The 'joys' of Brilliant Black paint

[BehindBlueEyes]

So, because I resent having to pay out of my own pocket for metallic on a lease car - only to give them back a car that's worth more money in 2yrs - I've recently taken delivery of a brilliant black Audi A3 sportback.

Do genuinely like the colour, and it looks great when clean, but am finding that it's picking up lots of scratches already after just 2 weeks. e.g. on the rear bumper where someone walking past the end of my drive has caught it with a shopping bag or similar, on the door mirror where I clipped a bush on a narrow lane this morning to avoid an oncoming car (thanks TomTom) and on the front wing where I suspect next door's cat is the culprit.

I'm not a detail obsessive and don't have rotary polishing tools, clay bars or any of that. At the moment they're all in the "I know they're there but most people wouldn't notice" category, but I'm fearful that after a few more months it's going to look visibly scratched.

Got myself some Meguirs Scratch-X and a microfibre cloth at the weekend, and already have some of the Colormagic black polish with the 'chip stick', but wondered what others are using. Think I might have to give up a Sunday morning and do a full wax soon.

 

[k84]

I resent having to pay out of my own pocket for metallic

I 100% agree. Ive never paid for metalic paint yet on a car - usually manage to get either the price dropped by whatever the metalic paint costs or have them do it free (whateverway they change the figures).....except with audi - so i too have ordered brilliant black.

I know that really doesnt help with your post, sorry

 

[pedalpower7]

Hi,

I went to 3 dealers when picking my car and they all said the same thing, do not order brilliant black, is shows scratches so easily, the moment you wash it it gets scratched. Not sure why they sell it like that, but i have heard this from too many people to ignore, so went for Phantom black.

 

[mitch78]

I've done nearly 70,000 miles in my Brilliant Black car and other than the bonnet/front wings (which you'd expect after thousands of motorway miles in 2 years) it's still great.

 

[Lee_R]

My A3 is Akoya but my Lupo is brilliant black and thats a nightmare to keep clean, it shows everything, most annoying are the water marks that dry quickly after washing it. Its like I have to polish it every time i wash it!

 

[BehindBlueEyes]

Glad to see I'm not alone! Had a solid black VW Golf Mk V and that didn't seem quite so bad as this (except for the alarming rate at which bird poo would damage it).

If I was buying with my own cash I would've gone for Lava Grey probably, but would sooner spend the £500 on other things since I'll never be getting it back.

Think GM own (or used to own) Masterlease, so it was always the case that you got free metallic on Vauxhalls!

The small 'cobweb' scratches bother me a lot less than some of the ones I've picked up already that have turned the clearcoat white (nowhere near deep enough to be primer) - hoping that Megs Scratch-X will help with this.

All-in-all I reckon another incentive to just leave the car dirty unless I particularly need to make a good impression!

 

[mac1403]

You have to be a real enthusiast to even contemplate having a black car. My last car was a Brilliant black A4 Quattro Sport and after having it for 5 years it was in better condition than the day i bought it. The colour magic stuff just hides swirls and only lasts a day or so. The only advice I could give is wash it very carefully, 2 buckets, a lambs wool mitt and a thick plush drying towel to blot dry the car. Ideally you need a orbital polisher, some Menzerna or Gloss-it to keep the marks in check and something like Blackfire polish. After 10 years (last 2 cars) of black cars I sympathise with anyone who owns one LOL

 

[D3mon]

Brilliant Black - when it's good it's *really* good, but when its bad, it's *terrible*!

A good wash process will help minimize the build up of marks on the paintwork and protecting with a sealant and/or wax will help prevent slight scuffs transferring to the paint surface. Also worth mentioning the Audi paint is (or at least used to be) particularly hard, which consequently makes it easy to scuff and difficult to polish effectively.

If you want to keep it looking well, head over to detailingworld.com or autopia-carcare.com for lessons in paint maintenance.

 

[pdv40]

Just don't wash it with a sponge or dry it with a chammy. That's a good start at least.

 

[AuldReekie]

I know the pain of owning a black car! The term once you've had black...does not apply.

Iggu has a Phantom Black and did a post on the Blackfire products he uses if this is any help.

 

[BehindBlueEyes]

Well after an hour with a bucket, shammy, meguirs Scratch-X 2.0, microfibre cloth and some Turtlewax colormagicm I'm now feeling somewhat better about my choice of colour. All scratches gone apart from the one on the bumper which can only be seen from 18-inches away and is really faint and no longer white. Scratch-X seems to be reasonable stuff given sufficient elbow-grease. Result!

Think a full wax will be in order given a decent, non-rainy, not-too-sunny morning.

Thanks for the tip re. the Blackfire products. Looks the nuts, but perhaps a bit rich for a lease car where I get none of the credit for looking after it but fined when things go wrong...

 

[davemk]

There's a product from Auto Glym called Super Resin Polish. It doesn't remove those fine scratches but it contains fillers to mask them. Use a sealant to seal in the polish and then wax and she'll come up a treat.

 

[mitch78]

...The term once you've had black...does not apply.

It does with me. For my last car I actually had 2 order forms completed (one for black and one for silver) and decided at the last second which one to hand over. I went with silver as I thought it'd be a change from all the black cars I'd had previously. Within a week of getting the car I was wishing that I'd gone for black again.

I didn't make the same mistake this time though.

