Rapid Fire regimen

[DHCrocks]

Ill do gloss enhancing polish once a year or sooner if the paint needs a good cleansing. Two coats of wet diamond in a single day after the GEP. For maintenance I do a weekly wash then use polymer spray after each wash which seems to give the paint a little extra oomph. Once a month after a wash I`ll do a crystal seal and skip the polymer spray for that week. This regiment is fairly quick and seems to give me good results and keep the slickness up which makes washing so much easier.

[Todd@RUPES]

1)What is the proper procedure for the up keep of my car? Do I keep doing rapid fire about twice a year? Is there such a thing as too much polish and seal? Will to much polish be bad for the paint?

Total Polish and Seal is very mild. You could use it every six months for the life of your car and never experience significant clear coat thinning (provided it isn`t applied with a rotary polisher and wool pad).

Use the TP and S as needed to clean the paint, and keep applying a coat of Crystal Seal every 2 months.

2)Should I use a different combo for the up keep?

Yes, if you chose. Although Crystal Seal every two months is nice and simple.

3)WD all finish paint protection looks nice (seems to give it a wet look, which is what i want)

Both Crystal Seal and Wet Diamond AFPP use similar ingredients (and some different ones). Both are paint sealants. Wet Diamond is more durable and perhaps slightly darker looking. Both products, when applied to polished paint will create a wet look.

4)How often to use WD poly spray, after every wash 1-2 times a month?

Yes, this will also extend the life of Crystal Seal, so in this case you could apply Crystal Seal every 3 months or so.

5)I`m trying to avoid waxes because it seems the other blackfire products would work well and easier to apply.

BLACKFIRE also makes waxes, but in your case, and including the ease-of-application, you will be very pleased with the sealant range.

6)How often to apply the products?

TPnS- as needed, likely once a year
Crystal Seal- Every two months, or every three months IF you are using Poly Spray
Poly Spray- 1 to 2 times a month after washing.

[Todd@RUPES]

Ok ,since I already used TP&S with crystal seal, which should of taken care of any minor swirls and (cleaned) the paint. Would it be wise to follow up with WD all paint protection followed by crystal seal as maintenance in about let`s say 6 months or should I add another blackfire product to that. Should crystal seal be used on top of WDPP or even a wax product for LSP?

If using WD AFPP & Crystal Seal, initially apply WD first. Both products use similar polymers and will bind to each other.

[Todd@RUPES]

I will try to keep it as simple as I can, so lets say in about 6 months I want to do the `wet ice over fire`, since I already did `rapid fire` can I apply wet ice on top of rapid fire (or do I have to wash/strip the rapid fire)? Should I add bfcs to wet fire if yes does it matter at what point. From my understanding the wdapp is more durable than bfcs but than there`s the wax. Too many products or no such thing as too many products I have the CS so I figured I might as well use it. Thanks in advance for everybody`s help.

Yes you can apply Wet Diamond directly on top of Rapid Fire. You could strip it down with BF TPnS. It really is up to you and how much time you want to devote on that day. All BLACKFIRE products are designed to work together, although I still recommend application of a pure sealant (Wet Diamond, Crystal Seal) prior to application of a wax.

[Todd@RUPES]

Yes I agree BF CS is very good, that is why I still want to use it in whatever regimen I choose. Right now WD APP, followed by BFCS then BF Wax, is what I`m thinking, hopefully this is a good combo. I was also planning to use BFCS every now and then on top of the wax, is that ok?

Yes, you can use CS on top of BF Wax (they both have the same polymers). We don`t recommending using off-brand sealants on top of other waxes, however.

Thanks for that info., if I do use wax as last step what should I use every couple of weeks as an up keep besides me washing the car? BF WD Poly spray seems to fall under a sealant. There is BF instant detailer spray would that be better?

BLACKFIRE Polymer Spray will maintain a BLACKFIRE Midnight Sun Carnauba Wax with no problem. However, it will not replenish the wax ingredient. BLACKFIRE Midnight Sun Instant Detailer will help maintain both the polymers and waxes on the surface.

