DarkWraith33

After entirely too much reading and research on my part, I finally decided to give the Blackfire line of products a try on my 2005 NBP TL. I took delivery in October and have used simple Megs carnuba up to this point on the car every 4-5 weeks or so. While the shine was there, and it looked nice, it was clear that for the amount of effort I wanted to put into it, the Megs was not going to give me the protection I wanted unless I stuck with a 3-4 week reapplication schedule. Not gonna happen. And while Zaino comes highly recomended, again, there were simply too many steps for my daily driver.

I got the Blackfire from ProperAutocare.com, whom I give a big to. Shipping was fast, prices seemed ok. (Also got some 303)

I washed the car using my usual NXT soap and dried using a combination of The Absorber and Water Blade. I also clayed (my first time using clay) any areas of the car that felt like they needed it (hood, bumper, trunk deck). HUH... It works. Who'da thunk it. It was a Mother's bar and I used a combination of their quick lube along with soapy water to work with the clay.

Blackfire has two steps: The Polish and the All Finish Paint Protection.

I applied the Polish using a MF pad that came with the kit I purchased. It is a thicker white liquid that went on fairly easily. It would not "spread" it as far as they said I could. Nickel/Quarter size for half hood... I got Nickel/quarter size for 1/3 hood or so. By no means am I the master detailer though. (I got a lil better at the end.) It dried fairly quickly. My car was in the shade on a 70F day. I buffed the polish off using another MF cloth. At this point it was clear from feel that the old wax was gone, but the surface was very silky from the polish. Granted, the car was new, but I could definately tell the difference before and after (clay and polish). I'm slow and the entire car to polish and remove to me about 1.5 hours.

I moved to the All Finish Paint Protection next. It was a light blue liquid that was noticeably more thin that the polish. It has a pleasant smell as well. Using another MF pad, I applied the AFPP as I would any other wax. I did actually try both circular motions and straight line motions to compare and saw no real difference. It went on very easy and I had a much better time "stretching" the AFPP. Buffing off was a dream. Very little residue remained as dust after I had buffed the entire car. AFPP'ing and buffing to me just over an hour.

All in all, the two products were easy to use and very straightforward. None of the #80 then #83, or Z2, Z3x2 stuff that beginners might not want to learn. Two products to start, and then the AFPP from there on out. My results may be only close to as good, but my effort was 3-4 hours total. SOLD.

I will post pics later, but I will say the look is great on my NBP. The shine is fairly deep and the reflections are incredible. When the wife even comments, you've got a good thing. The feel of it is very, very slick. I understand that another coat will provide a more wet look, and plan on doing that sometime this week. Another thing I found awesome, was the fact that 90% of any water marks and previous swirl marks were now gone. I don't think I was expecting that, but I am certainly pleased.

I will come back to this thread later, and post on the how long the shine and feel last. That is, after all, what I am going for. While I was willing to sacrifice a little in the looks department, I wanted protection for an extended period, and found that what I sacrificed was almost nothing.

My , the Blackfire gets from me. For the daily driver that you want good proctection for and good looks, but want to spend only a minor/moderate amount of time working at, this is your product. If you want the synthetic protection but are leary of 10-20 products, etc... This 2 step process is for you.

MAN... I talk to damn much. Hope this helps some people!

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Keep us informed of the longevity of BF. I've read a lot of reviews and most were sadly disappointed with the longevity.

Hawhyen51

Good Review on BF! Longevity at question. Looking forward to your follow up.

exceldetail

Longevity is no issue with BF. I use it nearly exclusively on all darks. Expect 8-10 weeks with proper maintenance. BF, along with FS Ultimate Paint Protectant are easily the two most easy to use, and most durable, and cost efficient products youll ever come across. Take my advice and apply one more layer after a 24 hr wait. This ensures even distribution, and an additional protective layer. I have used both versions of it, wonderful stuff !

stogie1020

Anyone know if AFPP will have problems bonding on top of AIO?

exceldetail

Aio and UPP or AFPP are great combos, durability may decrease ever so slightly......Both sealants prefer a sterile surface......

stogie1020

Thanks, I am going to use IW until it start getting hot here (Tucson) and then switch to BF AFPP for the summer. How should I take the Collinite off before putting the BF on? Will a re-aply of AIO do the trick to remove the Collinite #845?

