AreL11

Don't fear the black. My '11 was black and it wasn't terrible to maintain. Don't use cheap cleaners or equipment and two bucket wash and you'll be fine.

princevalium

I agree learn to two bucket wash!

To the OP:

Those car washes that you think are shortcuts are what is causing those swirl marks.

It sounds like Whiplash306 knows all too well how hard it is to maintain a black car or truck especially as a daily driver. You first need to learn how to take care of a black paint...learn the two bucket wash, don't use the California Duster UNLESS you use absolutely no pressure at all on the paint and glide it in one direction. Laying that California duster on your paint and brushing off dirt WILL cause swirl marks.

Turtle Wax Ice has a filler in it and "hides" your swirl marks...look up junkman2000 on YouTube and see how to take care of your paint.

I will get the black truck because frankly IMO nothing looks better than black when it is clean. Don't be worried about getting black just watch some of junkman's videos and treat your paint right!

Mattm400

Beautiful Tuxedo Black!!!

princevalium

The flake in the Tuxedo Black is just awesome! Did you end up buying the black??

JimFX4

I have a 11 Lariat in Tuxedo Black and I do not have any scratches on mine. Actually, I feel that this is one of Ford's toughest paints. I have found maybe three rock chips which needed touched up- and they were small. The Dark Blue Pearl on my 08 had more and I thought that paint was tough. The Dark Blue Pear did scratch easily though. I had the misfortune of drive by trees/shrub on the side of the road which were heavy with snow. They brushed the side of my bed and I spent many hours trying to buff out the clear coat and touching it up.

2012platinum

my platinum is tuxedo black, i hand wash with a good car wash sponge, use only meguiars soap(the one in the yellow bottle), and dry with a good shamiee after, and my paint looks great! cant beat the tuxedo black. of course, anything black is hard to keep clean, but when it is..WOW!

JKM

Nothing looks better than a clean black F150 IMO, however if I was to go back to the day I picked mine out, I would have gone with Silver or Gray.

mofat01

Black shows dirt more than any other color so it is hard to keep clean especially if its left outside all the time.

Swirl marks do show up easier on black paint.

As other had said, look up the 2 bucket method.
Wash the truck in the shade. And when you wash/dry it off, wipe front to back not in circles. I have zero swirls or scratches on my black truck I use a soap gun, quality sponges (1 sponge for wheels, 1 sponge for the tailgate and lower part of doors, 1 sponge for rest of truck) (2 bucket method). Your sponges and towels you use to dry it off is what mainly causes swirls. I used to detail cars so I have the fancy gadgets but you dont need em to keep black truck swirl free.

I use Master blaster air blower to dry it.

A good detail twice a year and waxes every few months keeps my paint looking new and slick.

you are scratching it more than likely using dirty sponges and towels or your method of washing/drying


DO NOT use any sort of duster on it, I dont care what they box says, your taking dirt and wiping it over your paint it will scratch.

tko_818

iTrader: (1)

I love the Tux Black. It does show scratches easy, given that scratches in clear coat appear white and it stands out on the black.. but it washes easy as long as u handwash it and take your time with clean materials. The metallic and pearl make it more forgiving than a standard black, that's for sure

NASSTY

X2
I agree and I currently have 2 regular black vehicles and 1 tuxedo black. 13 of my last 16 vehicles have been black.