Black Wow: Review

**Cleaning Fool** · 10-01-2008, 08:41 AM

One of the first things I judge a product on is, does it do what it claims it will do. Well, heres what I did. Scrubbed the multiple areas with a degreaser, came back and did a thorough 50/50 alcohol wipedown. Applied the product to front and rear bumpers, door handles, rear view mirror housings, came back later and wiped it down again ensuring thin coats and even coverage. Yes, this product does make your black trim look excellent, theres the good news. The bad news: The back of the bottle says and I quote "imparting a rich, dark matte finish that lasts for months." My tests show about 14-17 days. I did see 2 periods of rain in that time, this tells me the rain pretty much deteriorated the wow. Conclusion: Initial appearance A-, Durability D+, price D+. The product in my view does not live up to the claim of "months", not even close. If you have perfect weather, no rain, no morning dew, etc, you might get months, but thats a theoretical statement. A product, quite frankly, I would not buy again, considering you can do the same thing with much much cheaper products.

**David Fermani** · 10-01-2008, 09:15 AM

Did you notice any oily trails down your vehicle`s paint?

**dublifecrisis** · 10-01-2008, 09:28 AM

when this product first came around, the initial reviews made me feel as if I HAD to have this. I had in my `cart` for a while but then reviews like yours started showing up and I guess I figured that my everyday trim detailer at $6 a bottle would remain. So, Black WOW got deleted from my cart.

Thanks for the review.

**Wasatch** · 10-01-2008, 09:33 AM

Thanks for the review.

**bimmerzhp** · 10-01-2008, 09:43 AM

I am happy for the review. I currently use Black Again and had the same results. After a few washings it was gone. I was going to try Black Wow until your review. Thanks for the review.

**Eisen Hulk** · 10-01-2008, 09:58 AM

I`ve got a bottle of Black Wow I`ve yet to use...I`ll post my results when I use it.

**YankeeFan** · 10-01-2008, 10:13 AM

Yeah......I was disappointed too after reading how so many liked it. I did my wife`s Toyota Sienna that has plastic aroind the full bottom perimeter about 1/3 way up. Looked good for about 10 days. Then I used it for the wiper cowel on my car. It had a streaky, inconsistant look, even when I wiped it down with a cloth tring to even it out.

Howard

**Setec Astronomy** · 10-01-2008, 10:19 AM

I`ve never used Black Wow, but guys, that black trim gets UV damaged. Black Wow and anything similar are just silicone oils, and there`s got to be some limit to what they can do. If you have swirls or oxidation in your paint, and you put wax on it and it looks better for a while, it`s kinda the same thing. Except with paint, you can abrasively remove the damaged layer down to fresh paint (within limits); you can`t really do that on plastic trim.

I guess what I`m saying is that if you have 1 yo trim that looks a little faded, maybe BW will make it look good for 6 mos., but if you have 3 yo trim that`s seriously faded, it might not last as long.

I agree BW is talked about like a miracle product, and much is said about making sure to use a small amount and buff it off so that you don`t get a streaky appearance, could that be part of the problem? On too thick and it streaked?

**Junebug** · 10-01-2008, 10:41 AM

A good friend and fellow detailer - Brandon1 - showed me what a product from a little local company - Majestic Solutions - could do for trim. It`s an spray can QD, but man can it improve old faded trim. It`s only 4 bucks a can too. Durability depends on the weather, washing etc - but 4-6 weeks ain`t out of the question.

**jesselyons2002** · 10-01-2008, 11:33 AM

I also bought black wow and it also didn`t last like how everyone was putting it. I try it on three different cars doing three different test and it still didn`t last long on any three of them. It was a waste of money. B2B lasted long then black wow. I also remeber some people get flamed for talking about black wow in a negative comments.

**E300Diesel** · 10-01-2008, 01:00 PM

I`ve previously used Meguir`s Back to Black and wa snot impressed. It did not last AT ALL. The Black Wow, has lasted nicely about 2 rain storm worth. Months later, my trim does not retain it`s nice shiney black look, but water is repelled off of it like my painted surfaces protected by an LSP......

One thing I don`t like about it so far, how slippery it is. God forbid if you`re not wearing latex or similar gloves during application. I will continue using it until it`s gone, will I repurchase, 50/50

**kapinnn** · 10-01-2008, 01:37 PM

I tested black wow last year and posted it here somewhere as well. I promissed a follow up but that was right when I changed jobs and stopped posting here.

Well, here is the follow up:

Product held well until it rained 1 week later. After the rain the trim looked uneven everywhere. This was a 1994 Mustang Cobra. I`m not sure the age of the car made a diference.

I`m gonna test it on my new 2008 Accord. Will continue posting from my old review thread.

http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-det...st-review.html

Well, if anything I think I got my black wow for $5 or something. Way before they jacked the price up...

**Cleaning Fool** · 10-02-2008, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by David Fermani

Did you notice any oily trails down your vehicle`s paint?

No I did not, However, when the next morning came and dew was on the rear view mirror housings, the wow showed clear signs of bleeding.

**Cleaning Fool** · 10-02-2008, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by John Styrnol

Thanks for the review.

Ten four John

**Cleaning Fool** · 10-02-2008, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

I`ve never used Black Wow, but guys, that black trim gets UV damaged. Black Wow and anything similar are just silicone oils, and there`s got to be some limit to what they can do. If you have swirls or oxidation in your paint, and you put wax on it and it looks better for a while, it`s kinda the same thing. Except with paint, you can abrasively remove the damaged layer down to fresh paint (within limits); you can`t really do that on plastic trim.

I guess what I`m saying is that if you have 1 yo trim that looks a little faded, maybe BW will make it look good for 6 mos., but if you have 3 yo trim that`s seriously faded, it might not last as long.

I agree BW is talked about like a miracle product, and much is said about making sure to use a small amount and buff it off so that you don`t get a streaky appearance, could that be part of the problem? On too thick and it streaked?

I just don`t buy into that argument Setec. To me its just a big excuse for the product not working as advertised. Paint and textured plastic are two different surfaces entirely. Wether the trim is 1 year old or 10 years old, if prepped properly, shouldn`t make any difference on the durability. This is supposed to be the strength of the product in the first place.