Best Wax for Black Cars (The Sad Truth) (2023)

Get ready to have your feelings hurt. The truth is that there is no best wax for specific colors of paint, especially black.

Why then, do manufacturers make, and review sites recommend, special tinted and dyed waxes for black cars?

Marketing and sales.

They know people want the best product they can find for what they own and labeling a product as specifically for that increases the chance those people will buy it.

All hope is not lost, however. This is actually good news for you because it opens up your options to use products such asMeguiar’s Ultimate Waxwhich is one of my favorite non-ceramic coating LSPs (last step products).

First you need to understand why colored and color specific waxes don’t benefit you.

Best Waxes for Black Cars – Quick Look

	Product	Price
	Meguiar's G18216 Ultimate Liquid Wax, 16...	Check Price at Amazon
	Meguiar's G18211 Ultimate Paste Wax - 11...	Check Price at Amazon
	Meguiar's G17516 Ultimate Quik Wax, 15.2...	Check Price at Amazon
	Meguiar's G6207 Black Wax Paste, 7oz	Check Price at Amazon

Why Tinted and Colored Waxes Don’t Benefit Most People

Almost every modern car produced today is covered in a two or three part paint consisting of a base coat (the color coat) and top coat that’s clear (the clear coat). That clear coat separates any product you apply to your car from the actual color of your car. The clear coat is what gives your car’s black paint that shiny deep wet look. Covering it in a tinted black coating will not make your car look blacker or shinier.

It would be like having a wooden table with a glass top and expecting the wood to look better by waxing the glass with brown wax. Never thought about that huh?

To truly bring out the luster in a black car you need ensure the clear coat is free of defects, scratches, dirt, and contaminates. That will require washing it, polishing it to remove scratches if there are any, and protecting it from oxidation.

The only benefit you may receive from a black tinted wax would be filing in very minor and superficial scratches. This still wont help much because any scratches that are bad enough to detract from the appearance of your black paint will not hide well with a tinted wax.

What You Need to Know Before Buying a Black Car Wax

Not all waxes marketed for black cars are tinted. Some are marketed for black cars because they contain solvents and abrasives that help restore neglected clear coat to bring out the brilliance of the color underneath the clear. Another name for these (when not marketed to black car owners) is cleaner waxes. On their own these are great waxes.

What you need to know is that these products remove a minute amount of clear coat in order to provide the results you’re looking for. Your car has a limited amount of clear coat so you really only want to use these products if necessary. If your paint is perfect already you should be looking for a finish wax (one that doesn’t advertise as a cleaner wax or as having abrasives or solvents).

Hopefully you’re seeing now why just because a wax is marketed as being for dark or black cars does not mean it’s any better than any other wax (and may be worse).

What are the Real Types of Wax Owners Should Consider for Black Cars?

The real question you should be asking yourself is what type of wax should you buy for your black car. Waxes and sealants come in a couple different types and several different categories. You can learn more in my Ultimate Guide to Car Wax. In short there are two main types of automotive wax: cleaner wax and finishing wax.

Cleaner waxes as stated above have abrasives and solvents that restore the appearance of your clear coat (at the cost of clear coat). Finishing waxes do not have abrasives and solvents and are purely for protection of your clear coat.

Buy a cleaner wax if your clear coat is in less than perfect condition and you don’t feel like polishing it. Buy a finish wax if your paint is in great shape already.

Beneath these two types of waxes are categories of spray, liquid, and paste wax. The use of these is purely preferential. Some people like using paste over liquid and vice versa. Liquid waxes are a little easier to apply in that they require less force to remove from the container and spread easier. Unfortunately, they are also easier to apply too much of making a harder job of buffing of the excess.

Buy what you like using.

So then, what would I recommend for a owner of a black car who wants to use a wax and not a ceramic coating?

I’ve used many different kinds of boutique waxes and sealants from Pinnacle and Wolfgang to BlackFire and Zaino and I still come back to Meguiar’s for the best bang for the buck.

