Just bought my Obsidian 07 IS250 on Friday and when its in the garage under the fluorescent lights you can EASILY see tons of little thin hair light scratches all over the whole car. But in the sun you cant see them at all nor anywhere else. I had the perma plate put on already so I imagine they are on there for good now, but I was told by a couple of people thats just the way all black cars come brand new. They said its impossible for dealerships to keep them clean without getting those little scratches from the drying towels on a black car. So how did everyone else's who got a black car look?

 

nature of the beast. I defy you to find any black car that doesn't have them to some degree.

 

Okay did they wash your car at the dealership? if they did then that sucks cuz they have rocks and stuff on those mits and rags they use. They drop them like a million times and its like putting sand paper on your paint i never have my dealership wash my car its a no no or else i wont pay for the serives they did to my car due to straches soo they know better to not wash my car so if they did then thats whats its from the dealership washing your car.

 

Mine was perfect when I picked it up, but then the first time I took in (the next day, tire sensors) they scratched it all up when they ran it through their car wash. I made them buff it back out. You should make your dealer do the same. Unfortunately your going to get them again, that is just the way black is. Black has to be buffed out fairly often.

 

dang... i was afraid of that... oh well... like i said I can really only see them in the garage under that light. Anywhere else the car looks perfect!

 

You can easily buff these scratches out. Just use a good polish. Check the detailing forum.

 

Every car comes with micro/minor swirls/scratches. Its just the nature of the beast. Rail dust is probably on your car as well.

Wash
Clay
Polish
Seal
Wax

 

Can they be buffed out even after the perma plate coating has been applied?

 

oof...not many people have tried that...come to think of it...none have!
I'd call permaplate corp. and ask them! www.permaplate.com

 

Polishing will remove sealants/waxes, and essentially levels your clearcoat to the level of the deepest swirl to remove them, so yes. If the dealer applied perma plate over swirled paint, you might want to get your money back. It's just a sealant anyway...you can be 99% sure that you got ripped off on that stuff. I wish people would stop buying sealants from dealers for hundreds of dollars...it's a bad idea. I just checked the Perma Plate website, and they're clear that you should apply a "renewer" every 6 months. That's their way of telling you to reapply their sealant after it wears off, just like any other bottle of $10-20 sealant or wax.

The only way to buy a swirl free car is to insist that the dealer leave the prep to you. That is, leave the plastic protective sheets on the car, not wash it, and deliver it to you that way. If anyone gets a car from a dealership that appears swirl free, it's because they use sealants with oils that temporarily fill the swirls. VERY FEW dealers use good washing methods that will result in minimal swirls.

In my experience, even the most fastidious car nut will get swirls on the finish of a dark car over time. If a car is driven and washed, it will absolutely need to be polished every once in a while. My IS is 8 months old, and I lightly polished it once already before applying sealant and wax. A previous poster hit the nail on the head re: rail dust - I've never purchased a new car that didn't have contaminants in the paint that required clay.

 

I don't have a black IS but I do have a Black SLK than comes with many micro scratches since they are the black car they always has some!

 

The Obsidian is a veryyy tempting color, is the KING of all colors, thats why all deplomats go for the dark black color (Obsidian), to them its not much of a problem those micro scratechs , but to us with the car we love,its realy a head spining thing, to keep thinking and watching your car Not being scratched or Micro scratched, any way i'm happy with it.

 

Yea so am I, I am just trying my best not to look at her in the garage. The minute shes out I can stare all day long!

 

The salesman showed me that color and said that the delivery day will be the last time the car will look this good. That's why I didn't buy that color.

 

lol thats funny. No said anything to me and I guess I am glad they didnt. I dont really care too much about it now that I have it and know the problem exists... like I said I NEVER see it except under the perfect conditions and I know no one else ever sees it either!