nothing, just less gloss...your paint is dirty by the tine you get the car...clay it...

 

Just wanted to give a quick update to what I had written before in case anyone else stumbles along and is wondering.

This weekend we had some decent sun here in the Seattle area, so I decided to wash my truck again and follow it up with the BlackICE wax I mentioned before. Before putting on the wax, I did a two bucket wash with Chemical Guys Maxi suds 2 car soap and I applied a layer of BLACKFIRE Crystal Seal (a couple of weeks ago I did a wash with dawn soap, clayed it, used the BLACKFIRE Total Polish and Seal, and then finished it with the Crystal Seal, so I didn't figure it needed another polish). After the Crystal Seal cured for a couple of hours I applied the BLACKFIRE BlackICE wax.

As far as the finished look goes, I'd probably say I like the wax finish about the same as the sealant only finish. They don't look the same, but I don't know if I can pick one that looks "better" as they both look incredible. As glen previously mentioned, there's tons of reading material on waxes vs sealants and the different finishes they provide (glassy/candylike vs warmer/deeper). The big difference that I personally noticed, however, was driving it in the rain yesterday. The waxed finish just seemed to shed water better (be it by beading with the wax or sheeting with the sealant). I'm lucky I didn't have a wreck because I couldn't stop staring at the hood as little tiny water beads flew across it to merge together into a bigger bead which then seemed to just want to jump off the surface. I was very happy with how the wax handled the water and the resulting look of the paint, even after driving it in the rain. I can't speak to durability of the wax personally, but every review I've seen of it has been very complimentary, with most claiming 7-8 months out of a single application.

All in all, I'll probably end up using the wax at the beginning of our wet seasons and then using only sealants when the sun decides to come out again close to summer. If you like the candied look (like I do), and you're interested in trying out BLACKFIRE products and don't live in a place like Seattle where it stays wet 8 months of the year, I'd probably recommend trying the sealants first (Crystal Seal for the easiest application, WetDiamond if you wanna go with what I think is considered their best sealant). The sealants are much cheaper than the BlackICE wax, and I think most of the benefits of BlackICE are in wet conditions or for people who just prefer waxes.

 

Good stuff! Really appreciate the insight. I'm pretty pleased with the Blackfire products and Chemical Guys.

 

I really thought I had read that the BlackFire products darkened the paint hue. True or not true?

 

not true... blackfire is a produict line...no pigment change at all - blackfire black ice is a wax made for dark paints...

 

So just confirming - the blackfire black ice wax is "made" for dark paints, but will not "darken" them further? And the other products mentioned here also will not darken.

 

I used this on my Supersonic Blue http://www.autogeek.net/blackfire-we...d-sealant.html I applied it with my PC The results were very sharp, The Blue really came thru very nice. Great product.

 

The BlackICE supposedly does have a "darkening effect". The other BLACKFIRE products don't have this quality, it is only the BlackICE wax. That said, I've seen several people use this on lighter colored cars and were very happy with the results. If you're interested, there's a pretty good write up on the BlackICE wax here. If you're concerned about using it on a lighter colored car, BLACKFIRE does make another carnauba wax called Midnight Sun, I believe. I haven't personally tried it, but I think its closer to a traditional carnauba wax and I've heard good things about it as well. Also, there are a lot of people out there posting pictures of BlackICE on lighter colored cars and such. If you look around a bit and have trouble finding them let me know and I'll find the ones I've seen before and send you some links. Also, once I'll see if any of my pictures I took after waxing my truck (black) came out good enough to post here.

 

...

 

I thought BlackICE was for black cars only.

 

Mine is a Cyber Gray, and I love the exact color, and don't want to darken it at all. But I've heard so many rave reviews about the BlackFire line of products. Thinking about using the sealant as I'm not happy with the Glasse High Gloss Sealant (do love the All In One tho) as I can't seem to find a technique where it doesn't streak.

 

this is the one-two punch for blackfire on a cyber gray:

http://www.stingrayforums.com/forum/....html#post8995

 

Sorry I'm just now getting these on here, but here's my truck after the latest (if you didn't read my previous post - Wash with chemical guys, BLACKFIRE Crystal Seal, followed up with BLACKFIRE BlackICE wax). The pictures aren't really great and don't quite do it justice, but maybe they'll give you a bit of a feel for how reflective it made the truck look.

Also, keep in mind that the truck is an '07 and hasn't exactly been pampered to say the least . The paint is far from perfect, there are some dents and dings if you look too closely, and I used a polish that is far too light for the age/condition of the paint (I was just testing out my new goodies in preparation for getting my new vette). Also there are a few spots in these pictures where I didn't quite buff the wax all the way off so if you see some residue that's why.

