black truck

[joleyred]

Hi fellow geekers, late last fall I thoroughly went over my black 2011 GMC Denali truck. Wash, clay, swirl remover with 3401 flex, polish with Pinnacle paintwork cleanser, finish wax with Black Label Synergy. The truck looked fantastic. We drove from Michigan to Arizona and New Mexico in January. I used Optimum rinseless on the trip and tried to keep it clean. Of course we drove through some rain a couple times. When I got home, I gave it a regulation wash. I am finding water spots on the hood that I probably will have to polish out. It seems like this should have lasted longer. Am I expecting too much?

[GSKR]

Waxes don't last that long especially in those regions Arizona and Mexico,try a paint sealant next time.

[joleyred]

I have given the sealants a lot of thought, just gotta decide which one. I've read all opinions on the different ones. Some sound easier to apply than others, with various results. Any personal preferences?

[vobro]

Black is black, very hard to keep nice. When I had black I looked for sealants that sheet instead of bead, Megs M21,Zaino and Powerlock were pretty good. Either way when you have water plus dirt,pollen etc and add sunlight it'll cause spots.

[GSKR]

Menzerna powerlock, or hd poxy and nitro seal from hd the nitro seal is a 2 part system which I'm gonna get on Monday.

[fly07sti]

I'd say a year is pretty damn good! Synergy is a top shelf product. I'd just do a light polish to remove the WS and reapply synergy. Also hard to beat the looks of it on black paint.

[joleyred]

It was really about 1 month, maybe a little longer. I will likely do as you suggest. Repolish and recoat with Synergy. It does really make the black look great.

[fly07sti]

Ya, that's very premature. I'm not a big fan of the prep polish. I would suggest an IPA, Eraser, d114 wipe after you polish then apply synergy. 2 coats if you have the time.

[custmsprty]

Best advice it learn to live with it, it's Black. Like I always say the more you mess with it the more you mar it. What I mean by that is no matter how careful you are, if you wash it once it a week, that's 52 washes a year. Swirls are going to be never ending. Then you have to ask yourself how many times a year are you going to hit it with abrasive polishes and what is that doing to the level of clear coat being abraded over time.

It's pretty much why I have three white cars parked in my driveway. My Garage Queen Black Genesis Coupe gets dusty just sitting in the garage, I can't imagine what it would be like if it was a daily driver. I drove it about 50 miles yesterday and if you saw the road dust that came off of it when I got home home and wiped it down....:doh:

[van185]

I have tried several different sealants in the past and my favorites are Powerlock and Wolfgang. The Wolfgang seems to last longer. I normally try to use a spray detailer like Chemical Guys V7 after washing and normally get 5-6 months out of the Sealant in the western NC mountains. Like the above post it is black and they show everything.

[Rsurfer]

It was really about 1 month, maybe a little longer. I will likely do as you suggest. Repolish and recoat with Synergy. It does really make the black look great.

Do you really need to polish (remove clear coat) for the water spotting or would a water spot remover (chemical) work? If you keep polishing because of water spots you may not have any clear coat. To my knowledge there is no sealant/wax/coating that will prevent water spotting, especially in acid or hard water conditions.