Blackfire Crystal Coat Paint Coating questions

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lomby

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Hi,

Not sure if I'm posting this in the right section but I am getting ready to apply Blackfire Crystal Coat Paint Coating and have a few questions before I start. I plan to wash car, clay, polish, and then wipe with Blackfire Crystal Coat Paint Prep. I am a little nervous because this is the first time I am applying a paint coating and I've read that this product can be a little tricky.

Questions:

1. Is there any particular type of microfiber that I should use to level this product once I apply it? Do the towels have to be thrown away or can they be washed and reused? How can you tell it has been leveled correctly? Do you just wipe until you don't see streaks?

2. If I wanted to remove the product after fully cured could it be removed with say Meguiars Ultimate Polish and 4 to 5 passes with PC DA and polishing foam pad or would I have to use compound? How can you tell you have removed it all?

3. Is there anything that I can use on top of this product? Wax, etc?? What about Quik Detailer and Quik Wax products?

4. How long is the shelf life once the bottle is opened?

I think that's it for now. ;) Anyway, thanks in advance for any help.
 
Bumping this to see if anyone can help me out. I'd like to try and apply it within the next couple days. Thanks!
 
The biggest tip I will give you is use this coating SPARINGLY. Less is more.

Work a very small area, a regular MF that you would use to remove wax is fine.

No reason to top it with anything.

It won't last a super long time once open. Maybe a few months.

It can be removed with a mild compound and orange pad. I used FG400 & MF polishing pad to remove it. You can tell the difference in the finish once removed.
 
Ebg18t, thanks very much for the reply and tips. Much appreciated. :props:

Is it necessary to toss the microfibers that I use or can I wash as usual?

Thanks again!
 
Please define "sparingly" amount and very small area. And what applicator is easiest?
Do you apply the same "sparingly" amount from start to end?

I had a tough time my first try. I tried foam applicator, but found suede microfiber to be a little easier. My small area turned out to be 12"x12". I started with prepping only one panel and coating that one panel to try and practice the application.

I watched the video and no way did my applicator glide like that with 1 drop at the start of coating.
 
If you are looking for a quick detailer or spray wax to use you can stick with the blackfire one's. I'm a believer in synergy.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Bus_Driver, when you do a 12" x 12" area at a time I assume you have to over lap a little. When you start the next 12" x 12" area how does the edges of the previous area respond to fresh coating going over the dry parts? Any issues when you overlap?

I was planning to do entire panels at a time to avoid putting fresh product over dry???

Thanks

Bus_Driver said:
Please define "sparingly" amount and very small area. And what applicator is easiest?
Do you apply the same "sparingly" amount from start to end?

I had a tough time my first try. I tried foam applicator, but found suede microfiber to be a little easier. My small area turned out to be 12"x12". I started with prepping only one panel and coating that one panel to try and practice the application.

I watched the video and no way did my applicator glide like that with 1 drop at the start of coating.
Click to expand...
 
I would also like to ask anyone that has used this product what temperature and or humidity did you apply at? Did it go on like in the video at the temp/humidity that you applied it at?

Thanks
 
I never got good enough with the product to consider overlap in my application technique. I don't remember having any problems with overlap either.

It was very frustrating to apply. I'm glad it was a "free" gift.

Good luck. Hope your experience is better than mine.
 
Ok, so yesterday I went ahead and applied the Blackfire crystal coat to the hood of a car. Actually, I started with a small section on a bumper just to get a feel for it. I prepped and used the Blackfire Paint Prep as the last step before applying. Car was completely in shade and had been overnight so zero heat on the parts.

Temperature outside was 79 F and 61% humidity. I used a foam applicator and right away I noticed that it starts to flash very quickly. I was hoping to go over the entire hood or at least half and half since the video on the product page shows what seems like a pretty long working time. I realized quickly that this would not be possible.

I was able to do the hood in 1/4 sections though but just barely. I had to work quickly because I would say that after about 2 minutes it became very hard to wipe/level the product.

I will say that I was really unable to wipe it on OR off lightly like it looks in the video. I had to put some effort into my wipes. Also I had to use very short nap microfiber towels to remove because the material is grabby almost instantly and I think longer nap microfibers would have made it even harder to wipe.

So bottom line at least at this temp & humidity:

1) Have short nap microfibers for removal/leveling.

2) Be prepared to do small sections and move quickly so that you can finish off the entire panel before it really begins to really dry.

It did require some elbow grease but the result is excellent. The finish really looks very good. If it lasts a year or two I will be VERY happy.

Next time I am going to try inside garage with AC on so a bit cooler and a bit dryer air. I feel that this will probably help.
 