 

seems like you will not have any time to actually drive your car after all the polishing youre doing. why not get somebody to do this for you? if you can afford to buy a corvette, surely you can afford to pay somebody a couple hundred to do the hard stuff. or, do you feel that you are bonding with your car and actually enjoy the work? serious question, as the last thing i can imagine doing is polishing a car.

 

Holy batman Glen e, that looks amazing.

I already have a few layers of Glasse sealant and Pinnacle wax on mine. If in the future I wanted to use the BF Total Polish and Seal, would those need to be stripped, or just a good wash and lay over the top ok?

 

I'm probably going to go overboard on the response here, so I'll give everyone a TL;DR in case you wanna skip:
TL;DR Because I enjoy it.

First of all, I assume you're speaking in hyperbole when you say I won't have time to drive the car for all the polishing I'm doing, because even if I were to spend every Saturday focusing on paint care, I'd still drive it to and from work all week and on Sundays. But it won't be that extreme...I plan on giving the car a full treatment about twice a year - once for the summer months so it can shine with the sun, and once for the winter months so it can keep the water off. So even if I spend 2 days applying products and letting them cure, that's only 4 days out of the year.

Second, and not just with my car, I personally believe in taking care of things. That doesn't mean not using it, but it means taking steps to ensure things stay in as reasonable condition as possible. If something spills on the carpet, clean it up asap to ensure it doesn't stain. If something isn't working quite right, fix it before it breaks all the way. I like having nice things, and nice doesn't have to always equate to expensive, but for me, it does always have to equate to well maintained. So with the car, I want the paint taken care of and I want it done right. (Side note: this is also the reason I'm in a constant battle with my wife to squeeze the toothpaste tube from the bottom up and keep the top of it clean. It's such a nicer experience to have a like new toothpaste tube rather than a crumpled up pasty mess ).

So of course, I could take it to someone and pay a few hundred bucks to have it done, but if I did that for everything (house cleaner, lawn maintenance, car washes and detailing on several cars, regular house maintenance) it would add up and I maybe wouldn't be able to afford a new corvette. So reason #3 is that while I could afford it, it doesn't make it the financially responsible thing to do. Plus, I'm cheap. I don't mind paying for high quality products and materials, but I absolutely despise paying for things that I don't have to pay for or that I don't see value in or that I could've gotten for free/cheaper.

Fourth, I enjoy it. I'm not sure about the "bonding with the car" just yet since I don't have my car yet and I haven't owned a car that elicits an emotional response as much as I expect the corvette to. But I enjoy seeing the results of my own work. Being able to say "wow, that looks fantastic. I did made it look that way." There's a certain payoff to work, other than the pay itself, that many people these days don't really appreciate. There is a lot of value in doing something productive and then having something to show for it vs just buying something to show. (Another random sidenote: I don't have kids yet, but if I do end up having them, I think it would be an interesting experiment to give them $10 to buy a toy with and see how long before they grow tired of it, and then to make them do chores for $10 to buy a toy with and see how long before they grow tired of that one. I don't know if it will prove my point or not, but it'd be interesting to see if there's a difference or not). Plus, by cleaning the car myself, I will basically be redirecting all compliments on my car to compliments on me. Sure I can't take all the credit because there's some amazing design and engineering going into the car, but never the less the same car will easily go unnoticed or uncomplimented if it is covered in swirls and dirt.

So really the reason I plan to do it myself is all of those combined. Many people won't feel the same way, they won't feel a sense of accomplishment for making their car shine, and they won't find the time/money tradeoff worth it for them. That is 100% ok with me . Not everyone has to have the same priorities, enjoy the same things, or take pride in the same work. I do, however, think there's a lot of value in understanding others' mindsets and reasons for doing things. So thank you for taking time to ask why I do what I do, and thank you even more for taking time to read my long posts .

 

People who don't detail usually never understand those that do......it's a hobby for many, it's that simple.....

 

Then you have yet to love a car. I understand - was in the same boat prior to the vette. Some people like being outside, doing physical work, getting instant gratification of turning a beautiful car into gleaming eye candy. It's incredibly therapeutic. Love doing the work. Also love doing my own tractor work on the ranch, my own gardening, my own horse training. Some people like to do life, instead of paying others to do it for them.

 

I couldn't agree more..I can afford to pay someone to do it but just love polishing and waxing my cars and wouldn't think of letting someone else doing it for me it's a labor of love!!

 

I use the Black fire Wet Diamond sealer then top it off with the Pinnacle paste wax the finish just jumps at you...The black fire sealer gives you that candy like shine and the Pinnacle gives you that deep wet look together it's amazing and have won many of car show awards for it.