Projects Black paint, let’s discuss

Black is labor intensive but there is no better color for an early Ford. I sprayed my 3W in a two car garage in '99 with R&M Ebony Black acrylic lacquer. It is garaged and only outside for weekend drives and car shows. Not difficult to keep clean and I've used many cleaners and wax treatments. I don't have a recommendation because they all work well. Due to EPA laws we can no longer buy acrylic lacquer so this may be my last paint job. Friends have used single stage catalyzed paint with great results but it requires a spray booth and a different spray system.

 

I have had nothing but black cars for 30 years. Hot Rods, OT toys, and daily drivers - always black. I keep saying I’m going to do something different, but always seem to revert to black.

I really don’t think it’s that tough to deal with. The Hot Rods and late model sedan live in the garage. Hand wash only, wax twice a year, always park away from people when out.

Daily OT truck is now 19 years old. Never spent a day inside. Has road rash, and the clear is beginning to have issues. , but I just walked up to it in a parking lot this morning, and it still looks better than most every car in the lot.

Same deal, always park alone in the back of the lot, always hand wash or touch free car wash, wax twice a year, and compound when necessary. Recently started using Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic. Easy to apply, clear shine, and so far lasting quite well.

 

I've found through the years my black cars saved me a ton of money. I'd let 'em get really dirty, then pay to have 'em detailed. The difference was so dramatic it was like I was picking up a new car. I'd have probably got rid of them if I'd been the one doing the detailing.

 

LOL definitely comma placement!

 

I have a Model A coupe and an OT truck that were both painted black in the 1990's when everyone else was doing pastels. I am so glad I chose black because it is timeless. Yes, it is a sandy beach to keep clean, but when they are, there is little that compares.

 

Kinda like old , car guys... Or old car, guys!

 

I was 13 when I saw it.
I made my Momma stop. The first car I ever looked at with buyer's eyes even though I could not buy.
It was a Black 1963 1/2 Galaxie 500 XL trimmed in red. $900. It still remains as one the greatest cars I have ever seen. Maybe because I could taste it. That car started my love affair with Fords.

6 years later I was driving a decent Chevelle, my HS car. My brother needed a car, and I needed a better car.
Then I saw it with a sign in the window at the Winn Dixie. It was the first generation of Chevelle's slightly larger brother. Long sleek and black. I'll never forget the little knight emblems. It had one of the longest hoods ever produced. Oh my goodness, it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. Silver Ralley Wheels, Top Hat Caps, chrome and a black lacquer paint job you could swim in. On the test drive the owner said," Give it some gas", and she chirped second.
Sold!!!!!
Black is hot.
Black car here can turn purple. They get so hot it burns the paint.
You can get 2nd degree burns from a black car in the summer sun here.
Because of this a black car outside will oxidize quick.
Nothing is prettier, not red...not nothing.
Every car really wants to be black.

 

I've had several Black daily drivers and Black hobby cars, now 74, owned lots of vehicles, I like Black cars. If building make sure your bodywork is very good, lots of block sanding required as the defects show up more on a black car. Make sure you have/save paint code as there are many colors of black, I went through this with my 51 Mercury, Body shop that painted car went out of business, did not have paint info on receipt , so I did not get the paint code, at our local paint store, the man put a box type device on my car and then sold me the paint, primer/color/clear. I painted the front due to 7 years of road rash, 25K miles, job turned out perfect, used a hard line rather than blend, guess what, the black color did not match perfect, slight difference in the color/shade, not terrible but I could see it in certain light situations. I went back to the store as was told there are 50 shades of black, too bad for me. I have stated on another thread, you can't beat black and chrome. I have run into this once before that the device they put on paint is not accurate. IMO black vehicles require much more maintenance and I also have used the turtle wax black, using this with a variable speed buffer with soft foam pad I brought back a faded 89 GM factory paint job on the body. I did have to repaint the bumper covers front and rear, time was turning them white. I bought this car new, a very nice survivor car, now 33 years old. Also as someone stated use only Micro fiber towels and the good ones, not the cheapo type. NO more black cars for me, If/When Any Car/Hot Rod/Suv, is purchased, black would be a deal breaker. Good luck with your deal, my suggestion is use a satin type paint or in the clear coat, Much less upkeep, will not show imperfections so much, All this free advice comes from a hobby shop body man/painter so as always, it's worth the price you paid.

 

Yes, black looks good when absolutely perfect,waxed and polished. Turns out they can also look good when well weathered.

 

Note ! Do not have a black leather/vinyl interior, Ragtop or Roadster. I had an OT Mark VIII with black leather, deep red metallic, a beautiful car with a sun roof. I left the sunroof shade open when parking during the day one time and got in wearing shorts, got out as fast as I could, I received burn blisters on the back of my legs. I always left a blanket on the seat after that deal. Also speaking as a man with much experience with black vehicles they do get very hot in the sunshine, I mean, do not touch hot. Food for thought.

 

Black looks great but requires constant upkeep. We have 4 black cars-wife's new Denali, my GMC crew cab, her 55 and a 40 coupe. At 79 they keep me a bit busy but oh well. Her 55 painted in 85 still looks great (reshot hood a few yrs back) others look great too. She will only have a black vehicle-no others-yes she helps me keep them up. My pickup is an 07 and sits outside--still looks great but keep it waxed etc. Get offers to sell it all the time-one yesterday stopped in road and asked. Think cause it's black.

 

Black is beautiful. That said, a black car´s either dirty or it´s about to be. As much as I love my black 40, it´s always dusty unless it´s been freshly washed and waxed.

