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  1. #11
    Super Member BadgerRivFan's Avatar
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    Extremely thorough write-up Mike... maybe your best to date! Great job. Oh, and Frank is da man!
    ​Al Schmidt
    "Adventure, is a car called Riviera..."

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  3. #12
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    Quote Originally Posted by BadgerRivFan View Post

    Extremely thorough write-up Mike... maybe your best to date!

    Great job. Oh, and Frank is da man!

    Thanks but actually, I didn't get any pictures of,

    • Action shots showing us doing the compounding step with the FLEX 3401 (except when Frank did the test spot)
    • Action shots showing us doing the polishing step with the FLEX 3401
    • Action shots showing us chemically stripping the paint


    Just focused on doing the work on this project not documenting the work with pictures.


    Weird thing about the paint job on this car was the passenger side door had metallic flake in it, light amount of tiny flake? Couldn't be seen without the SCANGRIP light.

    The paint on the body behind the driver's door was softer than the rest of the paint on the car, marred easy.


    Normally, the paint on a car is fairly consistent over the entire car but in this case it seems there was different spray on the car.


    In the end though, the entire finish has a uniform appearance and a real hard candy gloss to it. Owner LOVED it!



  4. #13
    Super Member Paul A.'s Avatar
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    This is my next coating!

  5. #14
    Super Member TheCougarGuy's Avatar
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    Great write up, Mike.

    I do have a question about the towels used to wipe down the high spots. Since the coatings are permanent, does the coating ruin the towel(s)? Can it be washed out?

  6. #15
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    Quote Originally Posted by TheCougarGuy View Post

    Great write up, Mike.

    I do have a question about the towels used to wipe down the high spots.

    Since the coatings are permanent, does the coating ruin the towel(s)?

    Can it be washed out?

    Great question and I think it's a case-by-case situation depending upon the coating.

    What I do every time is wash the towels immediately after use and when they come out of the dryer feel them and they always feel soft.

    Keep in mind, if you apply the coating correctly you should only be wiping or buffing off the high spots, not like wiping off a wax where you're wiping off a wax where you have a substantial layer of product over the entire car.

    If there's a lot of coating on a towel and it dries hard, then it probably won't wash off and at that point you should make it a utility towel for wiping down engines, door jambs or checking the oil.



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  8. #16
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    Quote Originally Posted by BadgerRivFan View Post

    Extremely thorough write-up Mike... maybe your best to date! Great job.
    Thanks Al, you're too kind, I wish I would have taken more pictures of the chemical stripping procedure. This car may be back for some metal polishing videos in the future.


    Quote Originally Posted by BadgerRivFan View Post

    Oh, and Frank is da man!
    I agree!



    Quote Originally Posted by Paul A. View Post

    This is my next coating!

    And just to note, like any pro grade coating, be sure to have a good swirl finder light to light up the vertical panels to ensure you remove any high spots. If you don't remove them you'll likely have to polish, maybe even compound them off after the high spots fully set-up.

    The above is normal protocol for any coating and even waxes and sealants. You NEED good lighting.



  9. #17
    Super Member rlmccarty2000's Avatar
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    It’s great to make $600 installing a coating but you need to match your LSP to your customer. Taking care of a coating can be easier than taking care of a car coated with a sealant or wax, but your customer needs to understand the maintenance aspects of a coating. They can’t just pick up any old car wash off the shelf and wash their car. If they get one enhanced with glossifers it will clog up the coating losing the self cleaning aspect of the coating. You’ve got to tell your customer that coatings will scratch and mar. Your customer may believe because they paid $600 their car is invulnerable while we know it is not. What I’m trying to say is that an educated customer is a happy customer and not all customers will be happy paying $600 for something they really have to take special care for. Coatings are not the magic bullet we thought they would be when they came out. Are they better than wax or sealants? It depends what you are trying to do. Asking a coating to last 2 years AND look like new in 2 years is possible with intense and correct maintenance. Most people that drive their vehicles normally should expect 1 year durability as a realistic expectation for any coating that they personally maintain. If they bring their vehicle to you for maintenance you may be able to get them the 2 years promised by the coating manufacturer. If you tell your customer what to realistic expect they will be return customers and be happier in the long run.

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  11. #18
    Super Member PaulMys's Avatar
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    Quote Originally Posted by rlmccarty2000 View Post
    It’s great to make $600 installing a coating but you need to match your LSP to your customer. Taking care of a coating can be easier than taking care of a car coated with a sealant or wax, but your customer needs to understand the maintenance aspects of a coating. They can’t just pick up any old car wash off the shelf and wash their car. If they get one enhanced with glossifers it will clog up the coating losing the self cleaning aspect of the coating. You’ve got to tell your customer that coatings will scratch and mar. Your customer may believe because they paid $600 their car is invulnerable while we know it is not. What I’m trying to say is that an educated customer is a happy customer and not all customers will be happy paying $600 for something they really have to take special care for. Coatings are not the magic bullet we thought they would be when they came out. Are they better than wax or sealants? It depends what you are trying to do. Asking a coating to last 2 years AND look like new in 2 years is possible with intense and correct maintenance. Most people that drive their vehicles normally should expect 1 year durability as a realistic expectation for any coating that they personally maintain. If they bring their vehicle to you for maintenance you may be able to get them the 2 years promised by the coating manufacturer. If you tell your customer what to realistic expect they will be return customers and be happier in the long run.
    Nothing could be more true.
    It is no coincidence that man's best friend cannot talk.

  12. #19
    Mike Phillips
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    And just to note.....


    Most modern hotrods, streetrods and classics also have MODERN paint jobs on them.

    As a normal protocol, when I do a write-up for a car project I detail or for a product review, I state the type of paint the car has. So if it has a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint job I state this. If it has a original or antique single stage paint, I state this. I do this so everyone reading will know what type of paint the car being features has.


    In post #3 of this thread, in the section called


    Visual Inspection


    I stated this fiberglass bodied streetrod has a basecoat/clearcoat paint job. I have edited my post to make the pertinent sentence to have BOLD RED TEXT.

    Here's a screenshot of the statement sharing the type of paint this car has.






    Just want to point this out because over the years I've learned to write VERY VERY CAREFULLY SO THAT ALL THE INFORMATION IS INCLUDED IN ANY NEW CONTENT I CREATE.



  13. #20
    Super Member Mgavin1985's Avatar
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    Re: Review & How-to: BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

    The real problem I’m having with coatings is keeping my hands off of the vehicle once the coating is applied. Love coating and want to them try them all. Mike where do you think the future is headed with coating technology titanium or healing coating. To bad we could coat tires with something that was a year or years.

    Mike what are u guys working on next?

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