I purchased Blackfire crystal coat in the 8 oz back during the Christmas sales. I just opened it up yesterday for the first application. I must say, application was nothing like the video with the blue focus. Almost immediately the coating began to flash and get tacky. I tried two methods for application. Carpro applicator with CarPro suede cloth and the lake country coating applicator. I used a dropper to control the amount I applied to applicators. Didn't matter how little I used. I always tried to apply as thin as possible like in the video. It would immediately dry and become tacky. Temperature was in the low 70's. Don't know about humidity but I want to say it was low. I started off with the hood Ina Wrx and didn't make it past that. I opted to finish with Cquartz uk and application was a breeze. I really wanted to love this product but I feel very discouraged by it. I may give it one more try just try it, but I doubt I'll get the ease of application like in the video.
 
usmcpab said:
I purchased Blackfire crystal coat in the 8 oz back during the Christmas sales. I just opened it up yesterday for the first application. I must say, application was nothing like the video with the blue focus. Almost immediately the coating began to flash and get tacky. I tried two methods for application. Carpro applicator with CarPro suede cloth and the lake country coating applicator. I used a dropper to control the amount I applied to applicators. Didn't matter how little I used. I always tried to apply as thin as possible like in the video. It would immediately dry and become tacky. Temperature was in the low 70's. Don't know about humidity but I want to say it was low. I started off with the hood Ina Wrx and didn't make it past that. I opted to finish with Cquartz uk and application was a breeze. I really wanted to love this product but I feel very discouraged by it. I may give it one more try just try it, but I doubt I'll get the ease of application like in the video.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your install. In my video my applicator was well primed by the time I reached the fender for the video. I saved the fender for last as it was easier to capture a vertical panel rather than horizontal.

Anyhow when you give it another go give the applicator a good priming and apply enough product to make the applicator wet. Not soaking wet but enough product to give you longer working time as well as making it easier to spread. When it starts flashing then its time to level with a mf. You should be able to apply to half the hood or an entire fender without issue.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...iew-blackfire-crystal-coat-paint-coating.html
 
usmcpab said:
I purchased Blackfire crystal coat in the 8 oz back during the Christmas sales. I just opened it up yesterday for the first application. I must say, application was nothing like the video with the blue focus. Almost immediately the coating began to flash and get tacky. I tried two methods for application. Carpro applicator with CarPro suede cloth and the lake country coating applicator. I used a dropper to control the amount I applied to applicators. Didn't matter how little I used. I always tried to apply as thin as possible like in the video. It would immediately dry and become tacky. Temperature was in the low 70's. Don't know about humidity but I want to say it was low. I started off with the hood Ina Wrx and didn't make it past that. I opted to finish with Cquartz uk and application was a breeze. I really wanted to love this product but I feel very discouraged by it. I may give it one more try just try it, but I doubt I'll get the ease of application like in the video.
Click to expand...

Not what I was hoping to hear :( I was hoping that it would be better to apply with cooler temps. Sounds like I should not get my hopes up when I try it in the air conditioned garage.
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Sorry to hear about your install. In my video my applicator was well primed by the time I reached the fender for the video. I saved the fender for last as it was easier to capture a vertical panel rather than horizontal.

Anyhow when you give it another go give the applicator a good priming and apply enough product to make the applicator wet. Not soaking wet but enough product to give you longer working time as well as making it easier to spread. When it starts flashing then its time to level with a mf. You should be able to apply to half the hood or an entire fender without issue.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...iew-blackfire-crystal-coat-paint-coating.html
Click to expand...

Mike, everything I read says that it should be applied sparingly. I did notice quickly that just applying a drop to the applicator simply would not work for me at all. I had to use a bit more in order to get it on the panel at all. If I would put just a drop the applicator would basically just stick to the panel and I would get no where :(

Also, there is NO way that I could wipe it off even if I applied a little more in order to get the applicator to slide it was impossible to wipe it off, I had to pretty much scrub it off to not be left with streaks. I was hoping that my problem was high temp but it looks like even in low 70's F I will still have problems applying AND wiping off. Not sure what else I can try but I'm pretty bummed by how finicky this stuff is to apply.
 
lomby said:
Mike, everything I read says that it should be applied sparingly. I did notice quickly that just applying a drop to the applicator simply would not work for me at all. I had to use a bit more in order to get it on the panel at all. If I would put just a drop the applicator would basically just stick to the panel and I would get no where :(

Also, there is NO way that I could wipe it off even if I applied a little more in order to get the applicator to slide it was impossible to wipe it off, I had to pretty much scrub it off to not be left with streaks. I was hoping that my problem was high temp but it looks like even in low 70's F I will still have problems applying AND wiping off. Not sure what else I can try but I'm pretty bummed by how finicky this stuff is to apply.
Click to expand...

