My 4runner is silver so it pretty much never looks dirty, but my wife got a black tacoma and i am having a hell of time trying to keep it clean, also the swirl marks are crazy. I have been using the same polish for the past 15 years duragloss 101, but i am seeing all these new products, F11, Last Coat, Chemical Guys, and now everybody is talking about ceramic coating. Are any of these new products any good?
Black paint detailing products
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igetfortunota
New member
Ill jump in here.
I have been in the restorative detailing world for roughly 2 decades, before “paint correction” was a buzz saying. I also was the very very first person in the US to have the very first Cquartz product in hand in the US, when it was actually called AQuartz(long pretty ugly story, pm if you want more on this). But literally.
First point: there is mostly nothing ceramic about ceramic coatings.. Find the MSDS to a majority and you will find that a majority of them are siloxane based. Siloxanes are heavy duty silicones, same, but stronger ingredients akin to those mixed into various waxes, sealants and tire dressings. Heck, siloxanes are also in hair conditioners.
NOTE: This is why a lot of them explicitly tell you to avoid heavy detergent soaps and washes. Because it degrades them very fast.
An exception to explore is optiCOAT, or if you want an EASY sealant, optiSEAL.
Since youre a duragloss guy 501/105 would be really easy for cleaner/polishing combo.
I think if your wifes paint is driving you bonkers you have a couple options, both entail a slight dissection of how its being washed. If shes a car wash lady, forget your sanity. If you are doing the washing, something like a ton of rinsing, two bucket method and a sheepskin mitt, left to soak in soap solution while you rinse may be a solid option paired with taking your time.
If not, Toyota may have just chosen paint materials that really like to be marred.
I have always been a huge proponent of “if you touch, add to it” meaning regardless of whatever wax or sealant you use, pat dry the care carefully, but do your final wipe with a spray wax or sealant that you find easy to use for your climate(some play better in some places better than others). 951 aquawax is absolutely brilliant stuff for this.
Last kick off point is: if you intend to maintain the paint with polishing, a simple DA polisher may provide an easier, sharper result than working by hand. Depending on the paint, something like 111 or 105 from DG followed with 105 or even wiped off with 951 could be very easy going for you.
The other option is finding something that conceals the marks to your eyes but keeps it protected and keeps everyone happy with “oOoO its shiny”.
That said, there are a million products out there for wipe on walk away and even spray/rinse off/dry. Depends on how involved you want to be.
Be forewarned: this is a rabbit hole.
EDIT: I forgot to mention, “ceramic” misnomer products do NOT add physical hardness. Think about actual ceramic items in the world before doing your own reaearch. Also, the reason these products are the buzz are because of the look they LOCK in after people spend 20/30/40/100 hours on a detail or pay 100s to 1000s to have it done. Of course its going to look fantastic.
Point of this, properly prepped paint with something slick makes it easier to clean, much easier, and thus that lowers the risk of swirling when all other things are in place for aftercare
I have been in the restorative detailing world for roughly 2 decades, before “paint correction” was a buzz saying. I also was the very very first person in the US to have the very first Cquartz product in hand in the US, when it was actually called AQuartz(long pretty ugly story, pm if you want more on this). But literally.
First point: there is mostly nothing ceramic about ceramic coatings.. Find the MSDS to a majority and you will find that a majority of them are siloxane based. Siloxanes are heavy duty silicones, same, but stronger ingredients akin to those mixed into various waxes, sealants and tire dressings. Heck, siloxanes are also in hair conditioners.
NOTE: This is why a lot of them explicitly tell you to avoid heavy detergent soaps and washes. Because it degrades them very fast.
An exception to explore is optiCOAT, or if you want an EASY sealant, optiSEAL.
Since youre a duragloss guy 501/105 would be really easy for cleaner/polishing combo.
I think if your wifes paint is driving you bonkers you have a couple options, both entail a slight dissection of how its being washed. If shes a car wash lady, forget your sanity. If you are doing the washing, something like a ton of rinsing, two bucket method and a sheepskin mitt, left to soak in soap solution while you rinse may be a solid option paired with taking your time.
If not, Toyota may have just chosen paint materials that really like to be marred.
I have always been a huge proponent of “if you touch, add to it” meaning regardless of whatever wax or sealant you use, pat dry the care carefully, but do your final wipe with a spray wax or sealant that you find easy to use for your climate(some play better in some places better than others). 951 aquawax is absolutely brilliant stuff for this.
Last kick off point is: if you intend to maintain the paint with polishing, a simple DA polisher may provide an easier, sharper result than working by hand. Depending on the paint, something like 111 or 105 from DG followed with 105 or even wiped off with 951 could be very easy going for you.
The other option is finding something that conceals the marks to your eyes but keeps it protected and keeps everyone happy with “oOoO its shiny”.
That said, there are a million products out there for wipe on walk away and even spray/rinse off/dry. Depends on how involved you want to be.
Be forewarned: this is a rabbit hole.
EDIT: I forgot to mention, “ceramic” misnomer products do NOT add physical hardness. Think about actual ceramic items in the world before doing your own reaearch. Also, the reason these products are the buzz are because of the look they LOCK in after people spend 20/30/40/100 hours on a detail or pay 100s to 1000s to have it done. Of course its going to look fantastic.
Point of this, properly prepped paint with something slick makes it easier to clean, much easier, and thus that lowers the risk of swirling when all other things are in place for aftercare
Last edited:
igetfortunota
New member
Its certainly worth the try. Meguiars has always had tremendous stuff and in recent years have made huge strides to make continual improvements to their lines.
Bear it mind it may make it easier to clean but wont remedy the swirls
Bear it mind it may make it easier to clean but wont remedy the swirls
I own a 19’ black 4Runner, and I also do detail work as a side gig. My 4runner came from the factor with a ton of swirl marks too. I just recently did a pretty thorough cleanup on mine. I washed and used a clay bar across the entire vehicle. I then used Meguiar’s Ultimate Polish by hand along the entire vehicle (I don’t have a DA polisher, or I would have used this with a polishing pad). Before polishing the posts around the SR5 badging, I used Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound by hand with a terry cloth because the swirls were worst here. I got most of the swirls out of the paint all the way around, nobody but me would ever notice them. I then used Meguiar’s Ultimate Synthetic Wax, which is really more of a synthetic paint sealant than a wax. It gives the paint a very reflective shine and does really well for keeping a good shine even when dirty. I have used Chemical Guys and Mother’s products, but I find that Meguiar’s gives me the best results. I also like the look of the Synthetic Wax much better than a carnauba on my black paint, like night and day. I use the Meguiar’s Gold Class Carnauba Plus Polymers on client’s vehicles and really like it. I just didn’t like the look it or the Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax gave to my black paint.
As far as ceramic coatings go, they will definitely provide you with a durable finish, but you will have to pay for it in both the coating and the upkeep of the coating. However, the one thing that ceramic coatings don’t do well is water spots. They tend to allow water spots a little bit more than other options, and I decided I didn’t want this with black paint.
I would be happy to get you some pictures of what my paint looks like if you are interested.
As far as ceramic coatings go, they will definitely provide you with a durable finish, but you will have to pay for it in both the coating and the upkeep of the coating. However, the one thing that ceramic coatings don’t do well is water spots. They tend to allow water spots a little bit more than other options, and I decided I didn’t want this with black paint.
I would be happy to get you some pictures of what my paint looks like if you are interested.
