09 Highlander with Blackfire

I

imported_mobenzowner

New member
Well after making a few posts on here last week with Blackfire application questions and the such, I thought the least I could do was offer up a few pics.

The Highlander was in great shape so there are no before pictures, however my process was as follows:

Wash: CWC at strong dilution to aid in removal of previous LSP.
Clay: Pinnacle Polyclay.
Polish: Menzerna FPII. The finish was in great shape therefore no need to bring out the heavy hitters. This was mostly just to "jewel" the paint.
Rewash: CWC at normal dilution
Paint Cleaner: KAIO
LSP: Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant. Easy on, Easy off. After overnight curing a second coat was added.
Wheels: KAIO to clean and FK1000p to seal.
Windows: KAIO.
Grill: Optiseal.

Now on to the pics, comments welcome. I have thick skin so go ahead and fire away! :D
BTW, I'm not a great photographer and only have a point and shoot camera.
HighlanderA.jpg

HighlanderB.jpg

HighlanderC.jpg

HighlanderD.jpg

HighlanderE.jpg

HighlanderF.jpg
 
Looks great, nice pop on the white finish on the Toyota. So how you like the Blackfire Wet Diamond on it?
 
zoomzoom mazda5 said:
Looks great, nice pop on the white finish on the Toyota. So how you like the Blackfire Wet Diamond on it?
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Thanks for your comments Angelo! I like the Blackfire on it alot. The color is called Blizzard Pearl and it has metallic flake in it. I wish I had a digital SLR instead of a Point-N-Shoot to capture the flake pop. I took a pic trying to show the metallic, but the pic was just a washout. I need to monkey with different settings. The Blackfire was a joy to use. I actually applied the first coat with the Flex DA, with the second coat applied next morning by hand. The Blackfire looks much better than the DG105 it was previously sporting. BTW, thanks for your help and suggestions.
 
mobenzowner said:
The color is called Blizzard Pearl and it has metallic flake in it. I wish I had a digital SLR instead of a Point-N-Shoot to capture the flake pop. I took a pic trying to show the metallic, but the pic was just a washout. I need to monkey with different settings.
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I have a similar colored IS350 and I can't get the flake to show up in my pics either, and I have a psuedo-DSLR.
 
Thanks Flash....Menz FPII,KAIO, Blackfire Wet Diamond seems to be a pretty fool proof combo. Now I'm curious to see what it would look like on a darker color.
 
Wow, I showed the pic to my wife - she has a 08, same color - and it has BFWD on it too. Looks great, hope you're enjoying it as much as we love ours.
 
Junebug said:
Wow, I showed the pic to my wife - she has a 08, same color - and it has BFWD on it too. Looks great, hope you're enjoying it as much as we love ours.
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I have really enjoyed the vehicle thus far.

Luster said:
Looks great!!! Don't you just love BFWD?!!! Nice work.....:biggrin:
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Thanks Luster! Whats not to love about the BFWD...Super easy to use, and even a weekend warrior like myself can get some pretty good results.......
 
It looks awesome, IMO. Try playing with the setting and using a short exposure to reduce the light comming into the lense. You should be able to capture the flake, but the rest of the picture will be dark. White and yellow are incrediably tough colors to photograph, even with a 'good' camera.
 
th0001 said:
It looks awesome, IMO. Try playing with the setting and using a short exposure to reduce the light comming into the lense. You should be able to capture the flake, but the rest of the picture will be dark. White and yellow are incrediably tough colors to photograph, even with a 'good' camera.
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If we get sun this weekend, I am going to experiment and document various setting. I really need to see if my camera can do manual apeture settings,so I can blur the background etc...
 
User Name said:
mobenzowner,

What is your verdict on BFWD?

What were you most/least impressed by?
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So far most impressed with the obvious ease of use in regards to application and removal. Also impressed with initial slickness, and it also seems to have good gloss without giving up much in the depth department. I am eager to use it on a darker colored vehicle, but dont know when that will be. I have already winterized my other 2 vehicles and I seldom detail for anyone else. If I do anything else to my cars it would just be to add another coat of what they are currently wearing(Z2P on Silver Tacoma & wgdg 3.0 on Blue Matrix). I dont want to strip down and start from scratch with the Blackfire since these were just done 2 weeks ago. I now am just kind of playing the waiting game to see how long the Blackfire slickness lasts and to see how durable it is. Actually there is nothing I could say I wasnt impressed with at this point. I am very happy with the purchase and if durability is good, I will use this as my main sealant.

I do have a question however. I have no intention of topping Blackfire for now in case I want to apply another coat before the trully bad weather arrives, but what is the consensus in regards to topping wet diamond? Does a carnauba topper make much difference? I know looks are subjective, but I cant really see how it would make a big improvement to what I consider a pretty nice look in it's own right.
 
mobenzowner said:
I do have a question however. I have no intention of topping Blackfire for now in case I want to apply another coat before the trully bad weather arrives, but what is the consensus in regards to topping wet diamond? Does a carnauba topper make much difference? I know looks are subjective, but I cant really see how it would make a big improvement to what I consider a pretty nice look in it's own right.
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Well, I think the obvious answer for a "topper" would be Midnight Sun for the "Fire over Ice" look.

I have some Midnight Sun, but have yet to use it, but I think the consensus I've read here is that MS will add some depth, but will take away some of the slickness.

Again, this is not from personal experience but from what I've read here.
 
mobenzowner said:
If we get sun this weekend, I am going to experiment and document various setting. I really need to see if my camera can do manual apeture settings,so I can blur the background etc...
Click to expand...

FWIW most Point and Shoot (as well as stock lense DSLR's) will not have that dramatic effect looking photo effect with a tight f-stop. To get the really crazy shots you need a long focal length lens.
 
User Name said:
Well, I think the obvious answer for a "topper" would be Midnight Sun for the "Fire over Ice" look.

I have some Midnight Sun, but have yet to use it, but I think the consensus I've read here is that MS will add some depth, but will take away some of the slickness.
Again, this is not from personal experience but from what I've read here.
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This is true. Anybody who have used Wet Diamond can attest to its crazy slickness or slippery feel. Sealants, by function of what they are, will generally have less drag on the surface then carnauba wax. It is the nature of the products.

Since Wet Diamond is very slick (even for a sealant) it is literally imposable to mimic with a true carnauba paste. The reason you feel an increase in drag on the surface is because the Midnight Sun is actually digging in and layering on top of the sealant. If you didn't feel a change (since I am unaware of any 'true' carnauba wax that is anywhere near as slick as Wet Diamond) in drag it is because the wax is wiping off the paint.
 
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