JonB
12-23-2001, 02:15 PM
OK, I spent the last 3 days prepping, polishing, protecting the Mustang. I first did a dawn wash. Then I clayed with Pinnacle Poly Clay and the Pinnacle Clay lubricant. I did the entire car with the clay. This left a pretty messy goop all over. I took it outside and hosed the car down....water only. Goop was gone. I then used Finesse It II on the hood a couple of times with a PC/Yellow pad since SMR/white pad really didn`t do much. I used 3M Fine Cut Rubbing Compound by hand on a few remaining scratches. The FI II left a definite haze on the hood. I then used Blackfire Polish with a PC/white pad to polish the entire car thus removing any residual Klasse and leaving a very smooth, polished surface. I am very impressed with Blackfire polish. Easy to work with, wipe off and exceptional polishing!
First coat of Blackfire Paint Protectant went on with an MF applicator. I think it was too thich because it was not so easy to remove...about the same as SG without water or detailer. I used the Gloss Enhacing detailing spray after the first coat. Looked nice but I knew it wasn`t finished. Second coat of BFPP went on with a foam applicator....thin....thin is good! Went on faster than with the MF applicator and used a lot less product. Very easy to remove when applied thin! (Almost but not quite as easy as Zaino removal) I did not care for the way it looked on the matte black plastic trim...looked streaky no matter what I did, so I finally polished it with Vinylex and no more streaks. (Zaino and Klasse did ok with the black trim)
The second coat really made a big difference. I could see as I was going around the car the difference between the 1 coat and 2 coat panels. Marked difference. I had already done the trunk lid about a month ago, but I laid down two more coats anyways. These coats seemed to hide some relatively severe paint defects ie scratches and very fine chips. I had similar results with SG after 5 or 6 coats.
I still have to go over it with the Gloss Enhancing Spray again and will be done for this session. Will probably lay down another few coats in a week or two after trying the Blackfire wash.
So far, I would say this has the most pleasing shine of all the Polymer products I`ve used so far (Klasse, Zaino, Liquid Glass), though the Zaino on silver is probably a better choice due to the light characteristics of a silver finish being aided by the glassy look. It is very similar to a Carnauba shine like Blitz and Souveran. I will have to watch for the mysterious haze problem that I had with Klasse/Blitz. Temperatures are way down now though...I think it was below 80 today, and the humidity is down also. I am thinking the haze had a lot to do with that, but will keep a close eye out for it.
Pictures....I have one last pass with the detailing spray and then it moves out of the detailing factory (garage) to the show floor (driveway). Give me a couple of hours and will post them to this thread.
Just a couple of notes: Get a PC if you don`t already own one! I can`t imagine doing this job without one. I tried the first time several months ago and got no where close to the results I got this time. Take your time in prepping. It is the key to good results. Again, last time I skipped a couple of steps and I can definitely see the difference! I didn`t time myself, but prep took the better part of one afternoon and finished the next morning. The actual polymer application and removal is not that bad, especially if you apply THIN THIN layers with a foam applicator.
Have at least 5 or 6 MF`s (20?) handy in addition to a bunch of shop towels. When the MF`s get full of product, they do not work well. Move on to another. Patience.... Attention to detail.... Good Masseuse available for breaks... Good health insurance to cover Chiropractic visits...
H
First coat of Blackfire Paint Protectant went on with an MF applicator. I think it was too thich because it was not so easy to remove...about the same as SG without water or detailer. I used the Gloss Enhacing detailing spray after the first coat. Looked nice but I knew it wasn`t finished. Second coat of BFPP went on with a foam applicator....thin....thin is good! Went on faster than with the MF applicator and used a lot less product. Very easy to remove when applied thin! (Almost but not quite as easy as Zaino removal) I did not care for the way it looked on the matte black plastic trim...looked streaky no matter what I did, so I finally polished it with Vinylex and no more streaks. (Zaino and Klasse did ok with the black trim)
The second coat really made a big difference. I could see as I was going around the car the difference between the 1 coat and 2 coat panels. Marked difference. I had already done the trunk lid about a month ago, but I laid down two more coats anyways. These coats seemed to hide some relatively severe paint defects ie scratches and very fine chips. I had similar results with SG after 5 or 6 coats.
I still have to go over it with the Gloss Enhancing Spray again and will be done for this session. Will probably lay down another few coats in a week or two after trying the Blackfire wash.
So far, I would say this has the most pleasing shine of all the Polymer products I`ve used so far (Klasse, Zaino, Liquid Glass), though the Zaino on silver is probably a better choice due to the light characteristics of a silver finish being aided by the glassy look. It is very similar to a Carnauba shine like Blitz and Souveran. I will have to watch for the mysterious haze problem that I had with Klasse/Blitz. Temperatures are way down now though...I think it was below 80 today, and the humidity is down also. I am thinking the haze had a lot to do with that, but will keep a close eye out for it.
Pictures....I have one last pass with the detailing spray and then it moves out of the detailing factory (garage) to the show floor (driveway). Give me a couple of hours and will post them to this thread.
Just a couple of notes: Get a PC if you don`t already own one! I can`t imagine doing this job without one. I tried the first time several months ago and got no where close to the results I got this time. Take your time in prepping. It is the key to good results. Again, last time I skipped a couple of steps and I can definitely see the difference! I didn`t time myself, but prep took the better part of one afternoon and finished the next morning. The actual polymer application and removal is not that bad, especially if you apply THIN THIN layers with a foam applicator.
Have at least 5 or 6 MF`s (20?) handy in addition to a bunch of shop towels. When the MF`s get full of product, they do not work well. Move on to another. Patience.... Attention to detail.... Good Masseuse available for breaks... Good health insurance to cover Chiropractic visits...
H