Owning a black car is a labour of love. I’ve had five in the past, and keeping them looking good does take a lot of time and commitment. I’m not sure there are any products that’ll increase the hardness of a car’s paintwork to stop scratching (other than maybe paint protection film or vinyl wrapping the car, both of which are very expensive!). Some ceramic sealants might
help prevent minor marring and scratching but the key to minimising paintwork scratches and swirls is primarily a good washing technique, once any scratches and swirls have been removed first.
The old school method of using a single bucket and sponge to wash with and a chamois leather to dry with will inflict swirls to a car’s paintwork, and with a black or any dark coloured car, they’ll be particularly noticeable in bright, sunny conditions. If your car is currently showing signs of scratches and swirls, and you already use - or intend to use a safe washing technique in future, then you might want to consider getting the paint work professionally corrected so you have a good scratch free and swirl free base to move forward from for the future.
A professional detailer will offer a range of services at varying prices that will involve decontamination of the paint work (remove iron and tar deposits and other surface contaminants) and correction/removal of the swirls and scratches by a number of machine polishing stages prior to applying a protective coating of a good wax or sealant. You should then have paintwork that’s in good condition, and it will be easier to keep it that way with a good washing technique. I invested in a dual action machine polisher a few years ago, and it’s paid for itself many times over, compared to what it would have cost me to get my car professionally detailed (I am OCD about my car’s paintwork, but fortunately enjoy car detailing ).
The key to minimising future swirling and scratching is minimal contact with the bodywork, so a pre-wash stage is worthwhile to remove most of the dirt before the main wash.
- Pre-wash stage; Snow foam and pre-rinse to remove most of the dirt before making contact with the paintwork during the main wash. While the dirt is being loosened / soaked during the pre-wash, wash the wheels, and the difficult to clean areas such as grilles, door shuts, inside the filler flap etc.
- Main wash; Two bucket wash method using a good quality ph neutral shampoo and wash mitt.
- Drying stage; with good quality car drying towels or a warm air dryer.
Lots of information on websites such as Detailing World on safe, effective washing techniques.
It’s also worth considering investing in some good quality detailing brushes for those difficult to clean areas mentioned at the pre-wash stage above, and also worth investing in some wheel cleaning brushes so you can clean the wheel barrels as well as the front face of the wheels. I’ve got a set of Wheel Woolies; they’re not cheap, but if they’re looked after they’ll give many years of good service.
In my experience, using a clay bar won’t prevent further scratches - the primary function of using a clay bar is to remove embedded contaminants from the paintwork in preparation for applying wax or sealant. Always ensure that plenty of lubrication is used with a clay bar to prevent marring of the paintwork. Once a car has been clayed, the paintwork should feel super smooth, and provides a good base for applying waxes or sealants, as they’ll bond to the car’s paintwork much more effectively than they will on a car that hasn’t been clayed.
Hope the above is useful and gives you some food for thought.[/Q