I give up!

Rickmeister 48

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I have a Crystal black pearl EX-T.
It's a year old now I beat myself to death through the summer trying to keep pollen and honey dew ,along with all the normal dirt flying around. I washed and waxed using the two bucket method with edgeless microfiber towels,etc etc.
Now I've been through winter trying to combat salt all over it almost every week. Waxed it again before winter, I've used Lucas slick mist with those microfiber towels to try and keep it clean .
My car is so full of scratches that I'm ready to scream, it's impossible to keep it clean for more than half a day. I'm so sorry I ever got black and really wish I had gotten the lunar silver. I give up on it.
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gtman

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My dark Cosmic Blue is almost the same as far as it looking dirty all the time.

Try using a claybar followed by some polish and some wax or sealant this spring. It will come back to life.
 
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Rickmeister 48

Rickmeister 48

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My dark Cosmic Blue is almost the same as far as it looking dirty all the time.

Try using a claybar followed by some polish and some wax or sealant this spring. It will come back to life.
I clayed it too before I waxed it, I don't know if that will remove all these scratches though :(
I've got all kinds of crap from being parked under some very old trees,falling branches, acorns putting dents.
I will cost and was it soon as the weather gets better,but other than that,I'm done going out there five times a day everyday,lol
 

gtman

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Clay won't remove the scratches and swirls but try the polish before the wax. That should help.

Try something like this before wax or sealant:

https://www.autogeek.net/pbpp16.html
 

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After 3 black cars, I've vowed never again. Black is fantastic when it is clean and polished. And that lasts all of a couple of minutes when you drive it again. You just have to live with the fact that dark colours highlight every flaw in the paint.
 


Billy4202

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After 3 black cars, I've vowed never again. Black is fantastic when it is clean and polished. And that lasts all of a couple of minutes when you drive it again. You just have to live with the fact that dark colours highlight every flaw in the paint.
100%. This is my first and probably last black-ish car ever. Looks better than every other color when perfectly clean tho.
 

callmehandsum

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If the only steps you're using are the one's you posted, then you're not actually removing the micro-scratches, a.k.a. swirls. Any time you touch your paint in a swiping motion, you will induce swirls, no matter the color. The two bucket method and microfiber towels helps reduce the amount of swirls you'll put on your paint, but again, you're still touching the paint. Most of the swirls are probably from drying, so try changing that step. I use distilled water for the final rinse. The benefit is you can let the car air dry without causing water spots. This change will not remove your car's swirls but will reduce the amount you create from there on out.

But first things first, you need to properly polish the car. This is something you'll want to study up on. It's going to take a legit polish, like Meguiars M205 (a fine polish) and a real polisher (like the Porter Cable 7424XP). If M205 doesn't work, you'll need a more aggressive product (like M105, a compound). Claying removes bonded contaminants and is a necessary step before polishing, but claying also creates more swirls!! I feel your frustration, but you only see more and more swirls because you're not actually removing them with any of the steps you listed. All car colors will develop swirls with even the best techniques, but some techniques will cause less. Polish your car properly, change your wash technique and you'll notice a lot less swirls.
 

ParkwayDrive13

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If the only steps you're using are the one's you posted, then you're not actually removing the micro-scratches, a.k.a. swirls. Any time you touch your paint in a swiping motion, you will induce swirls, no matter the color. The two bucket method and microfiber towels helps reduce the amount of swirls you'll put on your paint, but again, you're still touching the paint. Most of the swirls are probably from drying, so try changing that step. I use distilled water for the final rinse. The benefit is you can let the car air dry without causing water spots. This change will not remove your car's swirls but will reduce the amount you create from there on out.

But first things first, you need to properly polish the car. This is something you'll want to study up on. It's going to take a legit polish, like Meguiars M205 (a fine polish) and a real polisher (like the Porter Cable 7424XP). If M205 doesn't work, you'll need a more aggressive product (like M105, a compound). Claying removes bonded contaminants and is a necessary step before polishing, but claying also creates more swirls!! I feel your frustration, but you only see more and more swirls because you're not actually removing them with any of the steps you listed. All car colors will develop swirls with even the best techniques, but some techniques will cause less. Polish your car properly, change your wash technique and you'll notice a lot less swirls.
Great explanation! Two bucket system, distilled water works wonders.

