Washing black paint

[CentolaCCSB]

May be a dumb question but this is my first black truck previous trucks were pewter so easy to wash and not show scratches as bad. Truck came back from the body shop and while it was there they buffed the whole truck thing looked mint very little scratches. Now 2 weeks later its filthy and would like to wash her but i dont want to scratch the hell out of it. Anyone with a black truck have any tips or tricks?

I understand scratches or swirl marks are inevitable but id like to keep it to a minimum

 

[matt78]

Biggest problem I have is water spots from hard water. I use wash and wax gel in a bucket with a micro fiber towel. Then after I hand wash it,i take my leaf blower and go around the truck several times. Then I use a nice spray on wax. The truck is nice and shiny at that point. I'm sure others have there ways but this on works for my truck and my wife's car.

 

[CentolaCCSB]

Biggest problem I have is water spots from hard water. I use wash and wax gel in a bucket with a micro fiber towel. Then after I hand wash it,i take my leaf blower and go around the truck several times. Then I use a nice spray on wax. The truck is nice and shiny at that point. I'm sure others have there ways but this on works for my truck and my wife's car.

I have a problem with water spots as well. My town water is disgusting tons of sediments i have a whole home water filter but doesnt seem to help. I use to use a shammy to dry but by the time i got to the other side of the truck id have awful water spots good idea with the blower

 

[NC-smokinlmm]

Pressure wash it first, then use a microfiber sponge to wash it car wash shop not dish detergent.

 

[Osubeaver]

for the first couple of years I washed my black CTS-V with the 2 bucket method. One bucket of soapy water and one of just water. Hose car, wipe a small area with soap, rinse mitt in water bucket, wipe another small area with soap, rinse mitt, etc. Pain in the ass but worked, no swirls. Now it's car wash and periodic detail/buffing.

 

[Whitetail Addict]

For hard water Adam's Car Shampoo helps. You don't have to panel wash it and can rinse the whole truck once due to the pH neutral soap. I was skeptical 'til I tried it and it helps.

Pressure wash the truck first. Then hand wash from the top down. Use two buckets with grit guards and one mit (I use lamb's wool because it holds suds better) in each bucket with lots of quality soap. Get lots of suds, which suspends the dirt and lubricates. Then use one mit for the top down to the lower body line (trim line) and another below. The majority of the road grit is below the body line. Then rinse the whole truck and dry immediately.

I will never own another black vehicle. My truck is white, but I use the same wash method with it as my black truck

 

[tkniss]

FWIW. I have 3 black vehicles. I get endless comments on how good the paint looks. The biggest suggestions I can make are, first use your hand to wash the truck. Any glove or other material between your hand and the paint will prevent you from feeling any grit that gets stuck in the material and you effectively are sanding the paint. The second suggestion is to use one of those california squeegys and a real chamios to dry the car. The squeegy is very sofy silicone and follows the contours of the body. I use the chamios to wipe the squeegy and get any left over water. I can dry the vehicle very quickly. The pics in my garage don't do justice to the paint. The Chevelle was painted in 1984 and the 06 is used almost daily.
Hope that helps

 

[CentolaCCSB]

Awesome advice fellas thanks a bunch. What soap do you recommend i have meguiars soap i for get the actual nam of it but would that be considered high quality?

 

[A. Stock Lbz]

FWIW. I have 3 black vehicles. I get endless comments on how good the paint looks. The biggest suggestions I can make are, first use your hand to wash the truck. Any glove or other material between your hand and the paint will prevent you from feeling any grit that gets stuck in the material and you effectively are sanding the paint. The second suggestion is to use one of those california squeegys and a real chamios to dry the car. The squeegy is very sofy silicone and follows the contours of the body. I use the chamios to wipe the squeegy and get any left over water. I can dry the vehicle very quickly. The pics in my garage don't do justice to the paint. The Chevelle was painted in 1984 and the 06 is used almost daily.
Hope that helps

This is how I do it also. I used to be a body man and painter and the big difference that I notice is using the sqeegy to dry the truck instead of rubbing a towel all over it with who knows what in it. I'll run outside and take a pic of my denali to show what it looks like with no wax or anything on it, just washed it yesturday afternoon.

 

[Dozerboy]

I like Mothers gold soap,but yours will be fine. You don't need to go crazy ordering soaps and waxs online. Most Auto parts and Walmart carry good products. Just dont buy the cheapest stuff they have.

I never use a Pressure washer, but if you have one use it
2 Bucket method for washing mine are 5gal and a 2gal. The 5 has a little soap just to wash off the mit in. The 2 is my wash bucket with lots of soap. You want a lot of suds on the paint while washing. DO NOT use a circular motion with your wash mit. Just back and forth and go the same directions every time you wash it that panel. I like going front to back. Some panels I will go up and down on, but for my truck. front to back
Do like a bedside sized area starting at the top and working down. Start on the Roof, windows, and hood. The rinse your mit and the washed area before going on to the next area.

I dry with a leaf blower and finish with a Waffle weave towel.

You need to keep the truck waxed. The more you wash it the more you need to wax it. Not a spray wax! A real buff on and off wax. Spray waxes are asking for scratches and most don't really do crap. When I DD my truck it got waxed 3 or 4 times a year and washed every 3 weeks or so.

In the end you will get scratches and have to buff them out

There are tons of vids on youtube on how to wash by the pro's. Same thing for waxing etc.

 

[clrussell]

Subd.. Learned some good things here.. Just bought my first black truck and hope to keep it nice

 

[Whitetail Addict]

On the soap, consistency is key. The quality soaps are thicker. As far as brand, I already made my suggestion.

 

[A. Stock Lbz]

FWIW I buffed the sides of it 3 months ago and it was waxed about a month ago.

 

[CentolaCCSB]

Im definitely gana get the adams car shampoo then cuz water stains really drive me nuts, and I'll definitely get the squeegee. I decided to check out youtube and a method for drying i saw wad wipe down with a microfiber drying towel and use spray detailer as you go

 

[A. Stock Lbz]

Im definitely gana get the adams car shampoo then cuz water stains really drive me nuts, and I'll definitely get the squeegee. I decided to check out youtube and a method for drying i saw wad wipe down with a microfiber drying towel and use spray detailer as you go

Never tried that method of drying but I would highly recommend sqeegying it dry and then waxing.

 

[CentolaCCSB]

Never tried that method of drying but I would highly recommend sqeegying it dry and then waxing.

Absolutely im gana give that a shot

 

[Chevy1925]

I wash it down with a spray hose, throw a little car wash soap in, use a micro fiber spong, rinse, dry with micro fiber towel and hit any water spots with Megiers detail spray and a different micro fiber towel. AZ heat drys a truck fast and I never get the truck dry before it drys its self. The detail spray help take any streaks out or missed spots.

Every year I clay bar the truck and wax twice a year with turtle wax black wax.

During the summer I have a mobile car wash friend of mine wash the truck. He does the two bucket method and the touch less water rinse that leaves the truck spotless after it self drys. Totally worth the 30 bucks he charges me

 

[Rancelot211]

Turtle wax back to black works very well. It's like 25$ at Walmart for a kit. Use it after you wash it and it will remove all the stuff you don't want then wax it with the stuff it comes with.

 

[CentolaCCSB]

I just saw that turtle wax black wax today i was wondering how good it actually is. I might give that a shot

 

[Chevy1925]

I can't speak enough about clay baring the truck before waxing though. New or old truck. It pulls all the shit out of the paint so you have a pristine surface to wax and seal up