Product Review: Ultima Elastrofoam Paint Cleaning System

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autopia_2207_198748464

Ultima Car Care products are held in high esteem for their ease of use and amazing performance. It is hard to find any product line that features products that are as easy to use and get as many favorable reviews, but what about their unique twist on decontaminating the paint? As Ultima says, is it Clearly Different?

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The Ultima Elastrofoam Paint Cleaning System contains two pieces, designed to work together, to deep clean your paint.

The Ultima Elastrofoam Block and The Ultima Cleaning Lubricant Gel

The Ultima Elastrofoam Block replaces a traditional piece of detailing clay. It is a square foam block with a rubberized side that lightly abrades away paint contamination without scratching the paint. This is similar in nature how synthetic clay works. Ultima claims the similarity end there. The Ultima Elastrofoam Block can be washed and reused by cleaning in a bucket of soapy water. No longer do you have to fear dropping the clay on the ground or it wearing out prematurely, simply rinse it off and keep going. Ultima also claims that it offers these benefits while still performing paint cleaning as well as a medium grade clay bar. Will it live up to the hype?

The Ultima Cleaning Lubricant Gel is a lubricating spray that is applied to the paint`s surface to allow the Elastrofoam Block to work. As the rubberized Foam Block floats across the layer of Ultima Cleaning Lubricant Gel it encounters pieces of contamination that it lightly abrades. While you can use soapy water or detailer`s spray to provide lubrication, just like you can with a clay bar, the Ultima Cleaning Lubricant provides the tuned amount for manufacturer tested ideal results. Just like a polish (which is a combination of lubricants and abrasives) you can adjust the bite and the potential for marring the paint by alternating the amount of lubrication. Ultima Cleaning Lubricant Gel does not contain solvents or alcohol like many quick detailers, so changes in environmental conditions will have little effect. This way results remain constant.


Getting started:

First wash your vehicle carefully removing all loose debris from the exterior of your vehicle than dry thoroughly.


The Ultima Elastrofoam Block comes wrapped in a sealed wrapper.

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Remove the block from wrapper and peel away the wax paper from the rubberized side. Ultima states in the directions to only store the Ultima Elastrofoam Block in a baggy if you use the wax paper first, so I recommend keeping it.

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With the contents laid out on the trunk of this Ferrari, the uneven surface of the rubberized clay block is noticeable. Ultima recommends first using the Elastrofoam Clay Block on a piece of glass to level the surface and remove the high spots that may cause marring. We will start on the side glass.

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The Ultima Cleaning Lubricant Gel has a soft pull sprayer that dispenses a nice even mist. The lubricant gel itself has a medium viscosity that doesn`t run like many detail sprays.

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After first the foam block was a little grabby. I used medium pressure as I rubbed it against the glass to level it out.


From the inside you can see the uneven surface becoming more level.

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First test: Tar

There was some tar that the car washing didn`t remove.

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First I misted on a light film of Ultima Cleaning Lubricant Gel and lightly wiped of the foam block over the paint, using no pressure.

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Wiping the lubricant off with a soft Gold Plush Microfiber Towel, I noticed the paint was perfectly clean. For comparison I used a piece of Meguiar`s Blue Detailer`s Clay and found the bite to be equal between them.

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Second Test: Embedded Contaminates

The second step was to remove the light contamination from the rear of the Ferrari. Due to air dynamic flow over modern cars the rear of the vehicle tends to become soiled quicker. The Ferrari did not have heavy contamination but the surface was rough to the touch.

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The foam backing on the Ultima Elastrofoam Block is easily compressed and forms to tight curves.

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It is easy to handle in large, flat areas as well.

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Against the light contamination on the back, the Ultima Elastrofoam Paint Cleaning System worked quickly, leaving the paint clean, and smooth to the touch.

Some light contamination was visible on the surface of the clay, but as advertised, it rinsed completely clean in the bucket of car soap I had nearby. Again, the Ultima Elastrofoam Clay block performed on par with the Meguiar`s Blue Pro Detailer`s Clay.


Final Test: Bug remains.

The front of the Ferrari had been wrapped in PPF or Paint Protective Film (brand/type unknown). There was some light bug remains on the front end that regular washing did not remove.

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Here is a close up.

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Floating on top of the Ultima Cleaning Lubricant Gel, the Elastrofoam block had no issues with the PPF.

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Perfectly clean with almost no effort.

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After using it to restore the free to a deep, smooth feeling clean condition, I rinsed the foam block off in the water and put it away for the next use.

Remember to use the wax paper on the rubberized side if you plan on storing it in a baggy.

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Conclusion: I was very impressed with the performance of the Ultima Paint Cleaning System. It is another product from Ultima that meets all of its claims. I found it to be ever slightly more aggressive then Meguiar`s Blue Pro Detailer`s Clay (the only real difference was the in their effectiveness against the bug remains). Best of all I didn`t have to fold in over, kneed it when my fingers worn it thing, or working about dropping it. In combination the Ultima Paint Cleaning System provides a viable detailing clay alternative to cleaning your paint.

Always curious on this system.
Looks like a great alternative to heave contaminant removal.
Great review maestro...:bigups

Todd,

Another great review. Thanks for keeping us educated on the latest products.

Jim

Did you note any marring Todd?

I love my clay blocks but dont have this brand.Mine(magna) marr soft paints pretty badly but otherwise I love the clay blocks and find them so much easier to work with!

Maybe this ultima block is less aggressive than the magna sponge?

I was surprized that in the Ultima product desription it says it wont remove wax also !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ca.detailchick

Did you note any marring Todd?

I love my clay blocks but dont have this brand.Mine(magna) marr soft paints pretty badly but otherwise I love the clay blocks and find them so much easier to work with!

Maybe this ultima block is less aggressive than the magna sponge?

I was surprized that in the Ultima product desription it says it wont remove wax also !

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It did not realize any additional marring or surface marks from the clay.

I have the Ultima block also but have had a few problems with it. Mostly it sticking to the paint. I was using it on a white F150 and it stuck so bad that it actually left residue that almost looked like smeared tar and was a pain to get off. Using ONR to QD strength seemed to help. Other than that when it does work it works quite well.

Nice review Todd...


My first use on the Ultima block was less than stellar. I will have full documentation to go along with my review. Maybe I am doing it wrong?

I was wondering the same thing Troy when I was using it. The first car it worked like a charm on and I was like hey this things great. Then on the truck it was a nightmare. I tried numerous different lubes even just plain soap and water nothing would let it slide. When I tried it with Megs QD is when it left the residue that looked like smeared tar. At first I thought it was melting the rubber cleaner section. Not sure what was going on with it but it did start to work again with ONR. Sure made me think twice about buying a 50.00 clay towel.