Blackfire Paint Coating - What did I do wrong???

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PS90

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Unfortunately, I am new to these paint coatings, and I decided to try the Blackfire Crystal Paint Coating on my black Dodge Ram. It ended-up looking TERRIBLE.

I did everything right - washed, "clayed" with a Nanoskin mitt (which works AWESOME, BTW), polished with Wolfgang Polish, then finally sprayed the whole thing off with Blackfire Paint Prep.

The coating went on pretty nicely with a Lake Country Applicator, but I noticed that it started to seize-up within about 20 seconds (I did it in a garage, it was about 70 degrees F outside), and by the time that I attempted to level it out - as in the video with the blue Fusion that everyone has watched - it was completely streaked!

I have noticed that it looks perfect on my headlights and trim, but pretty much every bit of it on the black paint looks like crap.

I think I may have used too much product, and I hope that it will still be good protection, but it certainly looks BAD right now. I attempted to buff it off with a MF towel, but after one small section, I was quickly tired of that.

What could I have done wrong??? Again, I'm betting I used a little too much of the coating, but aren't these things supposed to be easy enough for anyone to do these days? I wouldn't call this stuff "user-friendly" for an amateur, if using slightly too much completely ruins the final results...

I am going to use Wolfgang Uber on my other truck. Or, I WAS going to use it. Is Uber different/better than Blackfire? Or should I just give up on the coatings and use Wolfgang Sealant?

Thanks for any help!
 
You are not the first person to complain about these issues regarding Blackfire. There is a thread on here stating that.

Uber seems be more user friendly from those that have used it. Pinnacle Black Label V2 is very easy to use as well.
 
PS90 said:
What could I have done wrong??? Again, I'm betting I used a little too much of the coating, but aren't these things supposed to be easy enough for anyone to do these days? I wouldn't call this stuff "user-friendly" for an amateur, if using slightly too much completely ruins the final results...
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Although some coatings have gotten more "user friendly", coating application is still an advanced technique, and as The Guz noted, Blackfire appears to be one of the more difficult consumer coatings (I haven't used it).

I always used to recommend people use a WOWA sealant (like Blackfire Crystal Seal, Opti-Seal, Ultima Paint Guard Plus, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Liquid Seal, etc.) at least a few times to get the idea before they graduate to a coating.
 
There have been members reporting streaks after using BF coating. However, they all reported that after the first wash (maybe two...), the streaks went away.
 
The Guz said:
You are not the first person to complain about these issues regarding Blackfire. There is a thread on here stating that.

Uber seems be more user friendly from those that have used it. Pinnacle Black Label V2 is very easy to use as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. If that's the case, maybe it's not just because I'm an idiot. Not that I'm not an idiot...


Setec Astronomy said:
Although some coatings have gotten more "user friendly", coating application is still an advanced technique, and as The Guz noted, Blackfire appears to be one of the more difficult consumer coatings (I haven't used it).

I always used to recommend people use a WOWA sealant (like Blackfire Crystal Seal, Opti-Seal, Ultima Paint Guard Plus, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Liquid Seal, etc.) at least a few times to get the idea before they graduate to a coating.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I've used lots of waxes and sealants before, from cheap crap like NuFinish to Wolfgang to Klasse. Never had an issue like this before.

Cabrio said:
There have been members reporting streaks after using BF coating. However, they all reported that after the first wash (maybe two...), the streaks went away.
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Thanks. I hope you're right!!! Does that mean that the coating is evening-out, or is the coating wearing off that quickly?
 
PS90 said:
Thanks for the reply. I've used lots of waxes and sealants before, from cheap crap like NuFinish to Wolfgang to Klasse. Never had an issue like this before.
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Yes, but have you used a WOWA (Wipe On, Walk Away) sealant like the ones I mentioned? The application and behavior of a WOWA sealant is similar to a coating (but more forgiving). So you are able to get used to "flashing", "high spots" etc.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Yes, but have you used a WOWA (Wipe On, Walk Away) sealant like the ones I mentioned? The application and behavior of a WOWA sealant is similar to a coating (but more forgiving). So you are able to get used to "flashing", "high spots" etc.
Click to expand...

