Stoge

Is it me, or is black paint nearly impossible to keep looking good? Lately, I have seen a wealth of black vehicles that have finishes which are full of swirl marks. My best friend's chevelle is red with black stripes, and the black stripes have swirl marks all over the place, and the red still looks perfect. My corvette still has a decent shine, even though it has the original paint, but up close, it is basically one big swirl mark with various nicks and chips.

I will be repainting the '79 at some point, hopefully this year. I want to keep it black, because frankly, Corvettes were meant to be black (or so I think anyway...). However, I keep thinking that maybe a light blue or dark green might be easier to take care of than black.

I know that there are things you can do, like Zaino, etc... but I would rather have a finish that I can keep looking great with car care products that are avaliable on the shelves of my local partshouses.

So for those of you who have black Corvettes, what do you do to keep them looking great? Has anyone here ever been able to get rid of swirl marks?

lars

Simon -
I've painted a few show cars black. If you have a really high quality finish with some good body work, black sure shows off the workmanship - just like it shows off all the defects and swirl marks....
Yes, black is very difficult to keep looking good. You can make it look like a mirror after buffing it out with the final finishing compound, and then you'll pick up "spider webbing" in it the first time you run a chamois across the surface after washing it. Keeping black looking perfect is a high maintenance ordeal, but when it looks good, it REALLY looks good. I'm considering building a black car for myself, but the thought of the maintenance is holding me back... Of course, if you leave a little "orange peel" in the finish and don't do a really good job of it, the swirls marks won't show up - just like a factory paint job... - but then, what's the point..?

The lighter colors can still show off your good body work, but are significantly lower maintenance. If you're building a "driver" you might want to consider anything but black. If you're going to show it or keep it garaged, make it black.

fastback79

Simon I also have a 79' vette that is black and was once a daily driver here in New Jersey. With our weather, the car always looked dirty wether it be pollen, snow, rain, salt, etc. I had even considered painting the car fluorescent yellow. Here are a few things I've learned: The car will look cleaner if the wheels and tires are in good shape, use lots of wheel dressing. I even painted the wheel wells to make them look newer. I invested in a Wolf car cover and an orbital waxer. With the waxer, detailing takes much less time and effort. I give it a light buffing in order not to leave lots of swirls. A clay bar will help too. Lastly, I don't know your taste, but I think black is the meanest color out there.