areas but the sides of the car look fresh. Good luck.

 

I have a lot of success with my black '86 coupe and my '92 RS Anniversary by using a good clay bar wash to get everything off the car. I like the new Turtle Ice liquid. A good rewash is essential and a good glaze in next helps. I have some good professional black wax that really adds pop. I also concentrate on a good buff to finish it out. A clean black thirdgen can be achieved.

 

be careful with that Van Nuys paint, ive used some products on mine that were really harsh to the clear in some spots. i wont claybar mine for that reason, nor will i ever buff it

 

I know...i posted this same topic on LS1Tech because their detailing section is much more active than ours...but pretty much every response told me to use a Porter Cable...

 

Thats because a porter cable is the only way to go My Z is black and I couldn't get any swirl marks out by hand. They are history now the the pc.

 

I have been thinking about it and i wouldn't be against getting a PC. From what I keep hearing (true or not), the only way i'd really do damage to my paint would be to drop the damn thing on my car haha.

If i do get a PC, what type of pads should i get? I think autogeek has like packages that include the PC and certain pads. Basically, What is an affordable and effective (and relatively gentle!) combination of pads and products to go along with a PC??

 

I found that site www.autogeek.net/to be helpful in products to detail the car. As an ex pro detailer I am picky about using over the counter stuff. The pro products just are so much better.

 

Kick A$$ link NiteRider Definately a place a guy could spend some cash. What are some of your personal favs from them?


Tys

 

You're really going to need a PC if you want to remove all the swirls/scratches. I just got done doing mine! All I got left is a few coats of carnauba. It worked great.

If you didn't want to get a PC, putting layers of products on (such as the carnauba moose) will help a lot with filling the swirls.

As far as pads go:
1)Yellow = Most agressive cutting pad (you won't need this)
2)Orange = Light cutting pad (I needed this and I had light swirls)
3)White = Polishing pad (removes very light swirls and removes marring if any is left from the orange pad)
4)Black = No cutting ability. Used to apply glazes/waxes.

There are more colors, but those are the basic ones everyone uses.


As far as products, I used Optimum Polish. It worked great, accept for my hood. The clear was very hard. I had to go over each spot 3-4 times with an orange pad which is too much. I really needed a more agressive product for the hood but didn't want to wait for another product to come (Optimum compound). But the orange pad and the Optimum Polish worked awesome everywhere else on the car. Since the orange is slightly agressive, I went over the car again with a white pad to remove and marring/hazing if there was any (didn't see any but just in case).

The polish is great, as soon as it starts to turn on the clear side, you know it's done and time to whipe off. I am confident I could have finished the car with the orange pad, which is the reason Optimum products are so nice.

A bunch of great information here: http://autopia.org/forum/

 

Check this out, it seems like a pretty damn good package...and from what everyone says, tropicare products rock. I'm very very close to getting this, let me know what you guys think...

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=701659

 

Looks like a pretty good start. I dont know what their products are like but for the size of the bottles if you dont like them your not wasting a whole lot of cash. I would be all over that setup if I needed the buffer. Let us know what you think of their stuff if you do make the purchase.


Tys

 

I've heard good things about Tropicare. Never tried any of their products though.

 

Ordered the Tropi-Care kit about an hour ago. Depending on how fast it gets here, i can try it on our junker minivan's hood or something just to get the hang of it, and then do a full detail (claybar, swirl remover, polish, carnuba) using the PC Wednesday when i'm off.

 

Here is some motivation:

 

You can use the PC on the original Van Nuys black paint. I've been doing it for 15 years. I start out with a clay bar, polish then wax. I use painters tape on all the edges where the paint is thinner and I cover the decals/emblems with it too.