Black Paint - Ceramic Coat and Washing (does it look good?)

JayceeP · Mar 2, 2026

Might end up with a black Denali. Not my first choice for paint colour but if I a want a diesel any time soon, might not have a choice.

Right now with with my pearl beige ceramic coated Yukon, I can rip into a self wash car wash and do a high pressure rinse and it comes out looking pretty decent and is a great option for in between had washes. I know this colour will hide dirt more but even when I’m up close the ceramic coated Yukon really seems to shed off the dirt under a high pressure wash. No hazing that I can tell unless really salt/brine covered roads.

Anyone with a ceramic coated black rig have any insights or does it look like **** and stay hazy until you get a hand wash in? Not looking for perfection but just want something that looks half decent as I like to do a good hand wash every few weeks as part of regular ceramic maintenance. I pay someone to do the wash but I still don’t have time to wait around an hour every week for someone to wash it for me but a 5-10 min rinse session at the car wash is easy.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

mountie · Mar 2, 2026

JayceeP said:
Might end up with a black Denali. Not my first choice for paint colour but if I a want a diesel any time soon, might not have a choice.

Right now with with my pearl beige ceramic coated Yukon, I can rip into a self wash car wash and do a high pressure rinse and it comes out looking pretty decent and is a great option for in between had washes. I know this colour will hide dirt more but even when I’m up close the ceramic coated Yukon really seems to shed off the dirt under a high pressure wash. No hazing that I can tell unless really salt/brine covered roads.

Anyone with a ceramic coated black rig have any insights or does it look like **** and stay hazy until you get a hand wash in? Not looking for perfection but just want something that looks half decent as I like to do a good hand wash every few weeks as part of regular ceramic maintenance. I pay someone to do the wash but I still don’t have time to wait around an hour every week for someone to wash it for me but a 5-10 min rinse session at the car wash is easy.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I may be old school ( I am

)…… I’ve had the rare pleasure being around a few custom car builders & painters….
If it was me ( as I have mentioned before in this forum )…. I would NEVER put a semi-permanent coating on a good paint job.. and neither would the custom car guys.

JayceeP · Mar 2, 2026

mountie said:
I may be old school ( I am )…… I’ve had the rare pleasure being around a few custom car builders & painters….
If it was me ( as I have mentioned before in this forum )…. I would NEVER put a semi-permanent coating on a good paint job.. and neither would the custom car guys.

For a daily use vehicle, I’m a fan of it after having a ceramic coated Yukon the last 2 years. Cleans easier and stayd “clean” easier. Also rinses off almost as good as a hand wash as I mentioned. I’d do it again.

I don’t have time to hand wash my vehicles every week and do the twice a year claybar and wax like I used to lol.

JayceeP · Mar 2, 2026

So my main ask is just if anyone has a ceramic coated black rig…. Do you find it stays sorta clean in between hand washes by doing the quick rinse off at a self wash bay (rinse only, no brushes) or does it still stay hazy and dirty looking? Thanks!!

adventurenali92 · Mar 2, 2026

mountie said:
I may be old school ( I am )…… I’ve had the rare pleasure being around a few custom car builders & painters….
If it was me ( as I have mentioned before in this forum )…. I would NEVER put a semi-permanent coating on a good paint job.. and neither would the custom car guys.

I’m curious as to what the reasoning is?

KMeloney · Mar 3, 2026

JayceeP -- We've discussed this, but I'll add my take here... I think that spraying your truck off with just a hose does absolutely nothing (except maybe remove mud or bird crap that has clumped up on it). You've got to get the dirt off with a soapy mitt, or else you're just wetting the dirt with the hose.

I had the GM-sponsored ceramic coating applied to my black Denali. Whether it's the best coating or not, it has made a big, positive difference in the appearance of my black paint. The truck really cleans up nicely -- better than my black '09 Tahoe did without ceramic coating (and I believe this paint isn't as good as the paint on the '09). I have no reason not to recommend a ceramic coating on a black daily-driver.

ReaperHWK · Mar 3, 2026

My Tahoe isn’t black, but I own a black hellcat challenger that is ceramic coated. So should be similar.

