Need advice on first Blackfire GEP use

[Lone Wolf]

What is the best thing to apply/remove products like Final Inspection and One Grand Show-off??



Also are those flannel polishing cloths any good??

They are yellow and I think made by detailking..



LW

[Langley Interior Car Kare]

2 MF approach with FI...i dampen 1MF with some FI...then spray the QD on a panel....wipe it in a little with the damp MF...then buff it with the dry MF...to avoid swirls...etc.....



i use the yellow flannels by Viking for polishing my glass after i have used a Viper with some ISA or EF CV...it works well to get the streaks out....be sure to wash those yellow suckers before u use them...they tend to lint otherwise..:)

[JonB]

And wash them seperately, that is unless you like yellow underwear.....



H

[Langley Interior Car Kare]

:confused:

[imported_doug]

A microfiber towel is what you want - best solution to wipe off excess without scratching and minimum strokes for maximum capture. Flannel is a bad idea. also, the yellow MF cloths are usually for drying. I like the finer white cloths (example I know personally is Meguiar`s Ultimate Wipe") for almost all my buffing chores - QD as well as wax residue, polish, glaze, etc. (These should be applied with a foam pad, but buffed off with MF.)

[Lemonxxs]

MF MF MF MF



That should answer all questions concerning any fabrics.!

[Langley Interior Car Kare]

that kind of language will not be tolerated at Autopia...........:p

[Lemonxxs]

MF is in the List!!! well I think it is.

[Don2000g]

My favorite towel for quick detailing is without a doubt a Magic Towel or Miracle Towel that can be found at CMA at www.properautocare.com, Tim`s site at www.tacscar.com or at www.yosteve.com. Best microfiber towel out there. Laters

[imported_Greg]

Hey carguy... why is flannel a bad idea? I talked to Larry over at carcareonline today and he told me that the very best towel to remove Blitz wax was cotton flannel. Now I`m confused :confused: :(

[vettefan67]

Flannel or other cloths with no "pile" are not a good idea to be rubbing on your paint. There is nowhere for any dirt or dust to go so you are just rubbing it right into the paint.



I use Miracle Towels for a lot of my buffing, but if the stuff is messy I use Charisma towels. Even if your car is in the garage with wax on it, dust and stuff will settle on the wax, so there is always the chance to be rubbing this stuff in if you are using something like flannel.

[marcopolo112000]

Hi guys, total noob here. I went through heaps of forum strings but I`m still unclear on a few things.

I just ordered a blackfire Wet Diamond Shine Kit and a PC7424. I want to give the treatment to an 07 black fjcruiser that I just bought. To my untrained eye the paint looks pretty good. It`s got a few really faint swirls and spider web if you catch it at just the right angle, but all in all it`s got nice depth and reflection to it.

Basically, I don`t even know what I don`t know,:huh: but my main questions are:

1. Is washing with the blackfire gloss shampoo and conditioner enough before using the GEP? do i need to strip any existing wax first?
2. Do I need to tape anything off for this job? edges? ridges? plastic or rubber? or is that only for polishing compounds and rotaries?
3. Do I treat painted ABS the same as painted metal? the FJ has painted ABS bumbers(well the silver parts are painted, I havent figured out yet if the black parts are painted matt, or that`s just the color of the plastic itself).
4. What speed should I set the PC to for the GEP and then the wet diamond paint protector?
5. How fast should I be moving the PC? someone mentioned 2-3 inches per second in a string, is that about right? When Im buffing a section, How many passes over the same area should I aim for?
6. I`m im memphis, so it`s supper hot down here right now. I mean like 90 in the shade at 7 am. I`m thinking that the pads are going to dry out pretty fast. do I tackle smaller sections at a time, just keep adding GEP to keep them moist, or use a water spray bottle on it once in a while?

Thanks to anybody with the patience to actually answer questions you`ve probably seen posted here a 1000 times before!
L8TR

[Street Dreams]

I used this product a couple of times on wash and wax details before topping with a wax, leaves a nice deep loss behind. As for its filling properties I cant really say but dont expect it to hide anything major because it spreads very thin.

As for application I used a black LC foam pad on speed 4 with the PC. It spreads very evenly and you can do a whole car in 15minutes or so. Do not treat it like a polish where you need to make slow steady passes in order to remove defects you can do a very general spread fairly quickly making steady passes, how many? Up to you, I prefer even thin coats so however many it takes to get 100% coverage evenly. You dont need much product for it to work and once that pad gets saturated you use less dots per panel.

Prep paint fully, wash, clay if needed and of course IPA wipedowns to makes sure the finish is 100% stripped of prior wax, oils and ready for your new products.

No need to tape off trim pieces as this product has no real abrasives in it and since you should be using it with a very soft foam pad you will not damage anything. Just wipe away any excess residue when finished. You can go over painted pieces with this product no problems there.

As for your heat issue, leave the product on the paint longer, maybe 30 minutes before buffing off so it does not get streaky.

Dont add water to your pad, just add more product as needed. You pad will not dry out in the heat, only the product on the paint will be affected. Do a swipe test on a panel when its all done and cured and see if it comes off clean or if it gets streaky.

Wait about an hour or 2 before applying the Blackfire protection on top again to make sure the GEP did not get smeary.

Thin coats are your friend, thin coats in very hot temps is your best friend!

[marcopolo112000]

O.K., thanks. I guess I`ll have to go find some IPA then in order to strip the wax off first before using the GEP. What do most people recommend for final wipedown of tires and black plastic or rubber in for protection and that wet look? I`ve only ever used armorall.