Let me hear about your process on Black Sapphire cars.

[MR_X]

Been avoiding buying black cars for a long time. My wife just got me an M4 in Black Sapphire Metallic with Silverstone Grey interior as my retirement present. She went to the complete opposite side of color of choice I prefer but do have to say, it is a nice combination.

Anyways, so with having a black car again, this has me taking the extra steps to ensure there are no swirl marks on the car and keeping that deep shine. I have been sticking to the old ways of maintaining the paint of my cars. Now there are a plethora of product out there that are changing the way this used to be done.

So far my process works pretty good but is it the most effective? I just discover touchless car washing..pretty cool. I use Rejex as a sealant then top it off with Chemical Guys Black Light and it seems to work pretty good. I avoid the use of the cutting pads if I have to (so far so good).

So now, I'm looking into other "top coat" protection product. Been reading a lot about DIY ceramic coating and I'm in between 2 products for this. Got a few friends telling me not to try the ceramic coating stuff and to use products like F11 and TLC. Been reading all sort of reviews and comparison about this type of products and don't really understand where they fall and what is their purpose. Do they replace a ceramic coating? Is this for long last protection or for those in between waxing jobs? Is waxing still a thing?

Then the interior...no idea how to care for it other than applying some leather cleaner and conditioner. I haven't done this yet because the conditioner I have does leave a bit of gloss on the leather. I do have full extended leather if that changes anything.

Also, as I mentioned that I'm retiring. I'm going to be moving from a house to an apartment for about 6 months till I officially retire and relocate to Texas. How do you guys without garages go about detailing your cars out of the sun?

I do understand that different folks, different strokes but I have a feeling that I'm missing out on something. Let me hear what you guys think and where can I improve my process. Thanks

[moonluv810]

I was in the same boat. I'm a detailing enthusiast and I did not dare getting a black car for many years. My wife convinced me getting a BSM M3. While it's pain in the a$$ to keep it looking clean, it's amazingly gorgeous when it's clean.

For exterior, do a full paint correction and a ceramic coating. I went with CQuartz UK, but there are many other good options out there.
If you don't have time or patience, I suggest having it professionally done.
The ceramic coating makes daily/weekly maintenance much more bearable and it adds another layer protection against swirling and spider webbing.
I use foam cannon and 2-bucket method for weekly washing.

The spray "coating" is only a topper. You use it every other week or so, but it won't give you the same level of protection as a ceramic coating.

The leather is coated from factory. I did apply Carpro leather coating for another layer of protection since I plan to keep this car a long term. Daily/weekly maintenance only requires light dusting and wiping with damp microfiber towel.

Always avoid washing and detailing under full sun and heat.

Good luck and enjoy!

[PhatLyfe]

Yes, I'm in the market for BSM with either Black or Sakir Orange interior, I plant to get the car ceramic coated and PPF as soon as I get the vehicle, these NY/NJ road are notorious picking up loose gravel and don;t need to the paint to be chipped or scratched. CC & PPF is the best way to avoid damage on a nice glossy pain.

@Moonluv810, that is an awesome glass coat shine...

[ellipsis212]

Absolutely get ceramic coating.

It doesn't work quite as well as advertised for keeping the car clean (bc you know...black paint) but it will generally prevent you from swirling the paint during the requisite twice daily washes.

[jdgamble]

Best bet is ppf on as much as you can afford. Ceramic is good, but it still scratches. You 2BM is great... try adding a little rinseless wash in both buckets. That will provide more lubrication. And of course high quality microfiber and/or a leaf blower for drying. Good luck. Black is beautiful but seriously time consuming.

[Eric S]

PPF for the win! No more swirling

[louielouie]

I've had ceramic coating on my car for about 1.5 years now and the main benefit is the ease in maintenance. If I had to go back and do it again, I'd probably opt for PPF. Over my coating, I have CarPro Reload and P & S Bead Maker. Bead Maker as the final LSP produced the best results for me so far. I have a write up here.

As for losing the garage, I recommend Optimum No Rinse. A quick search and you're going to find a lot of information on how solid this product is.

I've never used this one but FROTHe from AMMO NYC is another option.

Interior - My only experience is something old from Meguiar's I used to use and then Chemical Guys Odorless/Colorless leather cleaner and Sonax Alcantara cleaner. CG leather cleaner has worked well for me and I've had no issues with it. Sonax I've only used once so far as I regular brush and vacuum my alcantara but no issues with this either.

[jzmundy]

Black is never going to not be a pain to keep clean, but my god is BSM so much easier than Jet Black. The silver flake in BSM helps mute the appearance of minor imperfections whereas everything is on display with JB, which was also one of the softest paints I've ever encountered.