Review: Black Magic 2-in-1 engine shine

[jaybs02]

As promised.

Black Magic 2-in-1 engine shine

Packaging:
20 oz. Aerosol can

POP/cost:
Gift from Santa (but was available locally from Autozone for $4.99)

Manufacturers Claims:
One step aerosol that cleans/degreases and leaves your engine shiny.

Instructions:
For best results use on warm engine
With engine off spray over entire engine. Also use on fenders, cowlings, and under hood.
For tough stains & grease use a brush or rag
Allow product to stand for 15 minutes.
Rinse using a light flow of water, using as little water as possible. Avoid air intake, carb, and exposed wiring.
Run engine for 10 minutes or until components are dry.

My findings:
Tried this product first on “the test bed” as many of the long time DCer’s know its my 90 Olds cutlass that a number of different products and process have been tried on.
Due to the fact that she doesn’t run the product was spayed on a cold engine.
I let the product sit for the recommended amount of time and then rinsed with a light stream of water. I found it odd that there was a “milky residue” after the light rinse and rinsed further and then let the engine dry on it’s own. I was unhappy with the results.
I believe that using too much water washed off whatever was going to leave the shine.
It did do a decent job of cleaning the engine, but nothing in the way of shine. I could have accomplished the same thing with a can of Gunk.

So I tried it again a second time on my 95’ Taurus, this time I warmed up the engine again spraying the entire engine compartment and letting it sit for the recommended amount of time. Using less water than I did when doing the Olds (thinking that it was user error for the poor results). I then let the engine run for just over 10 minutes, once again I was unhappy with the results.
By using less water it let “some” of the agent to give the engine area a bit of a shine but by not rinsing enough didn’t quite remove some of the dirt as you will see in the pics.

Neither of these 2 motors were really that dirty, so it should not have been that great of a challenge for this product.

My overall impression:
Not impressed, I could have (and have) achieved better results with a cheap can of engine cleaner and then spraying on some dressing.

Side note:
There is a guarantee stating satisfaction of a “great shine” or they will refund my money. Providing I send them back the unused portion and a copy of the receipt within 30 days.
Almost seems like too much trouble for the 5 bucks.

Pictures are worth 1000 words.

First attempt with the 90 Olds:
Engine was detailed a year or 2 ago but hasn't ran, so not much in the way of caked on grease

This is the product applied on a cold motor:

This is after rinsing and letting the engine sit. As you can see it's clean, but no shine.

Trying it again with the 95 Taurus:
Like the Olds the engine was done just over a year ago, running but far from what I have seen under some hoods.

Product after being applied to a warm engine as directed:

This is after using less water rinsing than I did on the Olds and letting the engine run for about 10 minutes.
You can see some shine, but you can also see some residual dirt.

Afraid I'm gonna have to give this product

As always, I'm open to questions or comments.

Thanks for reading, HTH

"J"

 

[Beemerboy]

Thanks for the review you followed the directions so what more could you do...I was thinking that the motor needed to be warm for the agents in the cleaners to react, but you did that on the second car, with about the same results....I do think that for some people that are looking to get the dirt off and make the engine area look more presentable this would be an OK product....for detailers it doesn't appear to be a go to....I was really hoping for better results as I am looking for one that is faster and better than my current process

 

[cwcad]

I think someone else voiced a similar review just the other day. Without pictures no less. IT must be bad if it cannot clean a clean engine.

 

[JaredPointer]

You obviously aren't doing it right......

 

[jaybs02]

You obviously aren't doing it right......

I'm sure that there is something in between that I missed
Thats why I even bothered to give it the second try, but with the step that will save it isn't worth the effort to give it a third try :surrender

This was hopefully some type of replacement for the CD-2. I would have actually been happier if it had less cleaning and more shining properties.

Oh well my search is still on...

"J"

 

[black bart]

CD-2 is nearly impossible to find in my area.

I use a product made by Gunk called Engine Bright after rinsing I spray entire engine compartment with a product made by Car-brite called Sheen.

While this is a two step process I think the engine Brite has more cleaning power than CD-2 and the Sheen will provide a better and longer lasting gloss.

Not sure if Carbrite is available everywhere it is a commercial product I have the body shop at my local Chevrolet dealer to get it for me the truck calls on them every two weeks.

This is what I use on my show car and it wins at every show so it works.

 

[CharlesW]

If I remember correctly, the original CD-2 package consisted of a degreaser and a dressing in a two can kit.
What you get today may not be a lot different. While they say it is a cleaner, they also say it is "easy to use after engine degreaser".

CD-2® Engine Detailer cleans, shines and protects all under-the-hood parts and surfaces in one step. Just spray it on and walk away. No rinsing, No mess.

Product Benefits

* Repels dirt, grease and moisture.
* Easy-to-use after engine degreaser.

Just to throw something out, are you folks aware that CD-2 Engine Detailer is a Turtle Wax product. :bigups

 

[Clean Dean]

Am I missing something?

How does a dirty/greasy engine become clean without removing the grease prior to dressing? No rinsing?

Spray on and walk away? :hmmm:

I have cleaned and dressed many an engine in my day, but these "one step" products seem to defy logic.

Where does the grease/dirt go? Does it miraculously dissolve and wind up on the ground?

jaybs02,

Either way thanks for sharing the info and the review.

 

[jaybs02]

Dean, trust me I was just as curious.

It sounded too good to be true ...and it was.
I found if the engine was rinsed enough to clean off the junk on it it removed the element of shine. If I rinsed "lightly" as recommended, then there was evidence of residual dirt.

I guess I will stick to a 2 step process. Just like with anything else. If the surface isn't prepped properly, you won't get the look that you desire.

"J"

 

[Clean Dean]

jaybs02,

I had the same experience with "one step" interior products. When I first started detailing professionally I experimented with a "one step" cleaner conditioner for leather.

Big mistake !!! I'll really never understand how you can clean leather effectively with a product with the consistency of a lotion. Even if the leather is only lightly soiled, the surface must have enough cleaner and water on it to lift the contaniments off it before you absorb it with a towel.

One step products are usually a big disappointment.

 

[CharlesW]

Am I missing something?

How does a dirty/greasy engine become clean without removing the grease prior to dressing? No rinsing?

Spray on and walk away? :hmmm:

I have cleaned and dressed many an engine in my day, but these "one step" products seem to defy logic.

Where does the grease/dirt go? Does it miraculously dissolve and wind up on the ground?

Hey, I don't write the stuff, I just copy and paste.

FWIW, visit a high volume used car auction and see the shiny crap sprayed all over the underhood areas of some vehicles. They definitely do a spray on walk away process.
CD-2 would be a big step up from the stuff they are using.
The grease/dirt doesn't go anywhere. It's right where it was, but now it's all shiny.
A couple of good things about it.
1. It's part of their "quicky" detail and you can tell which sellers are just trying to cover things up for as cheap a price as possible. The quality resellers don't do it.
2. It washes of with almost no effort so the job can be done right.

After I clean my engine compartment, I rarely need to dress anything but the hoses. For that I have been using 303. I have used a small amount of CD-2 where I cant get to the area to do it right. Behind the engine on the GTP for instance. Surprisingly enough, it does a pretty good job where I can't get to things to apply a dressing.