mjlinane
My name is Mike
Review: Blackfire Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer
Introduction:
This is the next in the on-going series of reviews of the newly reformulated Blackfire line.
In my only negative review (so far), CG MF Wash+, I recounted my experience with the high-end audio publications from the day. One of the features J. Gordon Holt instituted early on in Stereophile was a Recommended Components List and it quickly became the most popular feature. He had 4 product grades, A-D where Class A was state of the art, no practical restrictions - containing maybe 1 component (often none) and it had to be significantly better than any of its peers. If there was one, it almost always was astronomically priced. Classes B, C & D ranked the remaining things by "goodness" (there could be multiple items of roughly equal "goodness" in each Class) but there was some price sensibility built into it - there couldn't be a Class C component that cost significantly more than a Class B one. And products wouldn't stay in a particular Class forever. As newer, better products were released, products would move down a Class or be dropped.
(After he sold the magazine, the standards changed. Now pretty much everything they review is Class A or A+ even. The excuse, er... I mean the story goes that now they have multiple reviewers and not all can hear every reviewed component.)
I have toyed with the idea of doing a thread like that for our forum. If I did, Blackfire Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo is a clear Class A component. BF Wet Diamond Rinseless Wash/Midnight Sun Instant Detailer would be borderline Class A, at least. So what about BF MicroFiber Cleaner & Restorer?
Thanks again to Corey for providing the format.
Product Claims:
From Autopia Car Care site -
BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer
"Restore your microfiber with every wash!
Removes wax, polish, grease, grass stains, make-up, food, oil, and protein-based stains.
Restores like-new texture and softness to microfiber.
Contains no fabric softener or bleach.
BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer is formulated to meet the unique cleaning requirements of microfiber. It releases oily residues and greasy stains better than an ordinary laundry detergent and leaves microfiber feeling like new! Even better, BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer protects the special characteristics of microfiber - its tremendous absorbency, luxurious softness, and dust-attracting magnetism. Why wash microfiber with anything else?
Microfiber is unlike any other fabric and it deserves a cleaner unlike any other detergent! BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer releases tough stains and residues while restoring the softness and cleaning ability that makes microfiber the best detailing material. Microfiber is engineered from man made fibers to be softer, more durable, and more absorbent than any natural material. BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer removes oil, grease, wax and polish residue, protein-based stains like blood and sweat, grass stains, food, and cosmetics while restoring a soft, fluffy feel to the fabric.
Never use bleach or fabric softeners on microfiber. Bleach can damage fibers over time and it isn't necessary. Fabric softeners eliminate the microfiber's magnetic charge. BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer contains only emulsifiers, surfactants, chelating agents and water softeners to break down oily deposits and release them from the fabric. Nothing extra goes into our detergent.
Mild water softeners in BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer neutralize hard water in the washing machine to maintain the softness of microfiber. No additional softeners or dryer sheets are needed. Microfiber products will come out of the dryer feeling soft and fluffy. Most importantly, microfiber will retain its cleaning properties wash after wash. In fact, you can use BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer to safely clean terry cloth and leather chamois."
Product
Details:
1.- Packaging: Plastic Bottle and Squirt Top
2.- Directions: Clearly labeled
3.- Viscosity: Slightly thicker than water
4.- Color: Clear
5.- Scent: Faintly chemical
6.- Price at time of review: 16oz = $ 12.99
7.- Manufacturer: Blackfire
9.- Made in: USA
Other Products Used:
Dirty MFs
LG Steam Front Load Washer and matching dryer
Note - I have softened water.
Preparation:
Dirty your MFs however you see fit. I have found that, to get the "miraculous" results shown in the ads, a presoak is necessary in a water/detergent mix.
Application:
I had a rather small load (15 MFs + 2 Bones) so I used 1oz BF MFC&R. [Directions call for 2oz for a half load and 4oz for full. I always start with half of recommendations due to the HE Washer.] Used warm wash/cold rinse, very high spin, heavy dirt setting. Followed with added rinse cycle.