It’s coated with XPEL 4yr fusion. It’s not a DD but black paint is hard to keep perfect. I wash it once a month using a power washer and foam cannon, use a leaf blower to dry, and limit any touch time as it will cause swirls.

So yes you can keep it nice just that I’d recommend using a power washer and foam gun. You aren’t going to get it clean with a hose. If I were you I’d leave it dirty until you can wash it properly.

This is the paint after 4 years. Going to get it recoated this year. It barely has any swirls but mine isn’t a DD.

the 18th letter · Mar 3, 2026

I don’t have black but the dark purple and I have to say ceramic coating is unmatched. I have it on my windshield as well and at highway speeds the water is gone before the wipers get to it. Makes cleaning a breeze.

ReaperHWK · Mar 3, 2026

My Tahoe is Cyprus grey and it is also ceramic coated. I treat it the same as my hellcat; leave it dirty until you can wash it properly. Don’t half ass a wash you’ll scratch the paint to crap, especially black. If you can’t power wash the dirt off, foam cannon, leaf blower, and microfiber don’t bother. The ceramic will keep the paint protected until you wash.

JayceeP · Mar 3, 2026

Here’s what I mean guys. I don’t typically hand wash in the winter so after a highway running storm, I do a quick rinse only at the self wash. Comes out looking pretty good and feels like I’m driving a fairly clean vehicle until I can get a proper hand wash done.

ReaperHWK · Mar 3, 2026

JayceeP said:
Here’s what I mean guys. I don’t typically hand wash in the winter so after a highway running storm, I do a quick rinse only at the self wash. Comes out looking pretty good and feels like I’m driving a fairly clean vehicle until I can get a proper hand wash done.

Yes I see.

I have different tools available to me. I personally will wait until the weather breaks above 32 and use my own power washer and foam wash the undercarriage whenever I can with a wheeled undercarriage foamer to prevent salt corrosion. Also should be using a more acidic soap to neutralize salt, they done have that in the was bays.

https://a.co/d/0dapFjDg

Adam's Salt, Mud & Grime Remover

Available Exclusively at Adam’s Salt, Mud & Grime Remover is designed to do a deep-clean wash of a vehicle, using a more heavy-duty wash formula to help loosen and lift salt, dirt, road grime, oils, mud, and more, to then wipe away these contaminants with less effort. This results in a safer...

adamspolishes.com

I’ll leave the paint dirty and wash it monthly still in the winter, the weather here in NJ breaks above freezing routinely.

But my advice maybe NA to you. I just would never use any automated wash for sure and I’d never use a car wash bay becuase they don’t have the proper equipment like foam cannons and leaf blowers. I’d rather have a dirty truck than a scratched one!

JayceeP · Mar 3, 2026

Yeh I hear ya. This is a daily driver though. I’m pretty particular about my vehicles but not trying to keep it show room ready either. I’ve owned it for 2 years and it’s in fantastic shape. Paint looks awesome.

ReaperHWK · Mar 3, 2026

JayceeP said:
Yeh I hear ya. This is a daily driver though. I’m pretty particular about my vehicles but not trying to keep it show room ready either. I’ve owned it for 2 years and it’s in fantastic shape. Paint looks awesome.

The Tahoe is my wife’s daily, I guess I’m more OCD than most!

JayceeP · Mar 3, 2026

ReaperHWK said:
The Tahoe is my wife’s daily, I guess I’m more OCD than most!

And have more time lol.

I did Optimum No Rinse exclusively on my 4Runner Limited for 10 years. Did a twice a year clay bar and wax and would do iron decontamination every few years. It was a chore but still looked new after a decade on the road (and through Atlantic Canadian winters). Got rid of the 4Runner for this Yukon a couple years ago. I like this approach. Get a good hand wash in every month or so but if it gets really grimy I do a quick rinse off at the car wash in between hand washes. I get a ceramic topper each spring. Looks mint and I’m happy with it

KMeloney · Mar 3, 2026

ReaperHWK said:
Yes I see.

I have different tools available to me. I personally will wait until the weather breaks above 32 and use my own power washer and foam wash the undercarriage whenever I can with a wheeled undercarriage foamer to prevent salt corrosion. Also should be using a more acidic soap to neutralize salt, they done have that in the was bays.

