Fresh black paint

[scwerks]

Fresh Black Paint

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. I'm not comfortable buying or using a PC yet so everything will be done by hand for now.

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.

My painter told me to wait 90days before I apply any kind of wax myself on there. 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. 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.

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.

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:

[sullysdetailing]

Here is a list of detailers in CA Detailers | The Guide | Teamspeed

[scwerks]

Here is a list of detailers in CA Detailers | The Guide | Teamspeed

Thanks for the link. I will check it out, but I have a guy in mind already that's detailing a lot of the local guys with amazing results. I haven't heard one bad review yet. He's probably a member on here already.

[Mike Phillips]

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.

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

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".

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

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...

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

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.

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:

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.

[Rhudeboye]

Mike- I'm guessing no one has ever accused you of not being thorough?

Great reply and the write ups are very helpful.

I do believe that even a newb can handle the PC without causing any problems. I would recommend buying one and practicing on another car. Chances are, you'll quickly move to the mustang and cut your time in 1/4.

[scwerks]

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...

Mike, great info and thank you for the tips. I actually spend about 6-7hrs yesterday just browsing and reading a bunch of threads as well as most of the links you just provided.

To answer your questions above, no, the garage did not smell like paint after the first few hours. The car was stored at the body shop for about 3-4 days until I had time to go pick it up. Since then, I haven't washed it or used anything on the paint. I'm ordering a whole bunch of microfiber towels and cleaning accessories from AG and I wanted to try a premium sealant and wax so that is why I am asking for people's opinions. I've always used Meg. NXT or Meg Gold Glass on my previous cars that were daily drivers with decent paint.

[Niele]

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.

Excellent info, Mike! But, I am confused by this one paragraph. Do you really prefer to apply by HAND, or did you mean to say by MACHINE? I guess it is the word "plus" after the phrase "by hand" that makes me uncertain of what you really mean.

[Mike Phillips]

Excellent info, Mike! But, I am confused by this one paragraph. Do you really prefer to apply by HAND, or did you mean to say by MACHINE? I guess it is the word "plus" after the phrase "by hand" that makes me uncertain of what you really mean.

Good catch...

That was a type as I prefer to apply waxes and paint sealants by machine...

I'll fix it right now...

Thank you for pointing the typo out...

[Mike Phillips]

Mike- I'm guessing no one has ever accused you of not being thorough?

I'm what's called a long copy writer, it's mostly a curse... but I know from experience in this dimension of the detailing world, that most people appreciate detailed information when it comes to them working on their car's thin, precious paint.

On a lot of forums, you'll see short, brief answers or a member will say, PM me or call me, and then no one else on the forum gets the benefit of their information.

I"m just the opposite, I try to include everything the person needs to be successful in their garage and I know that years from now others will be reading these types of detailed replies and hopefully getting the help and answers they're looking for for their own project. This is why I sometimes type...

I type for the future...

Great reply and the write ups are very helpful.

Thank you, it's my passion and I believe in this...

Quote of the Day #1


I confident that someday when I retire that my posting history on any forum will speak for itself...

I do believe that even a newb can handle the PC without causing any problems.

I agree. That's why I gave it an "Ease of Use Ranking" of 1

How to choose the right polisher for your detailing project

Ease of Use Ranking
Each of the tools below are also graded as to their ease of use using a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the most difficult.

I would recommend buying one and practicing on another car. Chances are, you'll quickly move to the mustang and cut your time in 1/4.

Great advice...

In the past I've often typed...

"Don't learn to use a rotary buffer on a black Viper"

Same idea applies to learning any tool if you're new to machine polishing. This is especially true if the vehicle in question is IMPORTANT to you, such as your Toy, your Baby, your 7 year restoration project, the first NEW car you've ever purchased, etc...

Mike, great info and thank you for the tips. I actually spend about 6-7hrs yesterday just browsing and reading a bunch of threads as well as most of the links you just provided.

Good to hear... hope you like the content you found...

To answer your questions above, no, the garage did not smell like paint after the first few hours. The car was stored at the body shop for about 3-4 days until I had time to go pick it up.

Makes sense, most of the outgassing would have taken place the first few hours and then days and then died off... that's a good sign for you...

Since then, I haven't washed it or used anything on the paint. I'm ordering a whole bunch of microfiber towels and cleaning accessories from AG and I wanted to try a premium sealant and wax so that is why I am asking for people's opinions.

Understandable.

Pinnacle Souveran Paste is very easy to use and because it does not need to dry, it's really easy to apply and wipe-off and that's an important benefit for a lot of people. Of course it's a "Finishing Wax", and one that leaves a very clear finish which shows up to you and I as a very deep, dark black color with great depth and gloss.

The Klasse SG actually forms layer of acrylic protection onto the surface it's applied to, that's a feature a lot of people like about it. This could negate some of the beauty characteristics of the Pinnacle Souveran as it would act to hinder the Pinnacle Souverän from reaching the paint, at least easily.

If it were my car I would pick one or the other but not top the Klasse with the Pinnacle, it won't hurt anything and probably some people like this combination but if you were asking my "personal" opinion, out of these two products I would only choose and use one for your new black paint job.

I've always used Meg. NXT or Meg Gold Glass on my previous cars that were daily drivers with decent paint.

Very familiar with Meguiar's.

Brought up the MOL forum from scratch in 2004 and I'm still the number one poster on MOL. I taught the majority of all their Saturday classes and TNOG's coordinated via discussion forums from 2002 to 2009 and then left the forum and the classes in capable hands and joined the Autogeek Team.

[scwerks]

Pinnacle Souveran Paste is very easy to use and because it does not need to dry, it's really easy to apply and wipe-off and that's an important benefit for a lot of people. Of course it's a "Finishing Wax", and one that leaves a very clear finish which shows up to you and I as a very deep, dark black color with great depth and gloss.

The Klasse SG actually forms layer of acrylic protection onto the surface it's applied to, that's a feature a lot of people like about it. This could negate some of the beauty characteristics of the Pinnacle Souveran as it would act to hinder the Pinnacle Souverän from reaching the paint, at least easily.

If it were my car I would pick one or the other but not top the Klasse with the Pinnacle, it won't hurt anything and probably some people like this combination but if you were asking my "personal" opinion, out of these two products I would only choose and use one for your new black paint job.

Mike, thanks again. I love your detailed responses. Your reply is exactly what I needed to hear and now I have a better understanding on what I should do.