Observations:
Nice suds - thick but not too much so. (I think I could have used even less product.) Cleans very well and seems to brighten the colors. Rinses clean with only 1 additional rinse cycle. The MF softness is very good after drying. Seemed to be more static cling than normal but it is winter here. Long-term, set-in stains did not dissappear but new ones were removed.
Does it meet its claims? In general, yes.
Comparisons:
From my CG MFW+ review -
"I alternate washes with Pinnacle, DP and Micro Restore. I like Pinnacle for the texture it leaves on my MFs but it is really expensive. I use Micro Restore when the MFs are heavily soiled - just think it cleans better but the texture isn't quite as nice as the other 2. DP, to me, falls almost exactly between the other 2."
I believe BF MFC&R cleans as well as, or better, than any of the other products. For texture, I still think Pinnacle wins but BF MFC&R is a solid second. In my machine, I think only 0.5-1oz is needed so it becomes cost competitive.
Pros:
1.- Cleans well
2.- Leaves a very nice texture
3.- Cost effective (for me)
Cons:
1.- None I've seen.
Final Observations and Summary:
If I were using the Recommended Components grading, I believe Blackfire Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer is a solid Class B product.
[The MF Detergent Category would be something like:
Class A
None
Class B (alphabetically listed)
Blackfire MFC&R
DP PSMFC
Micro-Restore
Pinnacle MF Restorer (Borderline Class A)
Class C
OTC Free & Clear + vinegar rinse
Class D
OTC Free & Clear]
I like its cleaning ability and am happy enough with the resulting texture of my MFs. In my washer, it is actually cost competitive. (If used per the directions, it would be more than the others because more product is required. Seeing it in my washer, I am a bit confused by the directed recommendation - it doesn't look like it needs that much.)
While BF MFC&R doesn't "blow away" the other products I've tried like BF Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo did, I think it's combination of characteristics is just about right for me.
Comments and questions are encouraged. Thanks for viewing!
Introduction:
This is the next in the on-going series of reviews of the newly reformulated Blackfire line.
In my only negative review (so far), CG MF Wash+, I recounted my experience with the high-end audio publications from the day. One of the features J. Gordon Holt instituted early on in Stereophile was a Recommended Components List and it quickly became the most popular feature. He had 4 product grades, A-D where Class A was state of the art, no practical restrictions - containing maybe 1 component (often none) and it had to be significantly better than any of its peers. If there was one, it almost always was astronomically priced. Classes B, C & D ranked the remaining things by "goodness" (there could be multiple items of roughly equal "goodness" in each Class) but there was some price sensibility built into it - there couldn't be a Class C component that cost significantly more than a Class B one. And products wouldn't stay in a particular Class forever. As newer, better products were released, products would move down a Class or be dropped.
(After he sold the magazine, the standards changed. Now pretty much everything they review is Class A or A+ even. The excuse, er... I mean the story goes that now they have multiple reviewers and not all can hear every reviewed component.)
I have toyed with the idea of doing a thread like that for our forum. If I did, Blackfire Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo is a clear Class A component. BF Wet Diamond Rinseless Wash/Midnight Sun Instant Detailer would be borderline Class A, at least. So what about BF MicroFiber Cleaner & Restorer?
Thanks again to Corey for providing the format.
Product Claims:
From Autopia Car Care site -
BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer
"Restore your microfiber with every wash!
Removes wax, polish, grease, grass stains, make-up, food, oil, and protein-based stains.
Restores like-new texture and softness to microfiber.
Contains no fabric softener or bleach.
BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer is formulated to meet the unique cleaning requirements of microfiber. It releases oily residues and greasy stains better than an ordinary laundry detergent and leaves microfiber feeling like new! Even better, BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer protects the special characteristics of microfiber - its tremendous absorbency, luxurious softness, and dust-attracting magnetism. Why wash microfiber with anything else?
