Black Paint Issues
 

I've had my Black RX-8 for about 2 months and I am extemely unsattisfied with the paint. The entire car is covered in swirl marks & scratches that are just unacceptable. I have had black cars before & I am aware of their care requirements, however this car scratches so easily I wonder if it has any clearcoat at all. I have bought new chamois & soft terry cloths for drying and everthing I use scratches it. I contacted mazda, but I was directed to corporate for my complaint. Im sure that will get me far. Anyway...just wondering if anyone else has expierenced this.

I have noticed this too, especially in direct sunlight. I use Zaino and 100% cotton, made in the USA, Cannon towels but to no avail, I really baby this car. I just thought it was an unavoidable byproduct of washing your car and that because our cars are black, its more noticeable. Keep us updated on any progress you make, if this is not normal I will contact Mazda also.

If it helps, my Fiance's G20 also has horrible paint. Even waxed and washed every couple of weeks the paint is full of tiny pockmarks that Inifinit claims is from tree sap (how it hasnt eaten into any other car, is a mystery acording to them).

Good luck getting it fixed though. Even though her family has bought 6 cars from the same delaership in 4 years, they still acted like assholes and refuse to admit the paint is defective.

I appreciate the input. I too...baby this car and I am becoming very frustrated with the constant scratches. Every time I bother to examine each panel I am amazed that yet another scratch is on it. This car is beautiful and I would hope to keep it looking that way. Even after waxing the car....many scratches seem to be visible. I will keep you posted on Mazda's reply to this odd complaint.

I noticed that paint swirls showed up my on my former car very quickly (a few months after purchasing it). It had very dark blue paint and even though I took pretty good care of it and avoided wiping it in circular motions, the paint swirls still came. I notice swirls on my friend's black Mercedes even though he keeps it under a car cover most of the time. It seem to be a common problem among cars with dark paint.

Hell mine had swirls that I noticed when I came home from the stealership. Only visible at odd angles in the sun... but annoying

Even more reason to not let the dealership wash your car for you, especially since you have a dark colored vehicle. Heck, you paid the 30K so you could have the privilage of being the first person to put swirl marks on your vehicle! :D

Mine went back but I did notice not only the swirl marks but a tendency to pick up long scratches as well. I too used the softest of drying cloths to no avail. A body man told me it was the nature of the black paint. My dark green odyssey has some swirlies but nothing like my 8 had. O well, it was still an awesome looking car.:D

Claybar and Zaino
 

Where do I start?

1st: no one will take care of your car paint better than you do, yourself.

2nd: be very careful in washing your car and that you use clean cotton towels.

Zaino sells them; they are very convenient. I use probably 8 towels while initially cleaning because I am so scared about scratching and swirling. Ues lots of Zaino soap and water to start. I actually use a spray bottle to apply the soap water - then I carefully use a cotton towel to soap down the whole car. If I even think a towel is dirty from washing around the wheels of the car, I go get a clean one.

I have found also that reverse osmosis water or distilled water really helps, because it is so clean. You'd be surprized how little water you need to use to wash a car.

Next I keep applying Zaino wax - be it Z6 or Z2 or Z5. Coat after coat, with time, will help to start hiding the swirl.

I don't have any problems with swirl marks yet and really didn't do much out of the ordinary - using old bathroom towels to dry it off. Maybe the damn dealer teflon pain sealant i paid for was actually worth the $250 < shrug>

Aside from horrible orangepeel, my black paint looks OK.

However, why on earth are you people using towels to dry your cars? There are these lovely silicone blade things you can use to dry your car without the friction/scratching that even a "soft" towel will cause..

where do you get these silicone things?

Here's a link to what I'm talkin' about..California Blade

I have some friends who are super anal about their cars and they swear by these things. :)

...
 

Cool.. thanks for the tip.

And they're at Canuck Tire! Even better :)

Follow my advice to a T.

Order some GOOD microfiber towels from a REPUTABLE place. Get a bunch. Don't plan to let anything else touch your car.

1. Go out and buy 3m swirl remover for dark colored cars or Meguiars ScratchX ( I prefer 3ms stuff)
2. Wash the car with dawn soap and dry
3. Apply the 3m or Meguiars ScratchX to the entire car one section at a time (stuff dries fast). DO NOT let it dry too long
4. Buff out. Put another coat if it needs it.
5. Apply a coat of Zaino's Z5. Let dry , buff out. Plan on putting on about 3 coats. This will take you the whole day
6. Follow with Z2 the next day

Yes, some swirl marks are unavoidable. You will always have some. You can minimize swirl marks by :
1. Not using any fancy gizmo crap you see for sale on tv
2. Sticking to microfiber
3. using an electric leaf blower to dry car after you wash it.

thanks for the link
prices arent too bad either

I swear by microfiber towels as well, also great for interior especially leather

I must admit that I thought it was just me. What is up with the black paint. It seems to scratch all to hell really easy. I took the car to the body shop about a week ago because some jackass took a key to it. The body shop color sanded the car and it looks great. It will need lots of wax. Try Zbest, zymol and make sure you also use this stuff called Final inspection. It seems to repell scratches and also repells dust.