Review: BLACKFIRE Clay Mitt

BLACKFIRE Pro Detailer`s Choice Clay Mitt

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Meghan and Autogeek for providing this product!





Product Description from Autopia store:


BLACKFIRE Clay Mitt is an advanced clay bar substitute that takes advances of a specially engineered rubber meant to safely remove contaminants that are embedded in your paint. This specialized clay mitt works the same way a traditional clay bar does, but with much less hassle! Say good-bye to kneading your clay bar and disposing after one use, the BLACKFIRE Clay Mitt requires no kneading and can be re-used up to 40 times! In addition to it`s awesome mechanical decontamination abilities, the BLACKFIRE Clay Mitt can also be used as a wash-mitt!



My Review

Subject: 2016 Honda Civic
Location: Del Aire, CA
Time Period: November 2018
Weather: In the low 80s. Somewhat humid

Products & Tools
- Blackfire Clay Mitt
- Gilmour Foammaster
- Gilmour Flexogen Hose
- Other garden hose / sprayer
- 5 Gallon bucket with Grit Guard insert
- 3D Pink Car soap
- Griot’s Garage Car Wash
- Optimum Big Red Sponge (BRS)
- Meguiar’s MF wash mitts
- Gyeon Smoothie Wash Mitt

BLACKFIRE Clay Mitt
Cost: 24.99 (as of 11/15/18)
Size: roughly 5”x8”
Scent: nope
Taste: yuk
Consistency: tacky rubbery feel on one side, wash mitt on the other

Background: A dear friend of my wife was looking to get her car “washed and waxed.” Being a dear friend of my wife, I figured I’d throw in some chemical decon as well as some mechanical, prior to laying down the wax. The timing was great for this, as I had a chance to try the new Wolfgang Iron Remover (review in the works) as well as the Blackfire Clay Mitt. Just so happens that I threw out my old Autoscrub disc, and was looking at a new alternative to clays and discs. I was contemplating either the towel style, or the mitt style. Well, you know what I went with.

First up, let’s talk about the Mitt. It came in a package that is to also serve as it’s storing piece. Kind of cool. It measures roughly 5x8 and is shy of an inch thick. I wear a size M glove, and the BF Clay Mitt seems to be just right for my hand.


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Initially, the plan was to bucket wash the car using multiple wash mitts. I was then going to use the foam gun (1oz of 3d Pink, 1oz of Griot’s Car Wash, then filled with water) to act as the clay lube. This was inspired by Mike’s Aggressive Wash Method
The Aggressive Approach to Washing a Car

Unfortunately, on a prior occasion, I dropped my foam gun when it was full. The impact managed to break the canister ☹ I glued it and was hoping it would still be functional. Well, it almost was. The glue quickly failed once the canister was full. I was still able to use the foam gun, albeit 2 handed. One to support the weight at the bottom, and the other to pull the trigger. Oh well. I ended up using this as a presoak to the wash. Moving on..

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...layMitt_7_.jpg

I washed the car section by section. After washing, I’d use the Clay Mitt to EVER SO LIGHTLY…hold up. I missed a part.

Knowing that claying can mar the paint, I did a test spot. I did NOT want to machine polish the car. Granted, I took a Flex 3401 along with Blackfire’s Paint Cleaner just to be on the safe side. So the test spot. Using the lightest pressure I’ve ever used on a clay tool, I proceeded to do half the hood. I washed, rinsed and dried the test section. Inspected closely. NO MARRING! Sweet, we’re good to go!

Section by section, I washed with a mitt, then followed up with the Clay Mitt. I used the BRS to hold additional wash mix. This came in handy, as the mix foamed up more with the BRS than with the MF mitts. Thankfully, my crazy “take everything with me” line of thinking allowed the use of the BRS. I really thought to leave it behind. Hehe.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...layMitt_8_.jpg


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http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ayMitt_10_.jpg

I was VERY generous with the wash mix. 1oz of 3D and 1oz of GG to 3.5 gallons of water. I filled my bucket a total of two times. This was enough to wash the car, and act as my clay lube. How did it all come together?

