BLACKFIRE Products New User Questions

[woodsman]

Hello, I am relatively new to the forum and I have learned a lot from reading reviews and other people’s questions. I am not a professional detailer but I enjoy working on my vehicle and do not accept status quo that my neighbors do with the way I care for my vehicles. I primarily detail my daily driver and my other family vehicles. I take pride in having it look like like it was done professionally. I am a long time user of over the counter Meguiar’s products but I got a new truck and thought I would try something new. Started reading the forums, upgraded my microfiber towel collection and then planed my attack.


I have recently been purchasing BLACKFIRE products to prepare my new 2015 2500HD for winter. My original plan was to Wash, Clay, BLACKFIRE Gloss Enhancing Polish, Then Use BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond All Finish paint protection. (May follow up with Midnight Sun or wait till spring to try since that part probably won’t last through NE winter.) I will maintain with Wet Diamond Polymer Spray / Midnight Sun Detailer after washes with either BLACKFIRE waterless or BLACKFIRE Rinseless washes. This seemed like a good plan using products that complement each other until I purchased the GG 6” DA with the BLACKFIRE Duo. This added the SRC Compound and SRC Finish Polish and some light correction capability to my arsenal. This also saves my hands and arms since there are a lot of painted surfaces on this truck.


My Paint is in pretty good shape and I don’t feel I need to use the aggressive compound but there are some light scratches that I can’t feel with my finger nail in a couple of places and I would like to try using the SRC Finishing on to see if they can be minimized or removed. I would like to start with the least aggressive one first. Hence starting with the finish polish. On the Autopia polish comparison chart is shows up as a 3 and is in the Final Polish group but it is on the edge.


My questions are:


1.) Should I do the whole pannel / whole truck with Finish Polish or just the area that needs correction and use Gloss Enhancing over that area and on the rest of the truck. Then follow up with All Finish Paint Protection. My fear is that once I do a section, or partial panel the truck will look different using one kind of finish on one panel vs. the whole vehicle. My other fear is that the rest of the paint really does not need the more aggressive finish polish and I am needlessly removing (albeit microns) of surface that does not need to be removed yet, and I don’t want to over do it. I am new to using the DA I also did not want to risk making a mistake with more aggressive polish over a larger area.


2.) If I use SRC Finish Polish on the whole truck, should I use Gloss Enhancing Polish before All Finish Paint Protection or go straight to All Finish?


Sorry for the long post but I appreciate your input.


Thanks in advance.

[mnehls86]

It is hard to say without seeing it. Have you inspected the paint in direct sunlight from multiple angles? Also what color is it? If it is a lighter color you probably won`t notice much difference if you do the spot polish and the GEP over the rest of the truck. If you don`t feel comfortable polishing the whole truck or don`t think it needs it then I would just do the GEP and WDAFPP and re-evaluate after winter. I`m sure it`ll still look awesome after those steps.

[Robert DiTerlizzi]

Hello, I am relatively new to the forum and I have learned a lot from reading reviews and other people’s questions. I am not a professional detailer but I enjoy working on my vehicle and do not accept status quo that my neighbors do with the way I care for my vehicles. I primarily detail my daily driver and my other family vehicles. I take pride in having it look like like it was done professionally. I am a long time user of over the counter Meguiar’s products but I got a new truck and thought I would try something new. Started reading the forums, upgraded my microfiber towel collection and then planed my attack.


I have recently been purchasing BLACKFIRE products to prepare my new 2015 2500HD for winter. My original plan was to Wash, Clay, BLACKFIRE Gloss Enhancing Polish, Then Use BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond All Finish paint protection. (May follow up with Midnight Sun or wait till spring to try since that part probably won’t last through NE winter.) I will maintain with Wet Diamond Polymer Spray / Midnight Sun Detailer after washes with either BLACKFIRE waterless or BLACKFIRE Rinseless washes. This seemed like a good plan using products that complement each other until I purchased the GG 6” DA with the BLACKFIRE Duo. This added the SRC Compound and SRC Finish Polish and some light correction capability to my arsenal. This also saves my hands and arms since there are a lot of painted surfaces on this truck.


