rstype
01-11-2003, 05:49 PM
Ever since the introduction of Blackfire, there have been several complaints from its cleaning ability. Geekysteve used it to polish off embedded brake dust and someone else found both the protectant and cleaner to have a high pH level. CMA seems to have heard these complaints and responded by tuning “the balance of the[se] chemicals.” Below is my mini-test to test how strong the Blackfire 2 solvents are in comparison to Blackfire 1.
I took out an old CD from my rack of old PC games. I got out a black Sharpie Permanent Marker and divided the CD into 4 sections:
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-109s-med.jpg
On each section, I proceeded to apply 4 different products each with 3 squares of toilet paper.
1= Blackfire I
2= Blackfire II
3= Meguiar’s Gold Class Liquid
4= Meguiar’s #26 Paste
Here are the results after the application. I used EQUAL moderate pressure on all of the sections.
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-110s-med.jpg
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-111s-med.jpg
As you can see, the Blackfire I (sec. 1) and Gold Class (sec. 3) took the permanent ink right off. The #26 Paste (sec. 4) removed some ink, but not as much as the other two. I believe that if I rubbed even harder, all the ink would have been polished out. Blackfire II (sec. 2) didn`t touch the marker at all.
For my control I tried water and isopropyl alcohol (not shown). The water did nothing to the marker, even with lots of rubbing. The alcohol, on the other hand, quickly dissolved the marker after some rubbing.
The difference could actually be "felt" because when I was applying the "original" BF, it felt like the applicator was grinding into the CD, similar to the way it feels when applying an SMR to your paint. However, the "new" BF went on smoothly and had a much more slippery feeling to it. - Intermezzo
My findings (while applying the two) were similar to what Intermezzo has described.
Final picture with the products buffed off:
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-112s-med.jpg
Conclusion? You have to draw it yourself. I know for a fact that BF II is a lot less powerful than the original BF or GC. But I don`t know if this makes BF I "harsh" on the clearcoat... so draw your own conclusions.
Thanks to Bolton (bjwebster) for sending out the Blackfire II sample. Congratulations to CMA for successfully "retuning the balance of polymers" in Blackfire. Expect to see a BF I vs. BF II durability comparo soon.
(Oh, and the CD I used? I used the original Blackfire to eliminate the rest of the "permanent" ink residue. Then I tried playing the game again and it worked!. BF I sure works excellent as a CD restorer.)
I took out an old CD from my rack of old PC games. I got out a black Sharpie Permanent Marker and divided the CD into 4 sections:
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-109s-med.jpg
On each section, I proceeded to apply 4 different products each with 3 squares of toilet paper.
1= Blackfire I
2= Blackfire II
3= Meguiar’s Gold Class Liquid
4= Meguiar’s #26 Paste
Here are the results after the application. I used EQUAL moderate pressure on all of the sections.
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-110s-med.jpg
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-111s-med.jpg
As you can see, the Blackfire I (sec. 1) and Gold Class (sec. 3) took the permanent ink right off. The #26 Paste (sec. 4) removed some ink, but not as much as the other two. I believe that if I rubbed even harder, all the ink would have been polished out. Blackfire II (sec. 2) didn`t touch the marker at all.
For my control I tried water and isopropyl alcohol (not shown). The water did nothing to the marker, even with lots of rubbing. The alcohol, on the other hand, quickly dissolved the marker after some rubbing.
The difference could actually be "felt" because when I was applying the "original" BF, it felt like the applicator was grinding into the CD, similar to the way it feels when applying an SMR to your paint. However, the "new" BF went on smoothly and had a much more slippery feeling to it. - Intermezzo
My findings (while applying the two) were similar to what Intermezzo has described.
Final picture with the products buffed off:
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/372mvc-112s-med.jpg
Conclusion? You have to draw it yourself. I know for a fact that BF II is a lot less powerful than the original BF or GC. But I don`t know if this makes BF I "harsh" on the clearcoat... so draw your own conclusions.
Thanks to Bolton (bjwebster) for sending out the Blackfire II sample. Congratulations to CMA for successfully "retuning the balance of polymers" in Blackfire. Expect to see a BF I vs. BF II durability comparo soon.
(Oh, and the CD I used? I used the original Blackfire to eliminate the rest of the "permanent" ink residue. Then I tried playing the game again and it worked!. BF I sure works excellent as a CD restorer.)