I have a Mk1 in brilliant black (PZ) with some light scratches and swirls that I want to remove. I’ve done a quick test and the paint is single stage. Does anyone have any tips or advice before I set off with a DA and meguiars polishing compound? Obviously, I plan to wash, clay etc… before I start.
I’ve done some research and seen that Poorboys Super Swirl Remover or Black Hole is apparently good but it would be great to hear if anyone has had any experience with these on pZ.
Did a full paint correction on the A5 during Covid and it looked like new after I’d finished it.
If you’ve got a DA, I’m probably teaching you to suck eggs, but go light compond / light pad for the first pass and see what the results are. The hex-logic pads are awesome for the DA.
Meguiars Ultimate Compound is good polish and diminishes nicely so you shouldn’t over do it, but it’s quite aggressive on soft Japanese paint so don’t go using it often. Try it single stage but you may find you need to refine the finish with something gentler such as Scholl S20 Black 1 Step Compound or Sonax EX 04-06 that you work from milky to clear over about 3-4 minutes (or gentler still for regular use would be Poorboys SSR 1 and Scholl S40). These polishes are quite pad sensitive, so use those to adjust the cut to suit.
Usual stuff just in case you’re not aware: All the above are oil based polishes so you will need to use panel wipe (or homebrew 20% IPA solution) afterward to shift it and see what finish you’ve actually achieved. Watch out for heat building up in the pad as it’ll ruin it, generally have two to swap between. And mask up your plastics and rubber to stop staining. If you need more advice I can DM you my self-help guide.
Black Hole is a glaze, not a polish. It will look awesome for about 2 weeks, then all wash out! On the DA you’ll want a soft pad and medium speed, and don’t panel wipe it afterwards! I recommend you seal or ceramic coat first before going on with Black Hole.
I have followed the steps on the video link below. on 3 cars now. As @ckyliu mentioned the paint is pretty soft so take it eady with the main cutting compound. You will be able to gauge and control the DA machine after 5-10 mins by looking at the results on the swirl marks.
It’s the single stage paint that is the biggest challenge, i.e. one without any top lacquer. So have a few pads spare as they turn black quite quickly! In modern terms, the detailing industry has come to define ‘single stage’ as the approach to compound & polishing stages, that promotes confusion.
I went light cut with a DA when I had mine ( appropriate grade Chemical Guys hex logic pad from memory, with Menzerna Intensive Polish). Then refined with Menz Final Finsh polish.
Then Black Hole, then Jeff’s Prime sealant to lock in the filling capabilities of the Black Hole. Finally some Collinite 476S as a harder wax layer, then topped off with Victoria Concourse for a bit more pop serving as the more sacrificial LSP layer…
I’m not saying never polish/correct paint, but anything you do like that is removing paint you’ll never get back. If you’re always cleaning/doing some kind of detailing the swirls will eventually re-occur, and then you start the cycle again removing more paint.
I try to focus on ‘polishes’/waxes that are non abrasive and contain lots of fillers (to fill the swirls). The finish isn’t quite as good, and they don’t last all that long, but I just reapply them when I think they’re needed and happy I think they’re non destructive to the paint.
Thats’s why I chose it so as not to remove paint.
I had metallic lacquerd coated black paint so had to be extremely careful.
Hence, why I never will buy another black car!
Very nice, but a tad tedious having to use cotton gloves all the time (so to speak).
(Just some of the blog about it…).
“Poorboys Black Hole glaze cleans and fills light swirl marks to leave a brilliant, glossy, slick show car shine. It can be applied any time to hide minor imperfections and to enhance gloss on black, red, and all dark vehicles.
It allows you to hide minor imperfections on dark vehicles until you can remove them, (if you wanted to of course).
It’s a wipe on, wipe off product. Spread with a soft, clean foam applicator. If applying by machine, set your polisher to a low speed and work until a shine begins to appear”.
Black Hole is a glaze, it doesn’t remove swirls, just helps fill them in. Which it does a pretty good job of - I have some in the cupboard myself
I’d say black is ‘worse’, Mazda or otherwise, due to its ability for showing up imperfections more clearly. For example, you could have the same level of swirl , stone chips etc on a silver car and it wouldn’t be as obvious.
I’ve had 5 black cars in the past (including an NA MX-5) and they look brilliant when cleaned and with sufficient paint prep and protection, but not really a recommended choice for general car ownership in my book.