I had the exact same experience. There was no way I could get more than a 12~18" square area covered at a time. Heavy application resulted in high spits and what looked like brush strokes. These could only be removed once the product was almost dry. Any time before that it was a sticky mess that smeared horribly. Applying less product lead to heavy smears and even worse stickiness.

When I attempted a second application four months later on a different vehicle, no amount of product would spread. Heavy, thin...didn't matter. It would come out of the bottle like water yet behaved like I was trying to spread crazy glue. If If applied heavy I could make one pass of the applicator, but the second cross-hatch pass to level things off resulted in the applicator sticking to the car. Accidental runs or drips from this heavy usage would dry instantly into the constancy of honey before I could even level them off. Lighter applications resulted in the pad sticking to the paint on the initial pass. Spreading was totally out of the question.
 
Desertnate said:
I had the exact same experience. There was no way I could get more than a 12~18" square area covered at a time. Heavy application resulted in high spits and what looked like brush strokes. These could only be removed once the product was almost dry. Any time before that it was a sticky mess that smeared horribly. Applying less product lead to heavy smears and even worse stickiness.

When I attempted a second application four months later on a different vehicle, no amount of product would spread. Heavy, thin...didn't matter. It would come out of the bottle like water yet behaved like I was trying to spread crazy glue. If If applied heavy I could make one pass of the applicator, but the second cross-hatch pass to level things off resulted in the applicator sticking to the car. Accidental runs or drips from this heavy usage would dry instantly into the constancy of honey before I could even level them off. Lighter applications resulted in the pad sticking to the paint on the initial pass. Spreading was totally out of the question.
Click to expand...

I had the very same experience a couple of days ago, so this post is very timely. In fact I sent Nick a message as to what I should do, and what I might be doing wrong, but I tried it again today with a good number of polishes, still no go. I literally scrubbed off the coating but it was just too tacky, it's like those sun damaged rubberized bits of interior pieces. I used the 8oz bottle, kinda feel sad as I got a couple more 4oz bottles I got on BOGO �� I've purposefully had CQUK dry a couple minutes longer and it never got this tacky.
 
milky said:
I had the very same experience a couple of days ago, so this post is very timely. In fact I sent Nick a message as to what I should do, and what I might be doing wrong, but I tried it again today with a good number of polishes, still no go. I literally scrubbed off the coating but it was just too tacky, it's like those sun damaged rubberized bits of interior pieces. I used the 8oz bottle, kinda feel sad as I got a couple more 4oz bottles I got on BOGO �� I've purposefully had CQUK dry a couple minutes longer and it never got this tacky.
Click to expand...

i too am sadened by this whole experience. Blackfire is my favorite brand in the PBMG brands. I have just about every single Blackfire product in my arsenal. But crystal coat is one that has let me down. I may just have to toss it and consider it a loss. I'll just stick to Cquartz, unless the product gets reformulated.
 
usmcpab said:
i too am sadened by this whole experience. Blackfire is my favorite brand in the PBMG brands. I have just about every single Blackfire product in my arsenal. But crystal coat is one that has let me down. I may just have to toss it and consider it a loss. I'll just stick to Cquartz, unless the product gets reformulated.
Click to expand...

I felt the same way about the coating. I use the Blackfire SRC duo polishes and the trim/rubber sealant regularly. The upside with this experience is I bought the kit, so I now have the coating prep and the Blackfire shampoo. I've come to really like both of those products as well. This actually led me to buy the Polymer spray to test it out this summer. Once my 845 supply gets a little lower I may try Wet Diamond as my summer/beauty LSP. I guess in a way, they actually end up making more money off me as the result of this failure, and I'm now hooked on more of their products!

I still like the brand and many of it's products. I'll just stay away from the coating. If I do attempt coatings again in the future, I'll try the McKee 37 coating. It's much cheaper and much less of financial waste if things don't go well.
 
Yeah, I am disappointed as well. Unfortunately this was my first ever attempt with coatings so now I am afraid to try another one. I was hoping that with cooler application temps I would have better results but from what I have read here that won't help so I only have applied it to a hood. I don't think I will even bother to attempt the whole car at this point :(
 
i encourage you guys to try the Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating. I tried the BF Coating, it was very difficult. I found that CQUK was tricky to use, but looked good and provided great results.

I tried the Wolfgang coating recently and it as by far the easiest coating; even in hot humid weather it was still easy. Yes it is more expensive, but well worth the cost.

Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating
 
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