 

[kaz219]

Its a ****** headache to keep clean but providig you have a nice layer of wax and seleant on it, you should be able to avoid the minor marks.

I use mequires clay, sonus polish, meguires wax and a selant (cant remember which one) but it comes out a treat

 

[Gryphon001]

Ok... all I have to say is that a good layer of very good wax can save you from a lot. I may be one of the poor ******** who splurged for the metallic paint, mine being the Lava Gray, but I have made it a point of taking good care of the paint. A bit excessive sometimes to be quite honest but I have managed to keep most scratches and swirl marks away so far. 15 months and 40K on it and still looking good.

My first step was to just thoroughly research different car wax products and I found that one of the best reviewed ones was the P21S system. I believe it's the R222 in europe. About 4 months after getting the car and starting on the wax regiment I had a bit of a run in with a cyclist. Guy decided it would be a good idea to drive out in front of a car making a right turn. The guy was fine, but the impact did crack my fog light grill and resulted in some nasty looking scuff lines on the bumper. While waiting fot the police to arrive I casually ran my hand over my bumper... and voila! The marks were gone, completely. To this day there is not even the faintest scratch on the bumper, no lack of stone chips by now... but no scratches.

The point of this overly long rant is that you should wax your car at least a couple of times a year to make sure you have that protection. It's not perfect but it helps.

 

[PregnantNproud]

There is that clear plastic sticker that fits on bumpers provided by audi. Its not amazingly noticeable.

I like brilliant black, but i'm a big fan of having black cars matt.

 

[ST09]

I've got a brilliant black A3 and I love it .. Unlike some fellow members I believe brilliant black looks better than phantom black .. I agree its really pain in the back side to keep it clean but hey '' no pain no gain '' .. I wash it every weekend i.e if the weather permits and use blackfire gloss enhance polish ... few weeks back I spent time on her laid down a coat of autoglym resin polish, two coats of blackfire enhance gloss polish and two coats of raceglaze 55 and the result was as below

 

[BehindBlueEyes]

ST09 - that looks awesome.

I thoroughly intend to give the car a nice coat of wax in the coming weeks as I agree it's a great way to protect the paint.

Trying to steer clear of the phantom vs brilliant debate as I reckon they'd both be just as demanding to keep clean, but I do look the glossy finish of a well polished solid car.

Just got rid of my dark silver metallic Mini and that had to be the best colour for hiding both dirt and scratches.

As I have to park with my rear bumper ever-so-slightly hanging out onto the pavement, and I live just off a main road with a Waitrose on it (that has no car park) I've accepted that when I eventually move out of this place I might have to get the bumper re-sprayed. Having seen people's driving around here though, that's far preferable to parking it on the road!

 

[davemk]

Phantom / Brilliant...I agree, they're both going to be a headache to keep clean. BUT when they're clean, they look stunning. I like the depth of the brilliant black and the pearl of the Phantom. Both lovely colours.

Here's a chance to whore a couple of pics of mine. One was just using AG Extra Gloss Protection (first pic), the others are after a coat of Lusso Oro.

 

[D3mon]

Nice beading!
Got the first opportunity to polish mine a couple of weekend's back (I had some spare time + it wasn't too sunny + it wasn't threatening rain)

Got a bit rushed towards the end and forgot the golden rule of Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection (sealant) - don't cover the entire car then go back and buff it all off. As a result I've got patches of dried-in, excess sealant marks on some of the panels! Bah! I'll have to go back and do it all again at some point.

Didn't get round to waxing this time, but my current wax is P21s. When that runs out, I may stray to Dodo Supernatural, which is supposed to be fantastic.

The other thing to watch is getting white polish/sealant/wax residues on your weather stripping (rubber/plastic) and in the gaps between panels etc. Autoglym can tend to be quite powdery and, of course, the powder is 'brilliant' white!

 

[davemk]

Nice beading!


Got a bit rushed towards the end and forgot the golden rule of Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection (sealant) - don't cover the entire car then go back and buff it all off.

Thanks .


Regarding your last comment, you're supposed to do exactly that - cover the car and then leave it for about an hour before buffing off. If you're having trouble removing it, it may be that you applied too much. The key is to use it sparingly.

 

[D3mon]

Right yes, probably a combination of that and the fact that it was getting sunnier as I was working on it and drying it out quicker. I'm using the little yellow Meguiar's foam applicator to put it on, but I have tended to use quite a bit so I get a good coverage. Maybe using a microfibre cloth would give a better overall result.

 

[davemk]

The general advice over on detailing world is to apply 2 thin layers rather than 1 thick layer to ensure good coverage. Definitely sounds like you've over-applied it TBH.

 

[D3mon]

Good advice, if you've got the time.

 

[d3sbo]

mine is going to get a full work out soon 8 months off sponge and chammy

Product: Poorboys Nattys Paste Wax Blue
Product: Poorboys EX-P Sealant
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Product: PoorBoys - Black Hole
Product: Dodo Juice - Sour Power Shampoo 500ml
Product: Meguiars Wheel Spoke Brush
Product: Premium Blue Rim & Wheel Cleaner
Product: Ultra Plush Microfibre Cloths Pkg/3 16" x 16"
Product: Huge 38" x 28" Microfibre Drying Towel
Product: Sonus Acrylic Glanz
Product: DAS-6 Dual Action Polisher - Menzerna Kit