And i'll 2nd this... polishing is a must!
 
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Rickmeister 48

Rickmeister 48

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If the only steps you're using are the one's you posted, then you're not actually removing the micro-scratches, a.k.a. swirls. Any time you touch your paint in a swiping motion, you will induce swirls, no matter the color. The two bucket method and microfiber towels helps reduce the amount of swirls you'll put on your paint, but again, you're still touching the paint. Most of the swirls are probably from drying, so try changing that step. I use distilled water for the final rinse. The benefit is you can let the car air dry without causing water spots. This change will not remove your car's swirls but will reduce the amount you create from there on out.

But first things first, you need to properly polish the car. This is something you'll want to study up on. It's going to take a legit polish, like Meguiars M205 (a fine polish) and a real polisher (like the Porter Cable 7424XP). If M205 doesn't work, you'll need a more aggressive product (like M105, a compound). Claying removes bonded contaminants and is a necessary step before polishing, but claying also creates more swirls!! I feel your frustration, but you only see more and more swirls because you're not actually removing them with any of the steps you listed. All car colors will develop swirls with even the best techniques, but some techniques will cause less. Polish your car properly, change your wash technique and you'll notice a lot less swirls.
Well, I don't have swirls,they are all straight scratches , I read somewhere it was easier to remove them than swirls,so I always wash and dry in a front to back motion. I don't have access to a hose where I live,so I have to use a hand carwash,but always use the buckets and better shampoo, but I've tried using their so called spot free rinse and that is a joke.
Ill give it a polishing like you suggest once it gets nice enough out ,but I still swear it gets scratches just from driving it,lol
 

callmehandsum

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Well, I don't have swirls,they are all straight scratches , I read somewhere it was easier to remove them than swirls,so I always wash and dry in a front to back motion. I don't have access to a hose where I live,so I have to use a hand carwash,but always use the buckets and better shampoo, but I've tried using their so called spot free rinse and that is a joke.
Ill give it a polishing like you suggest once it gets nice enough out ,but I still swear it gets scratches just from driving it,lol
They're not any easier to remove. It'll take the same effort, straight scratches, curved scratches, same difference. Yeah, car wash spot free rinses are almost always a joke. Have you considered hiring a professional?
 


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Rickmeister 48

Rickmeister 48

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They're not any easier to remove. It'll take the same effort, straight scratches, curved scratches, same difference. Yeah, car wash spot free rinses are almost always a joke. Have you considered hiring a professional?
Hiring a professional is out of the question,lol I'm on disability and can barely afford the car :)
 

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what about Aegean Blue vs Lunar Silver ?
thinking on getting Blue but if have these problems with dirty same as black I will choose silver
 

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I feel for you, bud. My 9th gen was that same black. It looked like *garbage* by the time I traded it. It seemed like I was always having to polish it or do something to keep it from looking spotty. I hadn't ever clayed a car until I got this one, but I'm not sure if clay would have been enough. After awhile of putting worlds of time into trying to keep it looking good... I just gave up and ran it through auto car washes and applied wax twice a year.

I'd had a black Xterra immediately prior to the 9th gen... and had it for 7 or 8 years vs the 3 I had the Civic. Despite 3 of those years being in upstate NY and 1 or 2 being in Washington, both places with snow and NY where they salt... it looked worlds better than the Civic when I passed it on.
 

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Oh, the struggle of owning a black car. When I first got my car, it already had tons of very fine scratches. Probably from the dealership. Even after claying, polishing with griot polisher, and waxing, the scratches will not go away. Black cars look so nice but is a full time job
 

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a full time job
...one that takes all your time and never seems to pay back. You just sit there... looking at a car that's 99% beautiful for all the time you put into it.... but all you can see is the 1% of flaws that ruin it.
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