DarkWraith33

I'll defer to Excel on this , but I would think that the BF Polish (the first step before the AFPP) would take ANY kind of existing sealant/wax off. My

stogie1020

OK, I guess I could buy the whole "package" from blackfire, but I was just planing on buying the AFPP, since I already have AIO polish.

If I see some smokey chemical reaction on the paint, with wisps of noxious fumes, I will just light the whole car on fire and call the insurance company!!

termigator

Oooooh! Another BF user! There seem to be so few around.

exceldetail

AIO will probably remove more than the BF due to its chemical cutting ability. I would still pre apply BF Polish before the AFP though. Just my pers. technique.

DarkWraith33

Johnny76

Looks good DarkWraith!

I'm definitely going to go with the Blackfire package next when I run out of NXT. Keep us updated with the longevity of the protection. again.

stogie1020

So....... How's the durability holding up??

DarkWraith33

I'll feel'er up in the mornin and let you know...

stogie1020

Thanks. Right now I have Collinite IW on top of AIO, and I like the look, but in Tucson in the summer, my headlights run cooler than the surface temp of my NBP car. Thus, I am thinking of switching to Blackfire for the summer months.

DarkWraith33

Well, from the looks of my first post, it has been over 2 weeks since my application of blackfire on my NBP 05 TL...

I have since reapplied ONLY to the front hood to use as an exemplar while "testing" the durability.

To the touch, the A-pillars and trunk deck are still very smooth and silky. Definately on track with the front hood...

Water still beads and rolls, as would be expected...

Been raining so I haven't been able to wash her all that much in the last week....

Since that first app, we had maybe 10-12 days of NO rain at all. Car baked in sun (about 70ish outside) about 9-10 hours a day and was garage kept at night. Car was washed 2-3 times so far since that application.

While still early, I remain very happy with the Blackfire... I'll be back in 2 more weeks for another review...

Blackfire: Episode III Revenge of the Spring Rain Storms

stogie1020

DarkWraith, just to let you know, I may bug you avery month or so for an update. I love that companies come out with new great products, but I live in about the harshest climate available for a car finish (Tucson, AZ), so I like to see some longevity results. Thanks again for the two week update.

redterminator

I've been using Blackfire since last September and I'm happy with the product. I live in Tucson as well and it seems to be holding up pretty well to the heat. It has been almost 5 months since I last applied the polish and sealant so I'm overdue for a wax job but it has performed pretty well as far as I can see. I'll be re-applying next weekend so I'll keep a tally of how long it really lasts.

exceldetail

Ive been using it since before it was even reformulated. It really is an awesome product. If you like BF, you'll like Four Star Ultimate Paint Protectant just as well. For the longest time, I thought BF was rebottled and relabeled. UPP is more user friendly for those who may experience oily splotches or uneveness......VERY slick, just as Blackfire.
As for durability, its in the eye of the beholder. Lack of beading may not be indicative of lack of protection, so keep that in mind. It may be your "resting area" for your durability test though...Happy detailing folks....

DarkWraith33

Blackfire is holding up well. I've done the hood several times, but not the rest of the car since the initial application. While the rest of the car is no longer SILKY smooth (smooth nonetheless though), it continues to bead water....

As Excel stated, I am trusting that the protection is still there although some of the smoothness is definately gone.

I will say that dirt, bugs and bird bombs DO come off quite easily still so that is good. Overall, I am still very happy with the Blackfire.

stogie1020

Thanks for the update. Sounds like some of those concerns over BF durability are not so serious, when looked at in the real world.

Anyone in the desert use BlackFire? I would love to know how well it holds up in 100degree and up temps...

exceldetail

Im in So Cal, we get over 100 for several spells a yr in the summertime. What really kills durability also is low humidity.....Sucks rejuvinating oils away. Bottom line is, BF is a great product, a little tricky to use at first, but one of the slickest, and most durable products ive ever used. Not to mention "blow your socks off depth" on reds and darks......