...

I’ll leave the paint dirty and wash it monthly still in the winter, the weather here in NJ breaks above freezing routinely.

This is me, too. I'd rather have the truck be dirty than potentially have something scratched/scraped in an automated carwash. But I'm in PA (with weather like in NJ), and if I leave the truck dirty for any length of time in the winter (which I do), it's because there's likely salty roads and/or snow/rain right around the corner.

JayceeP · May 21, 2026

Well update here. We picked up our black ‘26 Yukon XL Denali diesel two weeks ago. It was a dealer transfer and fairly fresh off the truck, but they had to drive it 3 hours to get here. Definitely some light surface blemishes from all of that but it goes in on Monday for a 3 day spa treatment. Will be getting a full paint correction, polish, and ceramic coat. Drop off Monday am and pick up end of day Wednesday. So far I’m really glad we got black.

ReaperHWK · May 21, 2026

JayceeP said:
Well update here. We picked up our black ‘26 Yukon XL Denali diesel two weeks ago. It was a dealer transfer and fairly fresh off the truck, but they had to drive it 3 hours to get here. Definitely some light surface blemishes from all of that but it goes in on Monday for a 3 day spa treatment. Will be getting a full paint correction, polish, and ceramic coat. Drop off Monday am and pick up end of day Wednesday. So far I’m really glad we got black.

Black is hard to beat as the best color when it’s clean! Nice truck.

the 18th letter · May 22, 2026

ReaperHWK said:
Yes I see.

I have different tools available to me. I personally will wait until the weather breaks above 32 and use my own power washer and foam wash the undercarriage whenever I can with a wheeled undercarriage foamer to prevent salt corrosion. Also should be using a more acidic soap to neutralize salt, they done have that in the was bays.

https://a.co/d/0dapFjDg

Adam's Salt, Mud & Grime Remover

Available Exclusively at Adam’s Salt, Mud & Grime Remover is designed to do a deep-clean wash of a vehicle, using a more heavy-duty wash formula to help loosen and lift salt, dirt, road grime, oils, mud, and more, to then wipe away these contaminants with less effort. This results in a safer...

adamspolishes.com

I’ll leave the paint dirty and wash it monthly still in the winter, the weather here in NJ breaks above freezing routinely.

But my advice maybe NA to you. I just would never use any automated wash for sure and I’d never use a car wash bay becuase they don’t have the proper equipment like foam cannons and leaf blowers. I’d rather have a dirty truck than a scratched one!

Automated and self washes are vastly different. The self washes I go to are pressure wash and foam cannon equipped. The only scratch risk is being careless with the pressure washer hose due to the way it hangs. I keep a bullseye blower in the trunk for drying. Ceramic coating makes it fast and easy.

ReaperHWK · May 22, 2026

the 18th letter said:
Automated and self washes are vastly different. The self washes I go to are pressure wash and foam cannon equipped. The only scratch risk is being careless with the pressure washer hose due to the way it hangs. I keep a bullseye blower in the trunk for drying. Ceramic coating makes it fast and easy.

Yeah I get it’s better than going through an auto wash. But I still much rather do it at home…..

BacDoc · Jun 1, 2026

JayceeP said:
Well update here. We picked up our black ‘26 Yukon XL Denali diesel two weeks ago. It was a dealer transfer and fairly fresh off the truck, but they had to drive it 3 hours to get here. Definitely some light surface blemishes from all of that but it goes in on Monday for a 3 day spa treatment. Will be getting a full paint correction, polish, and ceramic coat. Drop off Monday am and pick up end of day Wednesday. So far I’m really glad we got black.

Black beauty! Gloss black on these trucks is definitely a powerful statement. No wonder everyone from rock stars to heads of state gets these land yachts in black!

Assuming the Denali is new and sure looks like it, how did you ever get those Michelin tires? I thought all these trucks came with Bridgestones and Michelin is certainly the better option.

Gotta say, your Denali is begging for Performance Brake package - besides the visual quality with those wheels the Brembo brakes with the big rotors add significantly to ride quality and safety.

Black Paint - Ceramic Coat and Washing (does it look good?)

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