I've never owned a black car before and have been looking at cleaning up the paint work which is in reasonable condition. In the right light there seems to be a fair bit of swirl marks and little round water drop stains all over the paint. I have been working on a corner of the hood to see if there is anything that can polish the paint back to like new again and so far everything I have used hasnt made a lick of difference.

I have used turtle swirl remover lightly, clay bared it, mothers micro glaze, and mother carnauba. Then i stand back from it and still looks the same as when I started, the water stains are still there and swirls and scratches still exactly as they were.

Should I step it up with a polisher? This paint is real soft and I don't want to damage it anymore then it already is. Or should I give up and just give it a regular shampoo?

 

Your best bet is to bring it to your local paint corrector/detail shop honestly. It will be cheaper* than buying the necessary equipment+learning curve to do it yourself.

 

Yea, talk to local guys that have exotics in excellent condition, and see who they use so you can find a reputable detailer/paint correction guy to go to. It's easy to seriously destroy the paint when trying to remove relatively "minor" imperfections if you don't know what you're doing.

 

Most cars I'd start of with a rubbing compound. Lightly massage it in and work you way to a glaze then polish it with a small handheld buffer. Try it in a small area. It's very easy to damage the clear coat on these cars especially on black. I've done a few all black ones. STAY AWAY from big high speed buffers, that can ruin the paint. Although depending on how long some of those water spots have been on there, you might be **** out of luck. If you have a professional detail shop locally, head there and see what they say.

 

The other option is pick up a Random Orbital Buffer, some quality pads, and some quality compounds and polishes and start practicing, it can save you a lot of money in the long run and it's a handy skill to have if your friends or family need the same thing, it's a great way to pick up a few hundred or more on the weekends.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYs...TkoxI5D17s1u-w watch and learn. I had no idea how badly i was screwing up my paint with my plebeian methods. This guy opened my eyes.

 

^^^^ I agree 100%! That guy is amazing, I learned alot by watching those videos. A random orbital, and some rubbing compound followed my polish and wax will do wonders.

 

Another youtube channel I like as well as the AMMO NY guy is Chemical Guys - https://www.youtube.com/user/chemicalGuys

I have also purchased their products and I enjoy them.. I'm by no means anywhere near a professional detailer

 

It is not difficult to polish your own car at all. Though I would not use a rotary, I would use a Dual Action(DA) polisher. Get a polisher, cutting compound and polishes and watch some videos. I have been able to get good results and I have had no prior training. Black sucks, but its easy to tell if you are actually correcting the paint or not. I have a white car so its hard to tell if I am doing anything without the right lighting/angles. Black is as obvious as it gets.