Review: BLACKFIRE One-Step Cleaner/Wax by Mike Phillips

[BJackson8]

Had a chance to use the new Blackfire One-Step this weekend and I have to say that it is really good.

The vehicle is a 1999 white Ford single cab long bed F-150. The truck belongs to my son who is a college student living in an apartment complex, so it is outside 24/7. The last time this vehicle was waxed was probably 2 years ago. Overall condition was good with moderate swirl marks, and some pretty good oxidation on the roof.

Tools used:
Rupes 21 - Orange Thinpro pads
3" Flex - Orange Thinpro pads

Time was limited and we weren't shooting for perfection, so we did only did 3 or 4 passes per section. We were able to remove appox. 80% of the defects and the one-step left the paint glossy and fairly slick.

Overall impressions:
Great product to work with - very long working time.
Seems like it has more cut than HD Speed, but didn't leave the paint quite as slick.
Wipes off as easy as any product that I have ever used.
Does not stain trim.

We didn't top it with anything, I will post updates thru the winter concerning longevity.

[imranshahid]

Is this available in the UK?

[jayceone]

Is there a cure time before I can apply finishing wax??

[Mike Phillips]

Is this available in the UK?

Off hand I don't know. Possibly Motor Geek will carry it but since it's brand new I doubt any shipments have made it across the pond yet. I can check.

Is there a cure time before I can apply finishing wax??

A good rule of thumb for cure time on any sealant is wait for 24 hours for whatever "magic" the chemist has created can do its thing.

Me? I wait about an hour if I'm going to top by doing other things, wiping down door jambs, dressing tires, cleaning glass etc. and then apply followed by sticking a fork in it and calling it done.

Kind of depends on your situation. If you need to return a car to a customer you might be on their time frame. If it's your own car and you have a garage then take all the time you want.

[Mike Phillips]

Had a chance to use the new Blackfire One-Step this weekend and I have to say that it is really good.


Overall impressions:

Great product to work with - very long working time.
Seems like it has more cut than HD Speed, but didn't leave the paint quite as slick.
Wipes off as easy as any product that I have ever used.
Does not stain trim.

We didn't top it with anything, I will post updates thru the winter concerning longevity.

Thanks for sharing!

[ShinyThings]

Great just freaking great, after my newb trials of various products I settled for the simplicity and great results using a couple Collinite products. Thought I was on my "path" but just ordered some of this Blackfire because I couldn't stand not knowing what I'm missing out on. Add another bottle to the arsenal and let her rip

[Mike Phillips]

Great just freaking great, after my newb trials of various products I settled for the simplicity and great results using a couple Collinite products.

Thought I was on my "path" but just ordered some of this Blackfire because I couldn't stand not knowing what I'm missing out on.

Add another bottle to the arsenal and let her rip

You won't regret this purchase.

[TMQ]

Just used Blackfire One step on a white Dodge Big Horn.

Since is was a daily driver and a work vehicle---Used Rupes white pad and did moderate arm movement with 4 section passes.

My take:

It made paint much smoother but not super smooth. Since the truck was white, hard to tell how much correction was done. Expected to be little more smoother. It could be I was a bit quick.
I did a white GMC Terrain with McKee's 360 and I was able to do just a tad better. "smoother finish".

A quick and dirty observation---I believe that the McKee's 360 and the Blackfire One step are basically the same in cut and final finish...

Tom

[wing commander]

Tom why not try a pad like the Lake Country HDO blue or orange? You may get a surprise about the cut. If you do not have them just try a yellow or green Rupes.

[TMQ]

Tom why not try a pad like the Lake Country HDO blue or orange? You may get a surprise about the cut. If you do not have them just try a yellow or green Rupes.

Thanks...

Yeah, I need to try that using Rupes yellow or green.

I see that Mike used an orange pad (not sure what that is---Thin pro orange cutting pad?).

I have a mind set that one should "only" use a polishing pad (Rupes white pad) to do an AIO.

In all fairness to Blackfire and 360, I need to have tighter controls in place than what I did/said in the above post (#59) to obtain a more fair and accurate comparison between 360 and Blackfire.

For all I know---the paint between the Dodge and GMC can be worlds apart. In addition, might've used bit more section passes on the GMC vs 4 passes on the Dodge. Stuff like that. Next time I get a chance I'll make sure all things are equal and post more accurate results at a later time.

Tom