Oh, sorry. Maybe I haven't. Is the "WOWA" from Wolfgang something other than their Deep Gloss Paint Sealant? I haven't done a technique similar to the paint coatings before. Maybe I will take your advice and try one, then. Thanks.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Yes, as I noted, it's the Deep Gloss Liquid Seal:

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Liquid Seal, paint sealant
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Pardon the brief hijack: I had no idea Wolfgang had a WOWA product like Crystal Seal until I looked this up today after hearing multiple mention over the last few days. Initially, I thought this was a new product and I had some how missed the debut. A little research led to a review from 2012! Sigh...more reading and product research now...

Back on topic: I really like the recommendation to practice on a WOWA to get a feel for a coating. I probably should have gone that way before my own Blackfire Coating misadventure.
 
Great question regarding..why does washing make the streaks go away....I don't know the definitive answer but if these streaks are truly high spots, then it could be excess product that hasn't bonded to the car......?
 
Desertnate said:
I really like the recommendation to practice on a WOWA to get a feel for a coating. I probably should have gone that way before my own Blackfire Coating misadventure.
Click to expand...

Here's a post where Anthony Orosco talks about how Opti-Seal was developed on the road to developing Opti-Coat. Opti-Seal may not have been the first WOWA sealant to make it to market, but I believe Opti-Coat was the first coating of the modern era.

LINK--> http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-methods-applying-opti-coat-3.html#post549334
 
I'm one of the few that had trouble with crystal coat. I tried various application methods, purchased a dropper to control the amount on all the different application methods I was going to use. Nothing seemed to help the situation. The coating would almost immediately begin to cure. leveling off high spots was almost impossible. The coating would become extremely grabby if I attempted to cross hatch. At that point it looked like smears of coating and it would dry to a white haze. Mind you I live in Socal where the weather is extremely forgiving, temp was in the low 70s. The main problem with the coating that I'm seeing is its curing way too fast, it's not flashing at all and when you try to level off the high spots it smears. Those smears will haze up. They don't clear up at all. you'll need to polish those smears off.
 
I think Nick has stated before that the Blackfire is the most durable of the PBMG coatings, but it's not the easiest to apply.
 
I might be getting crystal seal confused with crystal coating.
 
Polish Angel is super easy to apply. Goes on like a sealant. No muss no fuss.
 
I do remember *one of the guys* who was in on the development of the PBMG coatings saying the the Blackfire was geared more toward the experienced coating user, and Wolfgang was aimed at those less experienced. Not that it helps you now...

I have yet to take the step into the coating world- I'm hoping my experience with UPGP will translate.

I'd wash it a time or two- maybe it will level out a bit.
 
Dear PS90; reapply it in one panel, this time you remove the excess using a damp towel with couple spritzes of IPA 12% to 15% on top.
 
craigdt said:
I do remember *one of the guys* who was in on the development of the PBMG coatings saying the the Blackfire was geared more toward the experienced coating user, and Wolfgang was aimed at those less experienced. Not that it helps you now...
Click to expand...

Well, if that's the case, then I guess I'm annoyed, since the guy on the little YouTube video, who is coating the blue Ford Fusion, on their website for Blackfire keeps talking about how simple it is to apply.

RPM_BR said:
Dear PS90; reapply it in one panel, this time you remove the excess using a damp towel with couple spritzes of IPA 12% to 15% on top.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Maybe I will give it a try.
 
Here's a word from the peanut gallery:

I've tried this coating before with very little problems but from all the threads I've read the problem seems to be when you use it for the second time after it sits on the shelf for awhile. I think what may help is to wipe on and buff out after about 40 seconds or so. That's my plan for the next application. But I wonder if there's something that can be added to kinda sorta thin it down slightly to give it a longer working time. That way it wouldn't flash so soon and streak so strong. Or maybe a very fine mist of water would help. Hopefully Nick and the AG guys could chime in on a solution like that.
 
Keep me posted. I managed to coat it doing this tweak. My blackfire is old, opened aug15.
 
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