Quote:
Originally Posted by scwerks 
Ok guys, I need some input here on how to maintain my brand new black paint job.
I know that this is the one of the toughest color to maintain especially for a detail newb like myself.
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Maintaining any finish really comes down to how the paint is touched...
- Use the highest quality products you can obtain
- Anything that touches the paint has to be gentle to the finish and high quality
- Use good technique
I know many people reading the above will think that's all common sense, but I recently had the owner of a 1954 Corvette here at our Studio and after watching him "start" to wipe the Souverän off his Corvette I STOPPED him, and then shared with him "good technique" for wiping wax off highly polished paint.
Video: A Show Car Wax for a Show Car Finish at Show Car Garage 
Then the next day I wrote this article,
How to correctly fold and use a Microfiber Towel 
Quote:
Originally Posted by scwerks
I'm not comfortable buying or using a PC yet so everything will be done by hand for now. |
I trust the even pressure of a clean foam pad applying products versus my hand with pressure points but only move up to machine polishing when you're ready.
[quote=scwerks;382463]
My goal is to maintain the new deep black shine. I plan to have it professional detailed once a year, but in between that, I want to be able to keep the shine lasting and swirls/scratches to a minimum.
See above list that talks about how paint is "touched".
Quote:
Originally Posted by scwerks My painter told me to wait 90 days before I apply any kind of wax myself on there. |
Yep... cover that topic and the "why" behind it
here, under the category,
Articles on Car Paint Don't wax your car for at least 30 days!
Here's a few related articles... and there's more in my article list under
Articles on Car Paint.
Fresh Paint - But you can touch it... Body Shop Safe Glaze on Fresh Paint - #7 Show Car Glaze The practical differences between single stage paints and a clear coat paints Quote:
Originally Posted by scwerks
In about 60days, he told me to bring it back for him to do a detail job. The car has been out of the shop now for about 2-3wks sitting in the garage. |
QUESTION
After you brought the car home and parked it in the garage, do you remember if after a few hours your garage smelled like fresh paint?
Just curious... Quote:
Originally Posted by scwerks They did a fantastic job on the paint work and it came out looking deep and wet. I want to be able to maintain it. |
I hope the folks at this shop are as good at buffing as they are at painting but here's a quote by yours truly that's very accurate...
It's the person that does the wetsanding, cutting and polishing that makes or breaks a paint job
The painter can be the greatest painter the world has ever seen, but that doesn't mean he's the best at sanding and buffing and a lot of times the "great painter" doesn't do the dirt work like sanding and buffing, it's offed to the "Painter's Helper" and typically at a body shop he's give a day or less to sand and buff your car.
I'm not trying to scare you, but I've been helping people undo the damage done at body shops, dealerships and even detail shops as a career now and I'm sad to say shoddy work when it comes to the buffing step is the norm, not the exception.
That's one of the reasons I wrote these two articles...
The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers... DISO = The Dealership Installed Swirl Option Quote:
Originally Posted by scwerks
As I've said, I'm a real newb to all this. I've loaded my shopping cart full of detailing supplies to get me off in the right track, but I'm a little stump if I'm buying the right sealant and wax for me car. Here's what I plan to do: since it's a new paint job, I am skipping the claying process. |
Just to note... a body shop is one of the most common and likely places to get overspray paint because fresh paint is usually in the air and will land on anything.
I often find overspray paint not only on the painted panels, but also on glass, trim, wheels, bumpers, mirrors, etc.
Let's hope you got lucky in this area and everything not painted was covered.
Also, lets hope that after they moved your car out of the paint booth, that no one was spraying anything in the shop where it could drift onto your new paint job before you removed the car from the
fresh paint environment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scwerks
1. wash/dry
2. Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze - 1 coat
3.Pinnacle Liquid Souverän Wax - 1 coat every month or so
Am I picking the right products here for what I want to do? My understanding is that after the sealant glaze is applied and buffed, it must sit and cure which takes up to 12hrs. On the next wash, I apply the wax? Any other input would be greatly appreciated. Here is what I'm working with:
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I'll let others chime in as to what you should use but for black paint Souveran Paste is a very easy product to use and will create a very clear finish which shows up to our eyes as a very dark, deep black finish.
Previously, we machine applied Souveran Paste Wax by machine...
What we want to do with this project is show that with just two simple steps, claying and waxing with a true show car wax, you can bring out the full richness of color and maximize the glossy look everyone loves...
Souveran Paste Wax can be applied by hand or machine, I personally prefer to apply all my waxes and paint sealants by hand plus the owner Mike has never used a DA Polisher before, only rotary buffers, so I wanted to introduce him to one of the most popular types of machine polishers in the industry.
Using a microfiber glove to hold the wax, you can pop the wax out of the jar and then simply swipe the wax a few times across the face of the foam finishing pad and you're ready to machine wax. Sometimes it helps to lightly heat the outside of the plastic jar with a Hair Blow Dryer as this will loosen the grip crated by surface tension the wax has with the jar.
You have to apply a "Whisper Thin" coating of the Klasse SG so that it will wipe off easily. If you apply to thick of a coating and then struggle with wiping it off you could put toweling marks into the paint in the process.
Toweling marks is the kinder, gentler way of saying toweling scratches and it comes from exerting too much pressure with any cloth to scratch-sensitive automotive paints.
. I'm not comfortable buying or using a PC yet so everything will be done by hand for now.
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