Tappy116

Great Thread . Bought the same BF kit from properautocare
But havent gotten chance to use it.

I was just wondering if you have tried the BF sampoo that is provided with the kit?

DarkWraith33

I have NOT tried the shampoo... Although I will at some point. I use Megs NXT soap currently and LOVE it.

Long weekend... Get out there and try that BF! I may throw another coat on there myself this weekend if I get a chance. I plan on leaving the trunk deck with just the original coat as my ongoing test...

Tappy116

I CAN'T...........Stupid rain.........plus i'm not gonna be home.

I really want to try the BF though

Tappy116

DarkWraith33,

Did you use the MF towels(Dragon Fiber) provided in the kit to buff off the polish and wax?

I ask because i have the kit and the Dragon fiber towels seem i little rough.

DarkWraith33

I thought the same thing BUT... I went for it... I figured they wouldn't send me something bad?

I used the MF pad to apply both the polish and protection (a different one for each) and I used the MF towel that came with the kit (the dragon stuff I do believe) to buff everything off (again, one for polish and one for protection)...

They did fine and those are now my "good" MF towels that I only use for those purposes.

As a stand in, CostCo has MF towel pack for like $10-$12 or so that are also good.

Hope this helps!

exceldetail

If you guys are sold on BF, you would love Four Star Ultimate care care product as well..........

DarkWraith33

As promised, I'm back again with some update action.

It's been nearly 10 weeks or so since my initial application of BF. All in all, I've continued to be happy with the results. The only portion of the car that I've done more than the initial time would be the front hood (as I typically have the half bra on my car.) Weather has been typical Pittsburgh. Good amount of rain at beginning followed by some insane heat and sun here recently. I feel the BF held up pretty well. (Certainly better than the carnuba that I had used in the past.)

The initial silky smoothness went away after several weeks or so. Definately didn't feel that smooth after 3-4 weeks, although the car continued to bead and sheet water on the flat surfaces and sheet water for the most part on the door panels right up to the end. Was the protection as good as day 1? No. Do I feel comfortable reapplying ever 3-4 months and continuing to feel as though my car has decent protection, and looks good doing so? Absolutely. What I liked was that even near the end, washing the car was easy still. Damn near everything would come right off very easily. I do have a few waterspots that I noticed and I will need to polish them out here soon.

For a nice car that's also a daily driver that you want to put some time in, but not go insane, I still feel the BF is a good go at it. Especially dark cars. Price is reasonable, application is straightforward, and the product goes on and off nice.

That being said, I did NOT like the Blackfire soap that came with my kit. I used it for the first time just today and wasn't impressed at all. Not super sudsy. Just didn't like it at all. I will begin using that on the wifes company car and go back to using NXT soap on my car. My .

Here's some pics after application #2. Depth and shine were not noticeably different this time than last (not that I expected them to be.) I may try puttnig 4-5 coats on the hood and see if it looks different. (The Zaino effect, we'll call it...)

Note the front decal as well. My friend with a vinyl cutter made it for me. I think it gives a sharp look. I've got the headlight protection kit on there as well, and as you can see... You can't see it!

exceldetail

Looking good ! If you like BF, your going to love Ultimate Paint Protectant as well......

stogie1020

Darkwraith,

Thanks for the update. I have been looking forward to your post on the Blackfire Experience. Any thoughts on how heat would affect longevity? I live in Arizona, and would love to know BF will last on black in 115 degree heat for at least three months. Right now I have 845IW on top of AIO, but BF looks SOOO good on your black car.....

DarkWraith33

For the relatively small amount of work to get it on, along with only having to shell out $50... Even if it only lasted for you for 6 weeks, it'd be worth it, eh? I can't say 100% for your area, but it's worth a shot... What do you use now?

stogie1020

Right now I have IW845 on top of AIO, with NXT booster after each weekly wash...