This weekend I finally got to try out all of my new supplies from CMA!! I spent about 7 hours on Saturday and 2 1/2 hours on Sunday detailing my World Rally Blue Pearl 2002 Subaru WRX sedan (I ran out of sunlight on Sat). Here was my process:
-Wash with dawn
-Dry with The Absorber
-Evaluate surface condition (some contamination found)
-Mother's Claybar entire car
-Look for scratches & swirls (found none... skipped SMR)
-Wash with Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo
-Dry with The Absorber followed by Microfiber towel
-1 coat of Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish
-2 coats of Blackfire All Finish Paint Protection (including wheels)
-303 tires & everything rubber/vinyl/plastic
The Dawn worked just as expected, the car felt "squeaky clean" afterwards (no slick, waxed feel). There was quite a bit of crap on the surface so I clayed the whole car. Once the paint felt perfectly smooth, I washed again with Meguairs shampoo to remove any Dawn or clay residue. I skipped using the SMR because I didn't find any swirls or light scratches. Drying the with the Absorber followed by a Microfiber worked wonderfully... no streaking whatsoever.
I applied the Blackfire Polish with a microfiber applicator from CMA. It went on easily enough, but that darn applicator was real hard to hold onto! I found that the amount of product that the bottle tells to use was a bit much (at least with my sized car). The polish was dry in a few minutes and ready to be buffed off with a microfiber detailing cloth. It was very difficult to see the haze on my blue car, even in the sun... except in the areas that I had gone a little heavy with the product (oops). Removing it wasn't too hard, except for the couple areas where I applied the polish too thick. A slightly damp microfiber towel worked well with the stubborn areas.
Next I applied a coat of Blackfire Paint Protectant to the entire car. I used a seperate microfiber applicator, and had the same trouble holding onto it! The first few panels went pretty easily. I managed to not use too much product this time, and had very little trouble getting the residue to buff off with my microfiber towel. However... as it started to get later, and the sun started to go down... the Blackfire became harder and harder to remove.
I'm sure it was because of the humidity. Boy was I tired after buffing off that first coat of Paint Protectant!! Once again, any stubborn spot was easily taken care of with a slightly damp MF towel.
The next day (Sunday) I dusted off the car and applied another coat of Blackfire Paint Protectant. Since it was midday and humidity was relatively low, it went on and came off like a dream... just as easliy as any wax I've used before, if not easier. After the second coat I started to get excited!! The finish just looked so much deeper after coat #2. I wanted to layer on another coat of the protectant, but didn't have time (project for next weekend I guess
).
The results? Amazing... just absolutely beautiful. Deep & warm, better than any Caranuba that I've ever tried (although I've never tried Souveran). If it weren't for all that darn Subaru orange peel... I swear it looks like you could look straight through it! My only complaint is that it lacks the "slick" feeling that a natural wax gives. After only a single coat of the protectant the surface barely felt as if anything had been applied. It felt a little better after the second coat, but not as buttery as Caranuba.
My major gripe from this whole experience is with the MF applicators. My hand hurt pretty badly from trying to hold onto the slick MF pad. Plus, the product seemed build up (cake up?) in the fibers... matting them down, and probably making the benfits of MF dissappear entirely. I liked the peace of mind I got from knowing the only thing rubbing against the paint was MF, but I think a foam or Terry applicator would have been easier. Maybe it's time to invest in a Porter-Cable
Overall, I'm very satisfied. I can't wait until next weekend when I can top it off with a third layer, and maybe consider topping with a Caranuba (anyone try this and notice a huge improvement?)
Here are a couple pictures I snapped with my Fuji 6800 digital cam... I'll shoot some more pictures in good lighting next weekend after coat #3 and I'll have a before & after comparison as well.
-Wash with dawn
-Dry with The Absorber
-Evaluate surface condition (some contamination found)
-Mother's Claybar entire car
-Look for scratches & swirls (found none... skipped SMR)
-Wash with Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo
-Dry with The Absorber followed by Microfiber towel
-1 coat of Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish
-2 coats of Blackfire All Finish Paint Protection (including wheels)
-303 tires & everything rubber/vinyl/plastic
The Dawn worked just as expected, the car felt "squeaky clean" afterwards (no slick, waxed feel). There was quite a bit of crap on the surface so I clayed the whole car. Once the paint felt perfectly smooth, I washed again with Meguairs shampoo to remove any Dawn or clay residue. I skipped using the SMR because I didn't find any swirls or light scratches. Drying the with the Absorber followed by a Microfiber worked wonderfully... no streaking whatsoever.
I applied the Blackfire Polish with a microfiber applicator from CMA. It went on easily enough, but that darn applicator was real hard to hold onto! I found that the amount of product that the bottle tells to use was a bit much (at least with my sized car). The polish was dry in a few minutes and ready to be buffed off with a microfiber detailing cloth. It was very difficult to see the haze on my blue car, even in the sun... except in the areas that I had gone a little heavy with the product (oops). Removing it wasn't too hard, except for the couple areas where I applied the polish too thick. A slightly damp microfiber towel worked well with the stubborn areas.
Next I applied a coat of Blackfire Paint Protectant to the entire car. I used a seperate microfiber applicator, and had the same trouble holding onto it! The first few panels went pretty easily. I managed to not use too much product this time, and had very little trouble getting the residue to buff off with my microfiber towel. However... as it started to get later, and the sun started to go down... the Blackfire became harder and harder to remove.
I'm sure it was because of the humidity. Boy was I tired after buffing off that first coat of Paint Protectant!! Once again, any stubborn spot was easily taken care of with a slightly damp MF towel. The next day (Sunday) I dusted off the car and applied another coat of Blackfire Paint Protectant. Since it was midday and humidity was relatively low, it went on and came off like a dream... just as easliy as any wax I've used before, if not easier. After the second coat I started to get excited!! The finish just looked so much deeper after coat #2. I wanted to layer on another coat of the protectant, but didn't have time (project for next weekend I guess
). The results? Amazing... just absolutely beautiful. Deep & warm, better than any Caranuba that I've ever tried (although I've never tried Souveran). If it weren't for all that darn Subaru orange peel... I swear it looks like you could look straight through it! My only complaint is that it lacks the "slick" feeling that a natural wax gives. After only a single coat of the protectant the surface barely felt as if anything had been applied. It felt a little better after the second coat, but not as buttery as Caranuba.
My major gripe from this whole experience is with the MF applicators. My hand hurt pretty badly from trying to hold onto the slick MF pad. Plus, the product seemed build up (cake up?) in the fibers... matting them down, and probably making the benfits of MF dissappear entirely. I liked the peace of mind I got from knowing the only thing rubbing against the paint was MF, but I think a foam or Terry applicator would have been easier. Maybe it's time to invest in a Porter-Cable
Overall, I'm very satisfied. I can't wait until next weekend when I can top it off with a third layer, and maybe consider topping with a Caranuba (anyone try this and notice a huge improvement?)
Here are a couple pictures I snapped with my Fuji 6800 digital cam... I'll shoot some more pictures in good lighting next weekend after coat #3 and I'll have a before & after comparison as well.