While technically more of a sealant than a wax due to being synthetic, Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax is an excellent option for owners of vehicles with black paint that’s in good condition. It’s not loaded with abrasives or solvents like a cleaner wax would be. It’s synthetic meaning it will bond to your paint better and will last much longer than a traditional carnauba paste wax. My personal opinion is that it looks just a great as any carnauba on a black car. On black it ever so slightly darkens the appearance of the paint giving it a bit more wetness and depth (the quality that pushed me to recommend this over typical recommendation, and favorite, of Collinite 845).

This wax is neutral in color so it won’t negatively jack with the optical properties of your car’s paint. It doesn’t stain plastic or black trim either. You can apply it in sunlight if need be, though I still recommend applying it in the shade when the surface of your paint is cool to the touch (as does Meguiar’s). It’s also resistant to heat so it will hold up in areas where high temperatures and searing sun are a problem.

The wax is also easy to remove. I’ve not had trouble buffing this wax off to a clear finish free of smears or streaks when I give it sufficient time to bond before removing.

To top it all off it’s incredibly affordable compared to other high end waxes such as those by Pinnacle and the likes.

All in all it’s my pick for the best wax for a black car for the money.

Just about everything that was said for the Ultimate Liquid Wax above can be said for the paste wax since they are of similar formulations. The thing to consider with the paste wax is it would be harder to use by machine if you think might ever buy or use an orbital buffer for application. On the flip side it has been my experience that it’s a bit easier to remove or buff off the paint than the liquid variation.

It really just comes down to personal preference. Both products are similarly priced and will allow similar amounts of usage (several full car waxings). I believe it’s one of the best paste waxes for black cars on the market.

Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik Wax is a great option as both a stand alone wax and a maintenance wax to be used after washing to boost your original wax application. It’s compatible with both the liquid and paste versions of Ultimate Wax.

The only real problem with this product is it’s not easy to apply by machine. If you don’t plan to purchase or own an orbital buffer then you don’t have much to worry about.

Just as the previous two recommendations, this is not a cleaner wax and does not contain any abrasives or solvents. It will not help cover up anything more than extremely superficial scratches. If you’re looking for a wax to be bring back neglected black paint without resorting to compounding and polishing then check out my below recommendation.

If you’re looking for the best spray wax for a black car for the money then this is your ticket.

If your black paint is in less than perfect condition, and you’re not willing to break out the compound and polish, then Meguiar’s Black Wax is what you need. It contains abrasives and solvent cleaners that help restore your clear coat. It’s useful at removing very light scratches and oxidation. It works by hand or machine, though I recommend machine use if you’re anticipating fixing a lot of scratching.

The only two real drawbacks to this wax are that it will stain bare plastic and black trim and it’s more expensive per oz than Meguiar’s other Ultimate wax’s.

If you’re looking for the best cleaner wax for a black car with scratches then this will serve you well.

Summary

There really isn’t such thing as a “wax for black cars” with today’s paint technology. What you really want to look for is a great wax in general. If your paint is less than perfect then you want a great cleaner wax. I use the term wax loosely because all of my recommendations are synthetic and therefor not true waxes and are actually what would be called sealants by most detailing professionals.

I choose these synthetic waxes because they last longer and black needs all the help it can get. Black paint is the most susceptible to showing scratches and contamination along with early clear coat failure from the excessive heat it generates from absorbing the sun.

When I am asked what the perfect wax for a black car is, I ask them what condition their paint is in. If they say perfect I simply go to my personal favorite of Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax. If they say it could be better, I recommend Meguiar’s Black Wax for its cleaning and scratch removal properties.

Past that it’s all preferential. You really can’t wrong with most modern waxes and sealants regardless of car color. When it comes to black paint it’s very important that you pick something and use it often, or, better yet, use a ceramic coating. Don’t spend too much time deciding if you don’t already have something on your paint. It’s more important that you something over nothing. You can sweat the details later, if you even have a desire to after using one of my suggestions (I don’t think you will).