 

My DD is a gloss black High Country PU, 2020 but still looks brand new and I haven't garaged it for a year. I only hand wash it, I use Maguire's car soap with about a quarter bottle of armor all in the bucket. I use a microfiber brush, separate wheel brush, dry with compressed air and water squeegees then spritz it with non silicone detailing spray and wipe it down with microfiber waffle drying towels. Once a year in the spring after the rain stops (hah) I drag the orbital buffer around it to remove any swirls. Done. Hell, my enclosed car trailer is gloss black as well and gets the same wash job. Black paint doesn't scare me and it is worth the effort.

While at a car show this year I had a guy say that black paint shows the dirt and I was like, if a car is dirty wash it! They are the same level of filthy whether or not it looks like it. If you wear brown underwear they likely don't show the dirt but you still wash them! Wash and wax your cars, it doesn't matter what color they are painted, they all look better clean.

"Cleanliness is next to godliness". If I have to wash my black truck more often then some dude washes his silver or white truck that just makes me closer to the All Mighty!

Paint it black @Roothawg and don't look back!

 

Black cars do take some work, but they do look great when clean!

 

Lots of work for a high end Street Rod. For a Hot Rod, not too bad. As said, easy for touch up too. I would suggest single stage, for a more subtle look and future real patina, on a basic Hot Rod.

 

If you want a car to stay nice park it in your garage, cover it, and leave it there. Then sell it.
I drive mine and figured out how to repair chips so nice no one can find them. I’ve had 6 black cars and all were extra work.
I have one left and it’s a race car that now only races at El Mirage in the dust. What ever you got is easier now than what I have to take care of.

 

Dark colors will increase the interior temps. I have a dark blue DD, let it sit in the sun on a hot day and the heat is almost unbearable when you first get in. My GFs silver SUV on the other hand gets hot, but not nearly as bad.

 

I appreciate the feedback there Steve. Here in West Texas I can drive my old vehicle year around except for the summer.
While in the summer I can still drive, I just need to pick the time early in the day.

So one could imagine that not running a black top could add several days of actual driving time per year. ..... In 100 days straight of 100+ temps ... typically 108 degrees. ..... I dunno, seems many still do drive them. ..... I wonder if black with a silver top would be a better combo?

I was born in Tacoma General hospital, I have lived all over the state of WA, My brother just built his dream retirement home in Yelm.

 

I love and hate black. Not much looks better than a nice straight black car with a mirror finish. But, I hate maintaining them. I drove a slick black daily with flames for a while. I decided that spot free rinse was my friend since pretty sure I could just get close to it like I was going to wipe it off and it would be all scratched up. And, it showed dust within seconds of cleaning it up nice. Same pretty much applies to any dark color though. That’s why my favorite color is silver since it rarely looks dirty.

 

Wide white wall tires are much harder to keep clean than a black vehicle.

 

Been black for over 30 years, had a roadster that I painted black about to paint my 33 Black.
a bit boring, but hey, I like black Hot Rods.

 

Once nice thing about black is nobody bugs you for the paint code.

 

Black is nice, pearl is nice, two tone is nice. What is the car telling you? How do you look after the cars you have now? Buying a boat doesn’t make you a boater, painting it black won’t make you a better caretaker.

 

Love black cars. Have had 3. If the paint is nice, they're beautiful. If it's ratty, they're ugly. Used to wipe my black ones down with spray pledge furniture polish at every rod run. Looked like new.

 

Black can vary a whole lot. A typical factory black paint job is a much different than a show car paint job.
There are a few examples in this thread of extremely reflective black paint jobs. These only look good after spending a lot of time cleaning and polishing. The work is satisfying and looks like a mirror when finished…. But they never have that dark black look. They also need impeccable body work to look correct.
I had a car with this finish. You could read the writing on the light bulbs on the ceiling in the reflection. If you have a lot of time, it’s a beautiful look.
If you want the darkest black, I have found that single stage paint (no clear) with a coat of “liquid ebony” and then a good wax gives an effect that looks very deep and is easy to care for vs perfect clear coat.

 

Ditzier 9000.. it’s all you need to know.. HD Black
There are a lot of blacks.. A blue/black looks waaaaay better than a brown/black.

 

There are 2 colors,,black and other.
I may try other one day,,,,after I paint the next 2 black .

 

Not a ride made that doesn’t look good black
My old bosses ride was cocktailed black.
If the clear and single stage uses the same hardener, we’d spray a coat or two straight black then a couple coats black mixed with clear.
Why? Heck I don’t know. But it looked good.

Hard to beat an old school black lacquer finish.
Id love to shoot a ride in lacquer one day

 

Remember that Henry was cheap as far as spending money to produce cars went and you could buy 55 gallon barrels of black a lot cheaper than you could buy other colors.

My Ot Barvarian daily driver is/was black as the clear coat is pealing off like a bad sunburn but the young dudes still like that bugger and give me compliments on it. It doesn't look bad from the other side of the freeway though.
I've had five black cars over the years with three being Hamb friendly 50 Chevy hardtop, 62 Impala hard top and 63 Impala rag top an the contining this is that black shows and amplifies every flaw. I don't think it is any harder to keep up than any other good shiny paint that you take care of. It just looks worse if you get lazy than muckly dunn brown or hide the dirt tan.

I have to think that guys now are a lot lazier than we were in the 60's though. Back then my 51 Merc had a several years old Metallic Emerald green paint job on it and I probably washed that car three times a week and usually polished and waxed it every couple of weeks as the paint was pretty dead and took a lot of work to make look good. newer paints aren't anywhere as close to as much as that old laquer was.