Cleaning your black 8
 

This is my first black car ive ever owned. It's absolutely gorgeous when it's clean, but it's a pain in the ass to keep clean. Any suggestions for drying the car after washing it? I get streaks everywhere, I've tried 3 different shammys and even the squeegy thing. :(

Zaino and RO water, all the way
 

.....Get the Zaino products; they are excellent.

It is interesting as to how little of the product you need to use. Their 'clay bar' is really something to work with.

using reverse osmosis water is some of the cleanest you'll find (besides distilled water). If you get all the dirt off, the towels Zaino offers to clean and dry the car work very nicely.

I've waxed many cars in my day and Zaino makes it easy.

where can i get that stuff from? do i have to order online? or can i go to like autozone?

I found that the way you rinse the car makes a big difference. Once you're done washing everything, rinse the whole car by letting the water run out of the hose (with no nozzle) and sheet over the car. That way you won't get water spots and most of the water will run right off the car, leaving just a few spots to dry. I think keeping the car waxed or Zaino'd will probably help too. (just got my Zaino package, might try it this weekend).

Also make sure the car's surface is nice and cool when you wash it.

Yeah i noticed that tonight. I washed my car twice, the first time at like 4 in the blazing sun, then again at like 9(i had to go through a dirt road earlier), and it looked somewhat better than it did after i washed it at 4. Where do you get these Zaino products from?

http://www.zainobros.com/

Haven't tried it yet, but it sure gets a lot of hype on all the car forums.

I have a black 8 and the zaino products. I have not fully Zainoed it yet but I did do my wife's black Highlander and it really did a great job and it was relatively easy. It was amazing the small amount I had to use on the Highlander. The total process on the truck took about 4 hours. I did use the detailing spray on my 8 however and that stuff is slick, example; There was bird poop on my car that I noticed when I was leaving the gas station the other morning, by the time I arrived at work 25 miles later the poop was gone, I was stunned, I guess it just slipped off. If you follow a good cleaning routine with any good line of products your black will be beautiful. I also invested in a California car duster for pollen and dust.

I currently own two black cars, so I have had this problem too. :)

Anyway, like someone else mentioned, I rinse the whole car again when I am done. Then, I use a large, thick 100% Cotton towel to wipe the car down, starting from the top and working my way down. You don't need to get the car 100% dry, there will be a very thin film of water that remains after the towel starts getting wet, but when it dries I usually don't see any streaks.

Also, make sure the towels are made in the USA, supposedly if they're made somewhere else they don't need to be all cotton to claim 100% cotton on the label. I don't know if this is true or not, but I'm not taking any chances with my cars...

I would invest in some microfiber towels if I were you. I find using my California Water Blade and following with a good MF towel is a great way to eliminate spots,streaks etc. Cotton towels will scratch your paint over time, very faint but nonetheless it will scratch. Just my .02 worth.:)

I think everyone has done a pretty good job answering the original question, but here is my two cents.

I live in Arizona where your car will literally dry in minutes and we have very hard water which means a black car will turn into a white polka-dotted car. So here is what I do:

I also use Zaino. Soap, Z5(ZFX), Z2(ZFX), detailing spray

wash the car as everyone described by flowing the water over each section to wash and rinse working from the roof down. Dry each section after it is washed and rinsed, have to or the water spots will be ther inside of 5 min. Then clean each section with the spray before applying wax. I thought this was just extra work when I read it but on the black paint this makes a huge differnce since it gets rid of any water spots that were missed.

Also, use the microfiber clothes or the type of towel descibed on the Zaino website this makes a huge difference in getting all of the wax off.

Obviously after doing all of this (often & in 112 degree weather) my wife and neighbors think I am out of my mind but I can't stand to see the car dirty, the black looks so incredible when it is clean!