The 'clear coat' is clear paint. Crystal black has a clear coat of paint over the colour coat. That doesn't come off... Well, you would hope it doesn't! So when you polish the car, you are removing scratches in the clear coat, not the colour paint.Originally Posted by MikesVtec
You probably would have paid a 'dealer delivery charge', and that usually involves someone with a machine buffer going over the car with a scratch/swirl remover and waxing it, and results vary depending on whether or not the person doing it on the day knows what they are doing. Sometimes the car will be delivered covered in holograms and buffer trails, sometimes not.
So if you want to re-seal it now, then you'd need to give it a rub down with alcohol wipes or a wash it a few times with a stronger detergent to remove any wax from the dealer.
With getting black to look good, paint preparation is the key. There's no point sealing the paint if it's still marred and dirty.
Paint cleaner removes bonded contaminants.
Polishing is the process of removing or filling fine scratches and swirls to reduce their appearance. Most polishes contain fine abrasives for removing scratches. Some polishes contain fillers that reduce the appearance of fine scratches, but I have not found any of these products that is able to hide them completely. It can take a LOT of work to properly polish a car by hand. Polish can remove a fine layer of 'dead' oxidised paint to reveal shiny paint, adding gloss.
Adding sealant and wax won't hide any flaws in the paint, it just adds some protection to the paint from staining, less road grime will stick, and adds gloss. Note that some sealants will appear to reduce the clarity of the paint, and the flakes in the crystal black may look fuzzy afterwards. It can also make the car look a bit like it's wrapped in cling film. Wax has a much warmer gloss to it, and some sealants you can layer with wax on top. 'Paint protection' is just a fancy overpriced paint sealant.
In the mean time, you can probably get away with just carefully washing it for a month or two, then look at re-sealing/waxing. If the car isn't parked outside a lot, a wax will be enough, but you'll have to re-apply it every couple of months.
Other option is just to pay a pro like Dr Detail to do it and apply sealant.
And +1 to don't let the dealer wash it. They'll wipe it down afterwards with the rag they've used to wipe the crud of everyeone elses' cars that they've 'washed', and that's enough to marr the paint. Car wash cafes are not good either.
- HZ
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