imported_Aurora40
08-07-2004, 10:46 PM
Well, today I wanted to get the car looking real nice as we were going to a local Corvette cruise-in (ok, my car is not a Corvette, but it`s the first time it`d be in a showy area). I had been meaning to replenish the wax on it anyway, but the car needed some light polishing first. The Wolfgang/Blackfire combo didn`t fare as well as I`d hoped and the car had some bug spots and water spots that weren`t just washing off. I fixed the bug stuff with some Gold Class Bug & Tar Remover, then went to polishing.
I wanted to hand polish because it just needed light action, hand polishing doesn`t dust and I don`t have to mask, and I just felt like it. So, I wasn`t sure about using SFP or Speed Glaze. Interestingly, only Speed Glaze is recommended for use by hand on the bottle. Anyway, I did half the hood with each. The difference was subtle, the Speed Glaze looked ever slightly better, but mainly it was much easier to apply and buff off by hand. So I Speed Glazed the car. It was actually a great product for hand use. Very easy to use, some effort required, but not much. Even by hand it breaks down incredibly quickly. I think it might even be milder than SFP if you work it a bit since SFP takes a lot longer to break down by hand (or at least it sure seemed to) meaning you are abrading for a longer period of time even if the abrasive action is initially less.
At this point, I`d usually be reaching for the Blackfire. However, it takes hours to set up before you can buff it, and then it never comes off 100%. I usually have to wait a day or two and QD it off. If the car gets dirty before that time, then it`s wait for the next wash before it really looks 100%. I didn`t have time for that, nor did I feel like dealing with it. So I grabbed the next closest thing to the Blackfire look. #16... It went on sooo easy over the Speed Glaze, much easier than it ever did as a topper. Buffing was easy too, I did the whole car, then buffed with the new edgless Ultimate Wipe. It seems to have good bite for that kind of buffing. When I saw the car outside, I was amazed. It looks even better than Blackfire. It doesn`t have quite the metallic pop, but it`s close, and it has more of a natural look with a very high shine. I love it! Plus, it`s easy, I can apply it whenever, I can mix and match it with stuff like Souveran, I can wax over QD (like after a wash so I don`t wax-in water spots), I can glaze on top of it and wax again (I might have to order some Hand Polish as I find #7 too finicky), etc. Carnauba is not picky or finicky, and this stuff can easily last months and months, especially on a garaged car.
I was really wowed. I`ve only put #16 over other sealants to this point, but I think I might just use it by itself now on the Aurora. I guess this will let me work in some NXT on the Aurora just to try out. I was worried it`d mess up the Blackfire if I used it with that. But you can`t mess up carnauba, you can always re-add it. I`ll probably even try some Blackfire over the #16 on occasion just for the heck of it, it can`t hurt anything.
#16 has basically everything I love about Blackfire, the beading, it has a similar look, stuff doesn`t stick to it, and it is quite durable, plus it`s so much easier to use. Who`d have thunk something would have me shelving the Blackfire?
Oh, I didn`t apply the Bug Guard as I didn`t have time, but tomorrow I will try to QEW the front of the car and apply some of it. I`ll let you know how it goes.
I wanted to hand polish because it just needed light action, hand polishing doesn`t dust and I don`t have to mask, and I just felt like it. So, I wasn`t sure about using SFP or Speed Glaze. Interestingly, only Speed Glaze is recommended for use by hand on the bottle. Anyway, I did half the hood with each. The difference was subtle, the Speed Glaze looked ever slightly better, but mainly it was much easier to apply and buff off by hand. So I Speed Glazed the car. It was actually a great product for hand use. Very easy to use, some effort required, but not much. Even by hand it breaks down incredibly quickly. I think it might even be milder than SFP if you work it a bit since SFP takes a lot longer to break down by hand (or at least it sure seemed to) meaning you are abrading for a longer period of time even if the abrasive action is initially less.
At this point, I`d usually be reaching for the Blackfire. However, it takes hours to set up before you can buff it, and then it never comes off 100%. I usually have to wait a day or two and QD it off. If the car gets dirty before that time, then it`s wait for the next wash before it really looks 100%. I didn`t have time for that, nor did I feel like dealing with it. So I grabbed the next closest thing to the Blackfire look. #16... It went on sooo easy over the Speed Glaze, much easier than it ever did as a topper. Buffing was easy too, I did the whole car, then buffed with the new edgless Ultimate Wipe. It seems to have good bite for that kind of buffing. When I saw the car outside, I was amazed. It looks even better than Blackfire. It doesn`t have quite the metallic pop, but it`s close, and it has more of a natural look with a very high shine. I love it! Plus, it`s easy, I can apply it whenever, I can mix and match it with stuff like Souveran, I can wax over QD (like after a wash so I don`t wax-in water spots), I can glaze on top of it and wax again (I might have to order some Hand Polish as I find #7 too finicky), etc. Carnauba is not picky or finicky, and this stuff can easily last months and months, especially on a garaged car.
I was really wowed. I`ve only put #16 over other sealants to this point, but I think I might just use it by itself now on the Aurora. I guess this will let me work in some NXT on the Aurora just to try out. I was worried it`d mess up the Blackfire if I used it with that. But you can`t mess up carnauba, you can always re-add it. I`ll probably even try some Blackfire over the #16 on occasion just for the heck of it, it can`t hurt anything.
#16 has basically everything I love about Blackfire, the beading, it has a similar look, stuff doesn`t stick to it, and it is quite durable, plus it`s so much easier to use. Who`d have thunk something would have me shelving the Blackfire?
Oh, I didn`t apply the Bug Guard as I didn`t have time, but tomorrow I will try to QEW the front of the car and apply some of it. I`ll let you know how it goes.