Review: BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant

[Marc08EX]

Review: BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant
BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant, tire dressing, tire protectant, whitewall tire cleaner



Description: (Taken from AG's website)

Cleans and protects tires, trim, engine bays, running boards, and more!

BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant Cleans, restores, protects, and beautifies exterior plastic trim and tires. Built-in cleaners remove embedded dirt from tires, including white walls. Use on tonneau covers, engine compartments, and plastic moldings. This unique formula dries to the touch and will not sling. BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant will quickly become the most used – and arguably the most versatile – detailing product in your garage!

BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant is far more than just another trim protectant or tire shine product. Formulated with a blend of cleaners and degreasers, All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant removes grease and grime while beautifying the surface with a low-gloss, satin sheen of protection. The Water-based formula will not attract dirt or dust.

BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant can be used to clean and protect the following automotive surfaces:

• Tires – including whitewalls
• Engine compartments
• Tonneau covers
• Running boards
• Plastic trim
• Door moldings
• Grilles
• Mud flaps
• Bumper protectors

If you’re a frequent user of rinseless and waterless washes, BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant will quickly become your favorite detailing product. Because this versatile formula features built-in cleaners, there is no need to use a messy tire cleaner and scrub brush before applying your favorite tire shine - BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant does both! One quick application and your tires will be left clean and shiny!

BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant is perfect for classic cars with whitewall tires and tires with raised white lettering. Now you can clean and shine your whitewalls tires at a car show – no water or dedicated whitewall tire cleaner is required.

Frequent car care is easy car care with BLACKFIRE. Applying a coat of BLACKFIRE All-In-One Trim & Tire Protectant onto your vehicle’s plastic, rubber, and vinyl exterior surfaces once a month will ensure they do not fade or discolor over time. A little bit goes a long way, so a single 20 ounce bottle will easily last 6 months or more. For best results, apply using a microfiber applicator pad.

Price:
$24.99 for 20oz (currently on sale for $19.99)
$49.99 for 64oz (currently on sale for $39.99)
$79.99 for 128oz (currently on sale for $64.99)

Introduction:

Detailing should be an activity that relieves stress especially for car enthusiasts like most of us. I myself love the process of washing the car, cleaning it, making it swirl-free and shine like no other cars on the road. However, there are certain aspects of detailing that I dread. Interior detailing is the part of detailing I least enjoy - mainly because you don't get any visual impact on the car when looking from the outside. And also, it's hard work. The second least favorite aspect of detailing for me is cleaning/dressing tires, trim and engine bays. It's just a messy job. You have to make sure the surface is squeaky clean before applying any dressing. And majority of the time, these dressings sling from the tire, attract dust like no other and cause a very greasy mess when cleaning it the next go around.

When I first received this product, it really didn't catch my attention because it was just another dressing. How can a dressing differ from all the other dressing out there right? But I guess I didn't pay attention to the "All-In-One" part of the product name LOL! When Mike Philips posted his review on this product, I saw Nick@Autogeek posts and he said:

The idea for this product came from the fact that I'm a rinseless wash junkie and there's really no easy way to clean your tires while performing this type of wash. When you do clean them while performing a rinseless wash, it's messy and it never quite turns out all that great. This has been an issue that I encounter frequently, and I figured there's no way I'm the only one....so we came out with a product that eliminates that issue altogether! Since most of the vehicles that Mike details are classics and are only given a waterless wash prior to being polished, Mike loved the concept too and here we are today.

The trick is to apply this product with a microfiber or terrycloth applicator. Spray it directly onto the applicator and scrub the tires with a little bit of passion. Not only will it clean the tires, but it will add a nice glossy finish to them as well. Apply using the same technique to engine bays, running boards, etc.

His post IMMEDIATELY caught my attention. A dressing that cleans, protects and shines all in one step?! REALLY?! SIGN ME UP!!! Just imagine, dressing the engine bay and tires without having to clean them anymore?! That's a major win for me!

Now let's get on to the juicy part - the actual review of this product.

The Review:

Here's a picture of the product description and instructions:



After reading the this, there were a lot of descriptions that caught my attention. A water based product. It dries to the touch. It cleans, restores, protects and beautifies. It will not sling. All these made my eyes grow big and jaws drop to the floor. This will make the dressing part of detailing a lot less dreadful. WOW right?!

Here are some before pictures of the different plastic/rubber parts of my wife's car:

Engine Bay Before:


I'm sorry but the engine bay doesn't look all that bad from the picture above. I cleaned it about 3 months ago. But here are some close-up shots that show you some dust/dirt particles.















