How does Blackfire hold up?

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imported_series1

New member
For those of you who have tried blackfire how is the durability of the AFPP? I'm thinking this would be the next thing I will get and I'm wondering what people think of it.
 
I have used BF on my wife's black mustang. BF looks great on dark cars. Durability lasts about three months before you start to notice the degradation of shine and beading.



The only real complaint I have is removing the sealant. You need to leave it on about four hours before attempting to remove. It will easily start streaking if you remove it too soon. Good luck.
 
When I used BF (and yeah, I mean the curent version) on the S8 I noticed a rather quick drop-off in the slickness. It still looked pretty good, seemed protected, etc. but it didn't stay slick. And it didn't look as good after the first wash.



All-in-all, I'm much happier with 4-Star's UPP. Easier to use, and it seems *very* similar to BF except it's even slicker and all the good characteristics seem to last longer. If I were to buy one today, I'd pick the UPP, no question.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I have been looking at trying new sealants and blackfire came to mind. So far I have narrowed it down to blackfire,upp, and zaino. Accumulator if you say upp lasts longer than blackfire then I guess it would be my #1 choice so far. I guess I have to do some more research by looking at old posts about these sealants.
 
LOL My opinion woiuld contradict Accum's ! I absolutely love BF and it is always my first product to recommend to serious enthusiasts. Although i have reservations about making it my first recommendation, to people who are just getting underway and getting there hands wet, it is and can be a tricky product, but i feel the potential for frustration is far outweighed by the results. Its can be hard to grasp the characteristics of, but maybe the second or third time around using it, you'll feel more comfortable, at least thats my experience. Definetely my product of choice for reds and blacks, dark blues, time permitting. It works better in dryer atmospheres also. Im dying to do my P/U this weekend with it, again. You will get 8-10 weeks of protetcion with it, I havent noticed a difference between ver. I and II, other than II isnt as oily. Slickness is still a bonus for me with BFII.....

So now you have differing viewpoints, have we confused you yet ? I like Platinum (4****) also, but feel its just a tad below BF.....in all categories....Happy detailing....:xyxthumbs
 
I'd spend $15 on a bottle of UPP just for the slickness alone :D



Seriously though, UPP gives the deep glow of a carnauba and is the slickest thing I've ever had on my paint.
 
a.k.a. Patrick- Heh heh, I was expecting you to provide the flip side of the BF/UPP comparison! It's a perfect example of two different, but similar, products working quite differently for two guys who both (if I may say so) know what they're doing. LOL, you've always had great results with BF and it's about the only LSP that I've ever found tricky to use! As far as looks, I'd better point out that I'm only using these on silver, whereas you're using them on "real" :D colors! And with regard to the durability, well, it's not like either of us can't tell what happens to our cars! And to further reinforce the "difference perceptions" thing, I found a *huge* difference between versions 1 and 2! In fact, I won't even *use* my version 1 any more! If everybody had the same results and opinions, it would be a pretty boring world, huh?



Series1- LOL, Have we made your choice even harder? It's not like anybody's wrong here...flip a coin and get one of them and if you don't like it, get the other. Heh heh, you could probably sell some unwanted UPP to me/unwanted BF to Patrick, that way you're only really gambling with sales tax and shipping costs.
 
never tried UPP, I will when my BF runs out. I've used BF since day one. It has held up at least 6 months for me. This is with a wash every other week and at least QD once a week. It didn't bead as well as it did at first, but it was still good. I agree that the slickness diminishes after about 3-4 washes, but its still nice and slick mind you, just not as much. But for practical reasons, I would apply BF it every 4 months, it seems to be the spot when you start noticing that it doesn't bead well as it used to.
 
Scott, it can be so dang oily sometimes. sometimes the user can end up with dark spots. The prep is real important especially with Blackfire. Its almost like you have to bring the surface to a state of equalness or evenness before applying the PP. Another tricky part is the actual reaction time. BF is not user friendly in high humidity zones. On the left coast, at least So Cal, humidity isnt really a concern except for a few weeks in the summer. It even has some similarities to Megs #7, if you know what i mean.
 
Maybe I will have to wait until next summer to try it. El Nino is expected to affect our weather this winter, which means rainy and humid. Today, it was only in the upper 70's but when I skated late this afternoon (about 13 miles), my entire shirt was drenched! Been like this all month.



I know what you mean when you compare it to #7...which is why I use #81 or #3!
 
Scottwax said:
What is so tricky about applying and removing Blackfire?
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Well, my nickname for the stuff is Smearfire, if that says anything . . . in my experience, it takes a loooooonnnnnggg time to dry well enough to avoid smearing when removing the residue, and even if you let it dry quite a while, it can still be a pain. It applies nicely, though . . . very little product spreads a very long way.



Tort
 
Blackfire has lasted very well for me. I've posted on it before, so feel free to do a search. It's a great product with a great look. For me it also is very slick and more importantly hardly anything can stick to it. I always found it made washing a breeze.



My version I and II were quite different. One was sort of thin and a little bit runny, smelled nice, and was white. Two was thick and goopy and blue and had a faint chemical smell with no covering aroma (not solventy, just chemically). They also were quite different in beading, slickness, and ease of application, though the look was the same.



I've never used UPP, though, but if you are thinking about Blackfire, I'd say try it. It can be difficult to buff off, though. I usually waited a few hours, buffed, and then expected to QD the car the next day to finish it off. Lately, though, I've just been using #16 and Souveran on the Aurora, but it also spends a lot more time in the garage than it used to.
 
I've used Blackfire many times and only once had a removal issue. That was with the original formula when I did not shake the bottle sufficiently before applying (an oily residue was left behind). I was favoring UPP after using both on a blue vehicle. I tried Blackfire II over AIO on my wife's gold Subaru recently and it looked great. The main difference I see between the two is that in my experience, the slick feel lasts longer with UPP. Never had a durability problem with either product if water beading is a reasonable measure.
 
s9am_me said:
nice to see you here tcl.. my350z is all jacked up now. I've have since stopped browsing there.
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I've heard that but haven't been there much lately. I usually browse 350zfrenzy.com for Z info. I saw in another thread that your black Z still has that mirror-like finish.
 
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