The car has only ever been washed at self serve places….using a brush! Ewwww. I asked if it was ever waxed, and the response was no. But during my initial rinse, I noticed some beading and fairly quick sheeting. Maybe something at the self serve was leaving something behind.

After the wash and clay, the beading and quick sheeting was gone. Replacing it was a sheet of water that barely moved
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ayMitt_11_.jpg

The finish was coming along nicely. Smooth surface, nice reflections.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ayMitt_12_.jpg

After waxing, even better


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Take a look at this photo. Where the sun is reflecting off the surface, you can see some swirling. Given that it was washed with a brush, it didn’t seem that bad to me.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ayMitt_17_.jpg

Here’s a zoomed in and cropped photo of the above pic. No marring, just swirling
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ayMitt_18_.jpg



Another angle of the car facing the sun
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ayMitt_19_.jpg

And a zoomed in and cropped portion of the above pic
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ayMitt_20_.jpg

>>>Conclusion: I’m very glad I decided to go with a clay mitt version. Many times, my hand held the clay mitt, and on some vertical surfaces, I had my hand IN the mitt. I felt the mitt would not fall to the ground this way. And I like having that peace of mind.

I had the fear that I would mar the paint, and then have to go over it with the BF Paint Cleaner and the Flex. I had told my wife I wouldn’t be too long, so I avoided that.

With the wash mix I used, and very light pressure, I was able to avoid marring, while still removing contaminants.

I was happy with the results. The car owner was so happy, she gave me a pretty good tip.

Here’s something else: I came back to work the following Monday and saw that AG was having a 25% off sale. My first thought was to order TWO Blackfire Clay Mitts!!! I really was going to buy them. Then I kept adding to my cart, and had to pull away ☹ I was losing myself in the sale. But there you go. I LOVE the Blackfire Clay Mitt so much, that I was looking at getting more right away!


The other nice thing about this mitt is the price. It`s significantly lower than the other name brand mitts on the market. I`m a fan of Autoscrub, but at 25$ for the BLACKFIRE version, vs about 50$ for the Autoscrub, i`ll take the BF all day long. In all honesty, though, I may end up picking up another Clay Disc for machine application when I know I will polish the paint. Not any time soon, though!!

Product Link: https://www.autopia-carcare.com/blac...l#.W-26sehKiM8

At $25 that`s a good price. How is the rubber material? Is there uniform thickness/coverage or are there tiny holes of no material all over like with many of the cheaper choices?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DBAILEY

At $25 that`s a good price. How is the rubber material? Is there uniform thickness/coverage or are there tiny holes of no material all over like with many of the cheaper choices?

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I don`t have other mitts (or even towels) to compare to. Here`s a cropped and zoomed pic, if this helps.

https://image.ibb.co/g4sWLL/BF-Clay-Mitt-zoom.jpg

Mi Hermano` Just Jesus !
Great, great, Review !!!
Loved all the pics, even the level of detail you went with them to show the slight, prior, paint defects..
The car looked Great after your hard work on it !!
That B/Fire rubberized mitt material looks a lot like the original model of all, the SM Arnold version from years ago.. That is a very good model to copy..
Thank you for all that hard work, and then, to bring it to us!
Dan F

Hola Hermano :)

Thanks for the kind words. It was an easy review since I liked the product so much!

It definitely was hard work. I haven`t done a hose and bucket wash in a long time! I was thankful to be able to do it, though. I sometimes miss hoses and buckets and mitts and lots and lots of water. (Granted, I feel bad about the last part).

I liked how it turned out, as did the owner. And two of the neighbors that asked about my services must think so as well.

I learned plenty from guys on here, so I feel it`s only fair to share as well.

I`ve been pondering one of the clay alternatives, but I wear an XL to XXL sized glove. Based on your MED comment, I`m guessing the Blackfire mitt would be too small for me to use comfortably.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SGM2008

I`ve been pondering one of the clay alternatives, but I wear an XL to XXL sized glove. Based on your MED comment, I`m guessing the Blackfire mitt would be too small for me to use comfortably.

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It just might be.

I do recall a thread where Mike Phillips was using one, and he just grabs it from the outside. He`s a bigger guy than me.

Maybe some others can chime in