The plastic pieces in the engine bay aren't dressed at all. Mainly because I don't like having oily things in the engine bay. An oily surface attracts dust a lot faster and promotes dirt accumulation. And when it's time to clean up, your towel becomes this greasy mess after wiping a small section. YUCK.

Front Tires Before:




Rear Tires Before:




Lower Trim Before:




Side Mirror Before:


The directions said to use a microfiber or terrycloth applicator pad so that's what I used. I can understand this because this product is supposed to "clean" as you go. So the nap of the microfiber or terrycloth will provide this agitation. The directions said to thoroughly massage the product into the surface. This is what Nick@Autogeek meant as to rub it in with passion. And wipe off the excess with a microfiber towel.



Product Consistency:




The product is on the watery side. It's not extremely watery though. As you can see, the product puddles up the microfiber applicator pad as you spray it. But the product gets absorbed by the microfiber applicator pad shortly after.

Rub the surface with passion...



The following pictures are 50/50 shots of the protectant applied to compare against undressed plastic/rubber.



***DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!! Remove the tape!

Engine Bay:








Front Tire:


Rear Tire:


Lower Trim:




Side Mirror:


Amazing difference right? The following pictures are the afters.

Engine Bay:


















Front Tires:




Rear Tires:




Lower Trim:






After wiping the surfaces with a microfiber towel, I checked if it was dry to the touch. And I'm happy to report a YES!!!



After dressing everything I wanted. Of course I was left with a very filthy microfiber applicator pad as it was removing all the gunk and dirt off the surface. The only dressing I use is Meguiar's Hyper-dressing because it's water based. I know I know, water based dressings don't last as long as silicon based dressing. But man it makes cleaning a whole lot easier. I just rinsed my microfiber applicator pad with water and look at what was coming out!



After a few squeezes, the microfiber applicator pad came out clean. This is why I LOVE water based dressings and this product is no different.

Conclusion:

This product works extremely well as advertised. It cleans and shines the rubber/plastic surfaces with ease. ALL IN ONE STEP! The product also dries to the touch. This will help alleviate problems of other oily dressings - attracting dirt/dust and slinging from the tire. The product being water based makes cleaning of the applicator pad a lot easier.

Gone are the dreadful days of cleaning and dressing engine bays, tires and trim. You don't have you clean these surfaces and dress them after. You can now save time and combine these to one simple step. And it does a great job at doing so. This product will be extremely useful if you perform waterless/rinseless washes often.

Thank you Nick and PBMG for bringing out a product like this. It will for sure be in my arsenal from now on and I'm sure I'll be using it often.

What are you waiting for?! Get yours TODAY!

[The Guz]

Nice review. Great photos as well. It's a great product.

[d33p]

Is there a way to get the engine bay more matte? Looks a bit too shiny for my liking.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Nice review Marc! All supporting information is located here in your review.

Really liking the 50/50 pictures included and they way this product cleans and protects the surface. Thanks for the white glove test as well.

Good job sir. Thanks for sharing.

[Marvin Williams]

Great Review! Believe I will be adding that to my next order. Thanks

[Nick McKees37]

Outstanding write up Marc!

Is there a way to get the engine bay more matte? Looks a bit too shiny for my liking.

A matte finish can be achieved by buffing with a microfiber towel. This will knock down the shine a couple notches.

[Sizzle Chest]

Very well done review!!!

[dcjredline]

Now those are some great 50/50 shots!!!!!

[Marc08EX]

Nice review. Great photos as well. It's a great product.

Thank you so much for the compliments, The Guz!

Nice review Marc! All supporting information is located here in your review.

Really liking the 50/50 pictures included and they way this product cleans and protects the surface. Thanks for the white glove test as well.

Good job sir. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks a lot, Mike! It was my pleasure.

Great Review! Believe I will be adding that to my next order. Thanks

Thank you so much, Marvin! You will not be disappointed I promise. Let us know how you like it.

Outstanding write up Marc!

Thank you so much for the compliments, Nick! That means a lot coming from you. I'm glad you liked it.

Very well done review!!!

Thank you so much Sizzle! Your reviews are spectacular as well.

Now those are some great 50/50 shots!!!!!

Thank you, dcjredline!

[Marc08EX]

Is there a way to get the engine bay more matte? Looks a bit too shiny for my liking.

A matte finish can be achieved by buffing with a microfiber towel. This will knock down the shine a couple notches.

d33p, as Nick said, just wipe down the surface with a microfiber towel and it will make the finish more matte.