DNC

I am finding the black paint on my 06 LS isn't as forgiving as the black cars I have owned in the past. I am very careful when washing my car, doing the two bucket car wash, using the best mitts, and best towels. I am fortunate to have a wash pit in my barn and try to do the best job possible taking great care.
I purchased my car in the past month. The car has a few surface scratches and swirl marks. If this was any other black car I have owned in the past I would clay the car first, then apply Zymol HD Cleans, then finish with the appropriate Zymol wax.
Not being familiar with Lexus paint I would like to hear from others who have had success caring for a black Lexus and getting rid of these marks and scratches. Thanks.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Prevention only delays the re-swirling process unfortunately. Anytime you touch your paint you are risking putting them back on sadly...

The only way to remove them for sure is to buff them out (professionally or you can if you know how to do it). Glazes and waxes will temporarily fill them in but they'll be back so don't forget that

UDel

I would get a Porter Cable 7424 with some decent pads and polishes, your going to need it with a black car with a soft clearcoat like a LS has if you want it to be swirl scratch free as possible. The bad thing with soft clear coats is they scratch/swirl/chip easily, the good thing is they are usually much easier to correct then something with a hard clearcoat. Being careful with a soft black clear is still not going to guarantee you get no swirls and scratches because you are still going to get them with a daily driven black car. A good wax/sealant like Zaino, Jeff Werkstatt, Colonite 476S does help cut down on scratches and swirls because dirt and dust and other contaminants don't stick and bond as easily to your paint with a good coat of a very good protecting wax and are much more easily washed off with water and come off much easier with very light pressure from a rag/sponge. One thing to remember when washing cars is put very little to no pressure on the rag/sponge when you run it across the finish and more or less just let the weight of the rag do the work and glide of the finish with plenty of lubricant from the car wash, rinse the car the best you can to get most of the loose dirt and dust off before you let anything touch the finish and use plenty of car wash and don't just squirt the bucket with a jet of water to create a bunch of bubbles from the car wash because you loose the lubrication when you do that which will lead to more scratches/swirls.

jfelbab

Not much more to add here but for me the real secret to keeping a black car swirl free, besides using great technique, meticulous care and premium towels and applicators, is to wax and top it frequently. If you notice your paint surface right after you apply a wax or sealant is very slick. This slickness keeps dust and dirt from getting much of a grip on the paint. Unfortunately the slickness doesn't last as long as the shine. This slickness is what makes it really easy to wash your car without inducing scratching.

On my black Highlander I apply a Quik Wax or Gloss enhancing Quik Detailer product after every wash to restore the slickness. This adds about 20 minutes to the wash process but it does keep the paint swirl free much longer.

Shank2117

have it detailed and always keep a nice coat of wax on the car, a nice coat of wax will help prevent you rubbing the clearcoat when you wash and such.

Also, so far my favorite wax to use on my black lexus IS is NXT 2.0. it does a fanatastic job of hiding the swirls but it dosn't last more thne like 2 weeks.

Chris@GlimmerGlass

iTrader: (3)

Everyone else pretty much touched on everything I think. I would still start w/ the hd cleanse to see if it'll remove any of the swirls. I think you may need something a little more aggressive by the sound of it, but since you already have HDC, I would start there. If you want to jump up, you can do something like ssr2, which is a relatively strong polish to use by hand. You can then follow that up w/ a lighter polish such as ssr1 or polish w/ sealant (or poliseal, same product, different mfg). If that combo doesnt remove enough of the defects to your liking, you'll probably have to move to machine polishing and grab a porter cable 7424 (http://www.glimmerglassdetailing.com/poca74stkit.html) like UDel mentioned.
Then just try to be as gentle as possible w/ your washes. If you can use a foam gun on the car first to help dissolve, lift and rinse away some of the heavier dirt, I'd do that. It can only help to keep the wash induced marring down to a minimum. Then just keep a real durable wax on the vehicle, like collinite 476 or 915.

DNC

Thank you to all who replied to my posting. I do have a Porter Cable buffer but I think I am going to try the HD Cleans first, maybe more than one coat. It that doesn't work I will try with the buffer. I have always want to try the foam gun. With this black car I think this certainly justifies the purchase. Again, thanks to all.

Chris@GlimmerGlass

iTrader: (3)

anytime Let us know how the hdc works out! hopefully it does the trick and you dont need additional products.

However, if you do, the foam gun really does kick ***