How To: Use the Blackfire PolyClay II System to decontaminate your paint.

[Todd@RUPES]

How To: Use The Blackfire PolyClay II System to decontaminate your paint.



Blackfire PolyClay II is the latest in detailing clay technology designed to remove impurities such as bug splatter, environmental fall-out, iron oxides, and overspray, from the paint`s surface and leave it clean and smooth. Detailing Clay has been used for decades in overseas body shops to remove overspray and impurities from paint. In the fifteen years detailers and enthusiasts have used it to deep clean the paint and prepare it for polishing and/or waxing.

What is clay? Detailing clay is a mildly abrasive material that floats above the paint and gently removes foreign contaminates that regular car washing cannot. Blackfire PolyClay II uses a unique synthetic polybuetene formula that allows it remove stubborn contamination with out scratching or hazing the paint`s surface.

Why clay? Your paint is bombarded with environmental fall out and iron oxides shortly after rolling out of the factory gate. This contamination adheres and eventually penetrates the outermost surface of your paint. It cannot be removed by regular car washing. This contamination can reduce the amount of reflected light making your paint duller, or prevent waxes and sealants from bonding completely to the paint reducing their benefit. Additionally fall-out or foreign material will contaminate the polishing process as it is absorbed into the polishing pad. Claying removes this contamination allowing polishes, waxes, and sealants to work better, and restores the gloss and a smooth feel to the paint.



Products needed to clay. You will need a clay bar, a lubricant (to allow the clay to slide over the paint), and several soft microfiber towels into order to effectively decontaminate your paint. Blackfire USA Car Care has a host of high quality products designed to make your claying experience easy and effective, while ultimately saving you money. Blackfire USA Car Care`s clay and accessories include:

Blackfire PolyClay II- The second generation of Blackfire PolyClay II uses a huge 200 gram polybuente clay bar (most consumer clay is 50-80 grams for comparison) that will safely remove stubborn contamination with out scratching or hazing the paint.

Blackfire Clay Lubricant- This lubricant was designed to provide a high slide, low friction surface for the clay to glide across. Some lubricants and mixtures of soap and water will actually degrade and disintegrate clay bars. Blackfire Clay Lubricant actually conditions the clay. Additionally this tuned formula features a specialized polymer surfactant that creates a temporary barrier on the paint to prevent any hazing or scratching that occurs with other clay types while containing a cleaner that removes clay smudges from the paint during wipe-off.

Blackfire Clay Cleaner and Extender- Typically clay bars are folded in half when they become soiled to expose fresh clay. This soil gets trapped inside the bar which reduces their life dramatically and increases the change of scratches. Blackfire Clay and Extender addresses this problem with a unique cleaner and surfactants which deep cleans the clay, extending its life. On average this extends the clays ability to remain effective by at least 300 percent. You clay will last at least 3 times longer.

Getting started and what to do before claying. Before using Blackfire PolyClay II (or any other detailing clay) it is important to first thoroughly wash your vehicle, then inspect the paint`s finish by touch to check to see if claying would offer any benefit.

After washing and drying your car thoroughly, inspect the finish by touch. Paint that is clean will feel smooth. A pebble like texture, a gritty feel, or palpable bumps in the paint are surefire signs that contamination is present and should be removed.




For additional sensitivity place your hand side a plastic sandwich lightly touch the paint. If you hand doesn`t glide across a smooth surface you will need to clay.




Start by removing the Blackfire PolyClay II from it’s snap containor. Don’t discard the containor as it is perfect for storing clay for re-use later.




Next remove the clay bar from its plastic wrapper. Once the clay is removed make sure you only set it on clean surfaces. Setting it on a dirty table, dirty paint, or dropping it on the ground will embed sharp particles into the clay that will scratch the paint. If you drop your clay bar, throw it away.




The Blackfire PolyClay II bar is a huge 200 grams. This is enough clay to cut or tear into four pieces, each large enough to clay a moderately contaminated car several times. Here I am using a scissors to cut the clay, but tearing works well enough.




