Review: BLACKFIRE Poly Clay - Aggressive

Review: BLACKFIRE Poly Clay - Aggressive



BLACKFIRE Poly Clay - Aggressive

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_001.JPG



What is it?
Polybutene plastic with a pulverized powdered abrasive.


What does it do?

Abrades off above surface bonded contaminants when rubbed over a smooth surface with a lubricant.


When do I use it?

Anytime you discover and want to remove any above surface contamination like overspray paint, industrial fallout, tree sap mist, etc.


Why should I use it?

To restore a smooth surface free from any contaminants. Claying paint is the first step in creating a glossy finish.



My comments...

This is from the for what it's worth file, I've been detailing cars for a long time and I've been using clay since it was invented. In fact, I'm the only person I know of that actually has some of the oldest detailing clay still in the factory package back when detailing clay was invented and introduced to the detailing world. Click here to take a look.

That said, while there are a lot of clay options on the market, Ultra Fine, Fine and Medium grades of clay, and while there are lots of clay substitutes on the market, clay towels, clay mitts and clay pads, there are some things that are simply better done and more effectively done with an aggressive clay bar. One of these things is removing overspray paint. I'll choose an aggressive clay bar over all the over options any day of the week. An aggressive clay will be more effective at abrading off overspray paint and this means you are more effective with your time and this means it will take you less time to remove the overspray paint.

That's about as clear and simple as I can state it and you can either take my word for it or feel free to use all the other clays and clay options available for difficult to remove above surface bonded contaminants yourself and come to your own conclusions but I'm so sure of my own experience that I'm confident you'll discover the same results as me and that is when it comes to remove overspray paint and any other really stubborn contaminant - there's no beating a quality aggressive clay.


Professional Use Only

I also want to note that from what I've seen, most aggressive grade clays I've seen for sale are in a company's professional line. That is they are formulated for and targeted at professional detailers and body shop technicians with a higher knowledge level and skill level. The reason for this is that the benefit to an aggressive clay is they work faster to remove serious contamination. The downside is the aggressive nature of the clay means they will tend to mar the paint during the claying process. I'll go deeper into this aspect in my review below.



Mock-up Demo

Normally I only do real-world work, testing and use of products for my reviews and how-tos. Problem is - when launching a new aggressive clay you can't just walk out to the parking lot and get any old car to demonstrate the clay. Life doesn't work that way. So Yancy and I came up with a way to mock-up how an aggressive clay works faster and more effectively than other clays. To do this, we took a can of common rattle can spray paint and sprayed some of it onto a demo hood. Then we shot a video that shows using one of my favorite clays, the Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay, (which is an ultra fine clay), and compared it to the new BLACKFIRE Poly Clay Aggressive.

This mock-up worked well to demonstrate the difference in the level of abrasives found in one extreme of clay, (aggressive), as compared to the other extreme of clay, (ultra fine). The mock-up shows using rattle can spray paint because it's something we can get and then use to make the video and write this review. Keep in mind, if this clay can remove spray paint it can also remove all the other common airborne contaminants that land and then bond to the exterior of your car. Also keep in mind that detailing clay can be used on any hard, smooth surface, this includes paint, plastic and glass, the most common surface materials on most cars.



Here's the video

https://youtu.be/WyU_5XlFnnw




Here's how we did it...


Demo Hood

First here's your basic demo hood painted with a basecoat/clearcoat paint system, Standox if I remember correctly.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_002.JPG




Rattle Can Time

Here's me spraying some high gloss white enamel paint onto the panel.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_004.JPG




Overspray Paint

This is a LOT of overspray paint. In the real world, the ONLY way you would ever have this much overspray paint is if your car was vandalized and it happens. We let this dry for about an hour before going to the claying step.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_005.JPG




Spray down clay lube

It's important to use a lot of clay lube to help prevent marring and to also help the clay glide over the surface.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_006.JPG




Comparison Testing

First I'll use the Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay, which is an ULTRA FINE grade of clay.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_007.JPG




Here you can see the white overspray paint coming off the demo hood and onto the ultra fine clay