Microfiber is unlike any other fabric and it deserves a cleaner unlike any other detergent! BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer releases tough stains and residues while restoring the softness and cleaning ability that makes microfiber the best detailing material. Microfiber is engineered from man made fibers to be softer, more durable, and more absorbent than any natural material. BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer removes oil, grease, wax and polish residue, protein-based stains like blood and sweat, grass stains, food, and cosmetics while restoring a soft, fluffy feel to the fabric.
Never use bleach or fabric softeners on microfiber. Bleach can damage fibers over time and it isn't necessary. Fabric softeners eliminate the microfiber's magnetic charge. BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer contains only emulsifiers, surfactants, chelating agents and water softeners to break down oily deposits and release them from the fabric. Nothing extra goes into our detergent.
Mild water softeners in BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer neutralize hard water in the washing machine to maintain the softness of microfiber. No additional softeners or dryer sheets are needed. Microfiber products will come out of the dryer feeling soft and fluffy. Most importantly, microfiber will retain its cleaning properties wash after wash. In fact, you can use BLACKFIRE Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer to safely clean terry cloth and leather chamois."
Product
Details:
1.- Packaging: Plastic Bottle and Squirt Top
2.- Directions: Clearly labeled
3.- Viscosity: Slightly thicker than water
4.- Color: Clear
5.- Scent: Faintly chemical
6.- Price at time of review: 16oz = $ 12.99
7.- Manufacturer: Blackfire
9.- Made in: USA
Other Products Used:
Dirty MFs
LG Steam Front Load Washer and matching dryer
Note - I have softened water.
Preparation:
Dirty your MFs however you see fit. I have found that, to get the "miraculous" results shown in the ads, a presoak is necessary in a water/detergent mix.
Application:
I had a rather small load (15 MFs + 2 Bones) so I used 1oz BF MFC&R. [Directions call for 2oz for a half load and 4oz for full. I always start with half of recommendations due to the HE Washer.] Used warm wash/cold rinse, very high spin, heavy dirt setting. Followed with added rinse cycle.
Observations:
Nice suds - thick but not too much so. (I think I could have used even less product.) Cleans very well and seems to brighten the colors. Rinses clean with only 1 additional rinse cycle. The MF softness is very good after drying. Seemed to be more static cling than normal but it is winter here. Long-term, set-in stains did not dissappear but new ones were removed.
Does it meet its claims? In general, yes.
Comparisons:
From my CG MFW+ review -
"I alternate washes with Pinnacle, DP and Micro Restore. I like Pinnacle for the texture it leaves on my MFs but it is really expensive. I use Micro Restore when the MFs are heavily soiled - just think it cleans better but the texture isn't quite as nice as the other 2. DP, to me, falls almost exactly between the other 2."
I believe BF MFC&R cleans as well as, or better, than any of the other products. For texture, I still think Pinnacle wins but BF MFC&R is a solid second. In my machine, I think only 0.5-1oz is needed so it becomes cost competitive.
Pros:
1.- Cleans well
2.- Leaves a very nice texture
3.- Cost effective (for me)
Cons:
1.- None I've seen.
Final Observations and Summary:
If I were using the Recommended Components grading, I believe Blackfire Microfiber Cleaner & Restorer is a solid Class B product.
[The MF Detergent Category would be something like:
Class A
None
Class B (alphabetically listed)
Blackfire MFC&R
DP PSMFC
Micro-Restore
Pinnacle MF Restorer (Borderline Class A)
Class C
OTC Free & Clear + vinegar rinse
Class D
OTC Free & Clear]
I like its cleaning ability and am happy enough with the resulting texture of my MFs. In my washer, it is actually cost competitive. (If used per the directions, it would be more than the others because more product is required. Seeing it in my washer, I am a bit confused by the directed recommendation - it doesn't look like it needs that much.)
While BF MFC&R doesn't "blow away" the other products I've tried like BF Wet Diamond Conditioning Shampoo did, I think it's combination of characteristics is just about right for me.
Comments and questions are encouraged. Thanks for viewing!