Four semi-equal pieces of Blackfire Poly Clay II.




Now take a piece of clay and work into a patty-like shape by gently kneading it and pressing against your palms.



Mist the remaining 3 pieces with Blackfire Clay Lubricant and store them into the supplied containor.




How to clay? The actual process of claying is simple; anybody can do it with great success. The key points are to work a small section at a time and work that section thoroughly until moving on to the next section. Clay in a systematic manner until all areas of the paint are smooth to the touch. Make sure to inspect and fold the clay often to expose a clean surface that will prevent scratching and maximize effectiveness.

Clay a small section at a time, roughly 2’ x 2’. I have overlaid a blue sectional graphic to show how I broke I approached the huge hood of this Ford Expedition.




First lubricate the section of paint you are claying with an ample amount of Blackfire Clay Lubricant. This high tech lubricant uses a polymer technology that lays a temporary barrier on the paint allowing the Blackfire PolyClay II to glide across the paint with out scratching, as well as light cleaner that removes clay smudges during wipe off.




It is okay to overlap your sections slightly to make sure ensure that no areas are missed.




Place the clay on the soft bad of skin where your fingers join your hand. This allows you to hold the clay securely against the paint with out fear of it dropping or slipping. You can also place the clay in your palm or hold it with your finger tips, although this tends to place uneven pressure across the clay and can work certain parts of it harder.




Now simply slide the clay over your well-lubricated working section with light pressure. You will feel the gritty texture of the paint under the clay’s surface. As you move it back and forth you can actually feel the paint become smooth.




Make sure the section stays well lubricated (spray additional Blackfire Clay Lubricant onto the section if it begins to dry) as you clay. Continue working the section until the paint is smooth and clay glides across the paint easily.










Use a plush, non-scratching microfiber towel to buff off any lubricant before moving to the next section.




Before moving on to the next section inspect the surface of the clay bay, looking for a change in color or sharp particulate imbedded in it’s face. Here is what the piece of Blackfire PolyClay II looked like after claying just a small area of the hood. You can see the contamination that has been removed.




This contamination clogs the clay’s surface which limit’s the ability of the clay to continue to work. Additionally the contamination can be abrasive and may scratch the paint if you continue to use it. Simply fold the used side onto itself to expose a fresh, ready surface, and work back into the patty. Now you are ready to continue the process, a section at a time, until your entire vehicle is clean, smooth, and ready for the next step! Eventually the Blackfire PolyClay II will become contaminated to the point where it is no longer effective and folding it onto itself will no longer expose fresh clay material. At this point discard the clay (or store it separately) for use on wheels, tar, or bug remains.


Blackfire Clay Cleaner and Extender

While folding this clay in half would expose a fresh clay surface, the contamination would be trapped in side the clay which would eventually render the entire piece useless over time.




While folding the clay onto itself has been the long time tradition and certainly allows a piece of clay to be reused multiple times before being rendered ineffective, the idea of the contamination of the clay being pushed folded onto itself never sat well with us. Blackfire Clay Cleaner and Extender is designed to clean the contamination from the clay before it is folded, which dramatically increases the useable life of the clay.

You will need a wash bucket filled with at least 2 gallons of water in addition to the Blackfire Clay Cleaner and Extender.



First mist the contaminated surface of the clay with Blackfire Clay Cleaner and Extender.




Agitate the solution with your thumbs to loosen, dissolve, and remove the contamination.




Now rinse the clay piece in a bucket of water to remove the solution.




This is the same piece of clay after being cleaned. Blackfire Clay Bar and Extender was developed to clean Blackfire Poly Clay and PolyClay II, but we found it to be effective on every brand of clay we have tested it on. It will not damage, dry-out, harden, or disintegrate clay.




By removing the majority of contamination before folding the clay into a fresh patty, you are removing the cause of clay loosing it’s effectiveness. In our testing we found that the average clay bar remain effective 2-8 times longer than clay that isn’t treated frequently.