[Greycar]

I must say everybody here has been very kind and helpful, I`ve learned so much and just need to absorb all this information.
P.S. Thanks Todd for all your time.

[glen e]

We have found on the accords a very simple process:

Once you`ve done your first clay, wash, TPNS and CS, the way to maintain,is a simple wash and CS every few couple months. Between, a wash and simple spray with the poly spray or detailer will work fine.

It`s that simple...anything else you want to do, is because you like to mess with things....

[Todd@RUPES]

I must say everybody here has been very kind and helpful, I`ve learned so much and just need to absorb all this information.
P.S. Thanks Todd for all your time.

No problem! If you have any questions we (the forum) are always here to help. This is one of the most sincere communities I have ever been a part of!

[glen e]

Ok Todd a little blasephy here:

I`m coming to the conclusion that there is a slightly better 1st step than the TPnS on a new car. I have done two cars with meguires 205/white pad as the polishing step and then the crystal seal and get a bit better reflection than TPNS. It`s not a night and day diff, it takes an experienced eye to see the diff and a machine application.

try it and you tell me......I know I`m losing some stacked polymers, but I stay on top of these two cars to have that matter.

[Greycar]

I`m not trying to mess with things, rapid fire is good, however there are always new products coming out which may or may not be better. Just keeping all options available maybe someone has tried something different and can share their thoughts, that`s all.

[glen e]

I`m not trying to mess with things, rapid fire is good, however there are always new products coming out which may or may not be better. Just keeping all options available maybe someone has tried something different and can share their thoughts, that`s all.

you miss the point.... "mess with things" is not a derogatory statement ,- this board is filled with all of us that "mess with things"...My point is you can always try additional items and layers, but you get great coverage with a few basic products here in every product line....everything you do past that is because you like to try new things...

[Orinda Auto Detail]

Ok Todd a little blasephy here:

I`m coming to the conclusion that there is a slightly better 1st step than the TPnS on a new car. I have done two cars with meguires 205/white pad as the polishing step and then the crystal seal and get a bit better reflection than TPNS. It`s not a night and day diff, it takes an experienced eye to see the diff and a machine application.

try it and you tell me......I know I`m losing some stacked polymers, but I stay on top of these two cars to have that matter.

I`m not Todd but IMO Of coarse your going to get a little bit better shine because, 205 has a lot more cut than TPNS. Even if you can`t see the imprefections there are still some in the paint under a microscope. So while TPNS will remove a little bit of this, 205 will remove a ton more. If you like the results you get with 205, maybe try BF SRC Finishing polish? It plays nice with all the BF products you already have and finishes down much better than 205 to my eyes with about the same cut maybe just a tad less. My personal favorite combo to get that serious whip lash affect is SRC finishing polish/BFWD/MS. This will break necks and you need 2 coats of each

[glen e]

Perfect -thanks!

[Greycar]

Ok, I see we`re your going, I do like to `mess` with new products and see how they are. As far as the gloss enhancing polish having more cut, I feel like I could be damaging the paint, clear coat of whatever using something abrasive (i used tpns almost 3 months ago)I have to say as an amateur that has been my fear about the detailing process. This could be all in my head or there probably some truth to my fear, I trying to figure out how often and which products to use so a noob like myself won`t screw the car up.

[glen e]

Ok, I see we`re your going, I do like to `mess` with new products and see how they are. As far as the gloss enhancing polish having more cut, I feel like I could be damaging the paint, clear coat of whatever using something abrasive (i used tpns almost 3 months ago)I have to say as an amateur that has been my fear about the detailing process. This could be all in my head or there probably some truth to my fear, I trying to figure out how often and which products to use so a noob like myself won`t screw the car up.

todd answered this in post 17

with an orbital and any of the products we are discussing here, you could use every one of them with an orbital every day for months and your paint would not suffer. These are micro abrasive and your clear coat is not electron thin...I asked this question of Todd a year ago and that was his answer...