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_008.JPG




If you look at the area below my hand, you can see the ultra fine clay removed some of the paint but not all of it, not even close.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_009.JPG




Stiff Clay

Most aggressive clays on the market tend to be a lot stiffer than other grades of clay. My guess is the reason for this is because they contain a higher concentration of pulverized abrasive powder. What I like to do is twist the clay like taffy to kind of warm it up and then smash it between the palms of my hands and then knead it into a patty.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_010.JPG




The Hulk Technique

If you've ever watched our last TV show, Competition Ready, I shared the Hulk Technique in at least two episodes. If you've ever taken any of my car detailing classes you know what I'm talking about. :laughing:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_011.JPG



Back to lots of clay lube

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_012.JPG




Mist a little clay lube onto the clay too...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_013.JPG




Rub, Rub Rub...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_014.JPG




For this level of overspray paint I need to put a little passion behind the clay...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_015.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_016.JPG




If you look to the left you can see all the paint the ultra fine grade missed - if you look where I'm rubbing the aggressive clay you can see black paint...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_017.JPG




Next remove the clay lube with a microfiber towel...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_018.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_019.JPG




BOOM! Overspray paint b gone!

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_020.JPG




And here you can see where it went - onto the aggressive clay....

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_021.JPG




HUGE visual difference in performance and effectiveness....

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_022.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_024.JPG





Review

The BLACKFIRE Poly Clay Aggressive is as advertised, it's an aggressive clay. It's a LOT more aggressive than any ultra fine, fine and even medium grade clays. It easily removed more of the rattle can spray paint off the demo hood with less work, less passes and less time than the ultra fine clay. I have access to the most comprehensive collection of different brands of detailing clay and polymerized rubber clay substitutes and when I need to remove actual overspray PAINT - I always choose and use an aggressive clay. It's simply faster and more effective.


In the real-word
In the real-world, most of us will never have to try to remove the volume of spray paint you see on the demo hood or saw me spray onto the demo hood if you watched the video for this new aggressive clay product. Maybe you'll have to deal with this if your vehicle is vandalized, but lets hope not. I sprayed down that amount of paint to both show the difference but to also make it easy for the video camera to capture as well as to show the point of using an aggressive clay. This new clay in the BLACKFIRE line of products is aggressive and it will work faster than other grades to remove all contaminant faster.


Marring
It also marred the black paint which is normal for any brand of aggressive clay. My own personal and professional rule for detailing cars is this - if I'm going to use ANY type of mechanical decontamination on car paint - I'm already planning on and factoring in the time and work to do at least ONE machine polishing step to remove any marring. This hold true when using an ultra fine grade clay or this new aggressive clay. It also holds true for any clay substitutes like clay towels, clay mitts and clay pads.

Clay marring
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_025.JPG

Keep this in mind for your own self-awareness as clearcoats are scratch-sensitive, this means they scratch easily and anytime you start rubbing something over scratch-sensitive clearcoat paint it's likely you're going to mar the paint and to remove the marring you're going to need to machine polish the paint.

And also keep in mind that while any detailing clay can mar paint - in most cases, if you have some kind of unwanted contaminant on your car's paint detailing clay is still the safest way to remove it while preserving and keeping the underlying paint intact. In the old days before detailing clay people would either compound or wet sand a car to remove overspray paint and other airborne contaminants. The problem with compounding and wet sanding is not only will they remove the contaminant - they will also remove your car's paint. To be on the safe side, always test the least aggressive approach to get the job done, by this I mean, if you have stubborn contaminants on your car's paint, test an ultra fine or fine grade clay first. If neither of these options are working fast enough or effectively enough then the good news is BLACKFIRE has you covered. Pick up a bar of the BLACKFIRE Poly Clay Aggressive and test it next. In most cases for most people an aggressive clay will save the day, just be aware you may need to machine polish after using any brand of aggressive clay and the good news about this is Autogeek has everything you need to machine polish your favorite ride.



On Autogeek.com

BLACKFIRE Poly Clay Aggressive

BLACKFIRE Clay Lubricant - 32 ounces


http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...A_Clay_023.JPG



:)