My Paint is in pretty good shape and I don’t feel I need to use the aggressive compound but there are some light scratches that I can’t feel with my finger nail in a couple of places and I would like to try using the SRC Finishing on to see if they can be minimized or removed. I would like to start with the least aggressive one first. Hence starting with the finish polish. On the Autopia polish comparison chart is shows up as a 3 and is in the Final Polish group but it is on the edge.


My questions are:


1.) Should I do the whole pannel / whole truck with Finish Polish or just the area that needs correction and use Gloss Enhancing over that area and on the rest of the truck. Then follow up with All Finish Paint Protection. My fear is that once I do a section, or partial panel the truck will look different using one kind of finish on one panel vs. the whole vehicle. My other fear is that the rest of the paint really does not need the more aggressive finish polish and I am needlessly removing (albeit microns) of surface that does not need to be removed yet, and I don’t want to over do it. I am new to using the DA I also did not want to risk making a mistake with more aggressive polish over a larger area.


2.) If I use SRC Finish Polish on the whole truck, should I use Gloss Enhancing Polish before All Finish Paint Protection or go straight to All Finish?


Sorry for the long post but I appreciate your input.


Thanks in advance.

i would use BLACKFIRE SRC Finishing Polish on the whole truck then go straight to BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection for a nice even high gloss finish.
Like mnehls86 said, its hard to know without seeing it but that process should get you through the winter and you can decide come spring what to do then

[woodsman]

It is hard to say without seeing it. Have you inspected the paint in direct sunlight from multiple angles? Also what color is it? If it is a lighter color you probably won`t notice much difference if you do the spot polish and the GEP over the rest of the truck. If you don`t feel comfortable polishing the whole truck or don`t think it needs it then I would just do the GEP and WDAFPP and re-evaluate after winter. I`m sure it`ll still look awesome after those steps.

Thanks, The truck is dark Ruby Red. The scratches that I want to fix almost look like a piece of hair that don`t move when wiped / washed and I can`t feel them. My eyes are drawn to them every time but my wife thinks I`m crazy and she has a hard time finding them. I don`t see other refractions of light in direct sunlight from different angles similar to what I see in other pictures on here in the before and after posts. Just a clean reflection. In the old days I would have broke out the scratch x and worked it by hand, then polish and wax using the 3 step Meguiar`s. But I must evolve and learn a new skill and I am looking forward to using the DA. Guess I won`t know until I do it and see what it looks like and then go from there. There is fun in the experimentation of it all too. Thanks for your input.

[woodsman]

i would use BLACKFIRE SRC Finishing Polish on the whole truck then go straight to BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection for a nice even high gloss finish.
Like mnehls86 said, its hard to know without seeing it but that process should get you through the winter and you can decide come spring what to do then

Thanks thats what my modified plan was but then I started to over think it with other combinations. Thanks for the validation.

[Robert DiTerlizzi]

I try to keep it simple and always go with my gut instinct first

[Ronkh]

Listen to the meatball guy.....

He got you on the right course

[wdmaccord]

I would wait to decide until after you have done a good wash and clay. Then get the paint out in the sun and see what you are working with. I get quite a few cars that look decent when they get dropped off (even clean ones) and then once I do the full decon, I see everything that was hiding under the "road grime". If you have a lot of swirls from washing, then go with the finishing polish. If you just have a few light straight-line scratches, you can probably go GEP as it will fill those.

So I would go:

1) If you decide on finishing polish, then do an IPA wipedown afterwards and go to BFWD
2) If you decide to just GEP, then NO IPA wipedown afterwards...straight to BFWD (the IPA will remove the fillers)

Your upkeep ideas are good. I use BFMSID after a 2BM while I am drying (sometimes I will follow that with BFPS on dry paint to take care of any streaks from the BFMSID). I use BFPS after a rinseless on dry paint (use a WW towel so you don`t get lint)

[Robert DiTerlizzi]

I`m sure over the winter the vehicle will suffer some type of defects, so best leave correction for springtime.
I just hate ruining a good correction job due to snow, salt or cinders!
So glad we don`t have that problem down here in South Florida

[woodsman]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. Since the Truck is so new and the paint looks really good other than the one little hair like scratch. I am going to go with BFGEP and BFWD, and re-evaluate in the spring when I am sure there will be more to fix. Thanks again for all the advice.