Anzafin

Lots of people on this forum has a black car. I suppose. So let me hear your secrets!

My e60 is sapphire black. I like the color very much, and it looks good, but as everyone knows, black is difficult. Is it?
My problem is those swirls and hair scratches that show up in bright light. What to do with them? Are they in a lacquer or in the paint itself?
I'd be okay if I just knew that there wouldn't be any more of them from this moment on. But it feels like they?re increasing all the time

I keep my car always well waxed. I use Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine.
I don't do anything that could actually hurt the paint or lacquer. I don't wash my car in those machines, I always wash it by hand. And when washing it, I use a special microfiber washing glove. For waxing and polishing I use special textiles too. It's hard to believe that washing my car by hand could make those swirls. And yes, I know how to wash a car...

I've had this 530d for six months. The previous owner said to me that he had waxed it only once in a 2 and a half year!
I noticed those swirls when buying it, so I knew about them. No need to speculate that issue.

Do you fellows have same problems with your carbon/sapphire black e60's or with some other (dark?) colors. Are those swirls out there in other colors too (but don't show up so easily)?

Here's a close pic of my hood. The distance here is 2 inches or so...

pa550

I've got the same color. Had it a year and a half and except for a few stone chips which I've touched up, the paint is factory fresh. Always hand wash using a micro fiber mitt. I dry it with 100% cotton towels, but before I dry it I spray the area with Griot's Speed Shine, then dry. Follow up with a micro fiber towel. If you already have swirl marks, get a Griot's random orbital polisher and polish them out. But first you should clay the car - it's really easy and fast and cleans all the particulate matter out of the paint leaving an absolutely pristine surface. Then you polish. Then you wax. Griot's products are pretty good. Check out their web site.

s4iscool

swirls have to be polished out with an orbital buffer (porter cable is my choice), once its polished, then seal it up properly with a sealant or wax. After that, you have to be careful when washing and drying the car. Its nearly impossible to have a practical washing regiment that will keep the clear 100% swirl free but extra effort will be worth it compared to careless owners.

andy545

one word : REJEX

Veight

One suggestion. When washing the car never use any kind of towel. May be the softest towel on earth but if it collects any grit at all its gonna scratch. They make washing brushes that have super soft and fine bristles. The tips of the bristles are split on the ends. As you dip the brush into the soapy water the grit drops to the bottom of the bucket and it can't scratch the car like it can if trapped in a microfiber towel. Also wash the car from the top down. This way the grit that is near the wheel wells or under the door sills isn't run across the hood. Keep spraying off the brush as you go. Use the microfiber towel for drying or removing the wax from the car. Also, never run a towel on the car after dust resettles on it.

tachyon

Actually, the surface of your car looks OK for a 3 year old E60.

As others have said - a good machine polishing will clean up those swirls marks in the clear coat and it will look good as new.

Good luck - show us some pics when you have it pristine again.

theXman

One thing I learned from another forum is always use 100% cotton towels to dry your car. And not just any 100% cotton towels, they have to be the one "Made in USA" (not too helpful to anyone outside of US - sorry). As I was told, the ones from India, Pakistan or similar contain or mix with some materials that would scratch the clear coat. That's how you get swirl marks over time if you are using those. Also I avoid going to car wash places, because they all use cheap towels. Just my 2 cents.

Anzafin

Everything you say is absolutely right. I'm some kind of relieved to hear that "it's quite normal" having those swirl marks in a dark color. I also made some searching on this forum and found similar threads and my feelings about this issue are fairly calm right now. I washed and waxed my car yesterday and now when observing the surface in a natural light from a decent distance, it looks allright to me... and maybe I can agree with tachyon
What say you?





Ok, bits of dust already there

khooger

Blow Dry with a leaf blower is the best....

slickrick

Are those your winter wheels? I've seen them in tirerack.com. Can you take a side shot so I can see how the car looks with the wheels? What size are they?

Thanks...