Blackfire SRC Polishes Cut Through Swirls & Water Spots w/Power of FLEX

[AutopiaTech]

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Once again I was talked in to working on a co-worker`s vehicle. And once again it`s that darn black school bus with the Ford logo on it. I just can`t get away from this thing can I? For whatever reason my friends, family, and co-workers are under the impression that I`m some avid automotive enthusiast. Well, it`s kind of true. Maybe the stacks of Motortrend and Car & Driver magazines on my desk gives it away. Who knows, but with the entire Autopia Store at my disposal, I never pass up the opportunity to test products and write articles about them.

It`s been a little over a month since Autopia acquired Blackfire, and at every opportunity available I test a Blackfire product. Take a peek below, and you will see why I grabbed a bottle of the Blackfire SRC Compound and SRC Finishing Polish. Both of which were designed for the newest scratch resistant clear coats found on most newer vehicles.

What you see below is what happens if you run a vehicle through an automated car wash three times a week for two years. It`s like eating an entire cheesecake three times a week for two years. The end result is, you`re not going to be turning heads any longer. Luckily, the vehicle is in good hands now. :D




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As much as I enjoy using my trusty Porter Cable 7424xp for its ease of use and dependability, I decided to grab the smooth-as-butter, tough as nails, lean mean paint correction machine known as the Flex XC3401 VRG. No exaggeration, it`s that good. If you`ve ever plugged one in, let alone used one, you know exactly what I`m talking about.

I started off with the Blackfire SRC Compound. It was applied using a 6.5" Lake Country CCS Orange Light Cutting pad. Whenever I`m performing any type of correction work, I often grab this type of pad because of the CCS (closed cell structure) pockets found on the pads. These are pockets of closed foam, where products are less apt to soak into the foam. This reduces product waste and also allows the pad to run cooler.

I started off by priming the pad and then applying four dime sized drops.




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The compound was spread out first at a lower speed and then I cranked up the Flex XC3401 to speed 6 and locked it in place with the trigger lock. It`s similar to setting the cruise control on a Bentley Continental GTC, meaning it`s smooth sailing from here on out. :drool:




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What really surprised me was how long of a working time Blackfire SRC Compound has. For a compound, there was virtually no dusting either.




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To ensure desired results, meaning flawless butter smooth paint, it`s critical to clean your pad often. I use the Foam Pad Conditioning Brush because it`s easy to use, comfortable to hold, and with the stiff nylon bristles, will effectively break up caked on compound and polish residue.




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Ready for round two!




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Can you tell which side has been polished using Blackfire SRC Compound?




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[AutopiaTech]

After wiping off the Blackfire SRC Compound and admiring my work (OK, credit goes to the Flex), I proceeded to step two with the Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish. Because the SRC Compound finished so nicely, I used a Lake Country 6.5" Gray Finishing pad with the SRC Finishing Polish just to amp up the gloss and further refine the surface.




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After several section passes the polish starts to turn translucent as it breaks down.




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Looks good to me!




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Just a quick reminder of how bad the paint was when I started polishing. Left side hasn`t been polished, right side has been polished.





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Shortly after the right side of the hood was polished to a high gloss using the Blackfire SRC Compound and SRC Finishing Polish, a thin coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection was applied by hand.




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Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection goes on extremely thin and for best results, let it dry to a haze before removing it.




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After the sealant dried to a haze, it was buffed off using a super soft microfiber towel. When applied correctly, Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection removes with just the weight of the towel. This isn`t a sealant that fights you. It wants to be removed so it can reveal the shimmering wet shine that it`s known for.




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But I wasn`t going to stop there. I had not experienced the Blackfire Wet-Ice Over Fire Shine, so after the sealant cured for a couple hours a thin, even coat of the Blackfire Midnight Sun Carnauba Paste Wax.




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After removing the Blackfire Midnight Sun Carnauba Paste Wax, I was instantly greated with a deep, wet shine that is instantly recognized as being a Wet-Ice Over Fire Shine.




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While I was cleaning up shop my new friend Todd Helme stopped by to inspect my work. I don`t know for sure, but I`m pretty confident the grin on his face is a sure sign of his approval. :rockon




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Blackfire Car Care at Autopia (http://www.autopia-carcare.com/blackfire-car-care.html)



:autopia:

[Bunky]

Wait a minute...a few of the hand shots has much different hand.

[AutopiaTech]

Wait a minute...a few of the hand shots has much different hand.

The mysterious hand you see belongs to my partner who is also my photographer. ;)

[glfahlc]

fantastic work but you missed a blackfire step..... gloss enhancing polish.. you feel that would have maybe brought even more shine to that black.

[Old Pirate]

Great to see the Wet Ice Over Shine on here, now folks will know what it`s all about!

[Addicted2Bling]

Tod looks just like he does in his atavar, nice job, wish I could see more pictures of the final product though...

[JaredPointer]

fantastic work but you missed a blackfire step..... gloss enhancing polish.. you feel that would have maybe brought even more shine to that black.

Speaking of this polish - every time I use it I get, for a lack of a better description, residue that`s impossible to remove unless I use water/alcohol (or some sort of QD, etc). I`ve tried it thin, thick, let it haze, don`t let it haze, etc, etc.

I really hate that, because otherwise I think it`s a good product.

[JaredPointer]

Oh - and you need new friends! :D Haha.

[tropicsteve]

that`s a pretty impressive transformation !

[Iomcamaro]

That combo of compound and polish looks like it could be compared to M105/M205.

[AutopiaTech]

Great to see the Wet Ice Over Shine on here, now folks will know what it`s all about!

I now know what it`s all about, and I`ll be using it frequently. :rockon

[Iomcamaro]

I now know what it`s all about, and I`ll be using it frequently. :rockon

Did you get the whiplash? :rockon

[Todd@RUPES]

Tod looks just like he does in his atavar, nice job, wish I could see more pictures of the final product though...

Well that`s because I am me! :rofl

[Todd@RUPES]

That combo of compound and polish looks like it could be compared to M105/M205.

Compared? Sure, but different. M105/M205 is going to offer more cut (M105 has more power than Blackfire SRC Compound) but the Blackfire is also going to finish nicer (Blackfire SRC Finishing Polish finishes nicer than M205).