I decided to put Blackfire Clay Bar Cleaner and Extender to the ultimate test. The back bumper of the Ford Expedition was extremely soiled with iron oxide fall out (also known as “rail dust”). It actually felt more like 80 grit sandpaper then paint. I used a piece of Blackfire PolyClay II to clay a small section of the rear bumper’s lip and removed heavy contamination. In order to fully clay the rear bumper smooth I would have likely used up at least 1 piece of clay, perhaps 2.

The results after a 6” x 6” section!




After cleaning the piece with Blackfire Clay Bar Cleaner and Extender….




I was able to clay the entire rear bumper spotless with once piece of clay and it looked and performed as new when I was done.

After claying the entire vehicle remember to lightly mist each piece of clay with Blackfire Clay Lubricant and store them in the Blackfire Clay Containor for further use.




Blackfire Poly Clay II Cliff-Notes

1. Wash and Dry your vehicle thoroughly, making sure all loose grit is remove and the surface is clean.
   
2. Inspect the paint’s surface by touch, taking note of a gritty or pebble like feel.
   
3. Work a small section of paint at a time, roughly 2’ x 2’.
   
4. Mist the section with Blackfire Clay Lubricant.
   
5. Form a piece of Blackfire PolyClay II into a patty and lightly glide it across the section until the paint feels smooth.
   
6. Buff the Blackfire Clay Lubricant off of the paint with a high quality microfiber towel.
   
7. Inspect the clay surface for contamination. If contamination is present clean the clay bar with Blackfire Clay Cleaner and Extender.
   
8. Refold the clay bar piece into a fresh patty and move to a new section.
   
9. Repeat Steps 4-7 until the entire vehicle is clean and smooth.

Note: Vehicles that are heavily contaminated will more care and more frequent clay cleaning. Vehicles with relatively clean paint may require no clay cleaning or folding of the clay. Inspect your clay often and let the vehicle’s shape dictate your exact game plan. Don’t turn heads, CREATE WHIPLASH!!!

[Mister B]

The results after a 6” x 6” section!




After cleaning the piece with Blackfire Clay Bar Cleaner and Extender….

Wow... Impressive. Certainly makes sense that it would make your clay last a lot longer. The cleaner does not soften the clay at all? I know sometimes when I clay or have used a piece of clay a lot with a lot of quik detailer the clay seems to get softer and less effective.

[ca.detailchick]

Nice write up Todd. I replaced Mothers clay with blackfire clay several months ago and am very happy with it and also found it to work well with different lubricants.( Ive even used the shampoo and conditioner as a lube on several cars including dark colored ones without marring but havent used it enough to know if it
deteriorates the clay over time yet.)

Ive used it on probably hundreds of cars now and found it only to mar 2 times and they were both on Prius soft paint but I wasnt using the recommended blackfire lubricant with it.

Sometimes I have to break out the red clay magic for really nasty jobs like overspray but blackfire clay works really well most of the time .

I also like that its white and allows you to really see the contaminants ! Love this claybar!

[juliom2]

Awesome step by step Maestro Todd......
Blackfire clay system really has a bite....

[AutopiaTech]

Great article Todd, very informative.

[softoa]

Yes, excellent detailed info. ---each step well written.. softoa

[Stokdgs]

Excellent review/refresher course on the Blackfire Claybar and Cleaner.
Been using both products for several years now and they always work very well and never give you an unexpected surprise that you didnt want.

Glad you talked about the Claybar Cleaner and Extender - its been a great clay-saver for me and I always use it on this claybar and others as well.

Blackfire was ahead of the curve when they put these 2 products out there many years ago - thanks so much for keeping these things in front of us so we dont forget !

Dan F

[Todd@RUPES]

Wow... Impressive. Certainly makes sense that it would make your clay last a lot longer. The cleaner does not soften the clay at all? I know sometimes when I clay or have used a piece of clay a lot with a lot of quik detailer the clay seems to get softer and less effective.

I try not to speak in definitives, but I have never had a problem (nor noticed a problem) with the cleaner softening or effectively cleaning the clay.