Paint scratches ridiculously easy on black truck

Black vehicles are the biggest pain in the ass to take care of, but they also look the best when they are taken care of. I don't have the time or patience to take care of a black vehicle. My ex had a black car and I swear I was buffing that thing almost every other weekend because the swirl marks drove me crazy. I am super critical of how my vehicles look. The only thing you can do is buff the swirls out and wax the crap out of it. Use only micro fiber towels and wash mitts. Make absolutely sure that your wash mitt is free of debris and dirt/dust before allowing it to touch your truck. I drove my 16 dcsb up a trail that was way too narrow for it, got home and spent the next 2 weekends buffing out the scratches in the blue paint. I used the Griots Garage buffer that I bought with a kit that they were selling during Hot August Nights a few weeks ago. That thing is AMAZING and so are their compounds. I used to be a loyal Meguiars user, but not anymore. Griots is great stuff. I'm wrapping the sides in satin black so I don't have to do that again. Good luck with your truck. Black looks the best to me but, it definitely requires the most attention to keep scratchless.

 

@LEXICON Nevermind disregard this reply, I see where you cleared up what you meant.

No actually you're supposed to wash from top to bottom... think about it this way, when you start by washing the top all of the dirt will run down the already dirty parts of the vehicle, you still have to clean those parts anyway. If you wash from bottom to top then you'll clean your rocker panels, then wash above them, and dirt will drop back to where you just washed undoing all the work and then you increase your chances of scratching. If you wash a black vehicle properly with the two bucket wash method, and dry it correctly (I use filtered air with the Metro Vac Master Blaster Revolution), then you can maintain perfect paint free of swirls and scratches. I wash mine properly but I still have a bunch of scratches from wheeling and tree branches, I don't mind defects in my trucks paint so long as I know they're not coming from the wash process. The washing process is supposed to be good for your cars paint not harmful. If I had a car that never left pavement I'd definitely have perfect paint (or as perfect as it can get living in Alaska lmao).

 

Enjoy your first black vehicle.

I bet you didn't heed the warnings of everyone who said "Don't do it."

 

Ahhh I feel your pain! I have a black Tacoma and the obviously in the pictures you can tell at all but the swirls bother me so much that I traded in my black Tacoma and a picked up a 17 quicksand tan 4x4 off-road instead. even though I took a loss on the trade in I'm so glad I got the new QS tan taco!

 

one of the reasons i traded my black 15 pro in on my 17 pro, it scratched just looking at it..

 

Welcome to the quicksand fold where we spend more time driving, less time cleaning.

 

You should see what mine looks like after I tried a DIY buff-out with some 8000 grit cloth and some polish....

 

Black Trucks Matter...in the same boat....

 

Haha thanks! It was so hard to keep the truck clean that I didn't even like driving it because I knew that when i got home I would have to clean it all over again haha

 

I guess i'll continue to wash my vehicles wrong....
I AGREE washing top to bottom, I'm merely stating 1ST THING to wash from bottom to top to remove grime and dirt and to clearly see what you have washed properly BEFORE WASHING THOROUGHLY TOP TO BOTTOM.
IMO its just another step but a good one.

and i digress

 

Really!?? Ahh I loved your truck...

 

Just go with it. This is my third black vehicle in a row. I know its a labor of love, but I'm okay with it. Mine gets washed every couple of weeks and I'm diligent on using best practices to minimize the micro-scratches...but they're still there. I DO NOT use auto washes...only by hand. Most people don't give a rat's ass about their vehicles, at least not as much as I do mine, it seems. So, when parked next to another black vehicle, mine ALWAYS looks better than theirs, 99% of the time. Both have micro's, but mine are FAR and away less. There are those 1% that take it to the next level, but I have a life and its not buffing the hell outta my truck every weekend. Plus, from 5' away, you can't see any of them...even in direct sunlight...its only in the 2' range and less that its noticeable.

Also, part of the problem is that the black is too black. It would have been helpful if it had the metal flake in it like last gen...I had the Black Sand Pearl and the micro's were defiantly there but much less visible due to the metal flake. Black looks the best of any color when clean...but it looks the worst when dirty.

 

I had black (202) and blue ribbon (8T5) Tacomas. I used "Liquid Glass" on both with good results. I also have a horse hair brush for washing that seems to be easy on the finish.

 

I've had very good results on my black truck with this: http://www.zainostore.com/mm5/merch...=Z&Product_Code=Z-5&Category_Code=polishshine

 

Hahaha yeah... I kinda kept it on the down low. I really really liked black but it was so so hard to keep clean. And I'm really really picky when it comes to paint and scratches and swirl marks and what not. Had to give it up. Lol don't worry the QS tan truck will look even better

 

Welcome to a black vehicle. I keep telling myself I'm not getting black again, and then I get black again.

 

Have a reputable detail shop correct the paint and install a ceramic coating. I have Ceramic Pro on all my vehicles. The coating will help to prevent minor scratches and marring from washing. The process isn't cheap but far less than the hit you'd take if you traded for a different color.

Here is a good example of what can be done with paint correction.

The coating is also super glossy!

 

Some of us learn from our mistakes. Others do not. After owning a black bmw I will never go down the road of buying a black vehicle again.

 

Kinda dont blame you, its pissing me off a bit. Oh well, maybe one day give it a cement paint job..
I look forward to what you do with the QS

 

Yeah it was a hard decision but one that I'm definetly happy with!