haris300
New member
- Apr 1, 2014
- 999
- 0
Hello everyone. Nick graciously decided to send me a box full of new detailing products to test out and share my opinion of.
I chose to put some interior products to the test on my F355's leather interior. The products I used were the following:
All products were used with separate applicators/towels.
First things first, I gave the interior plastics and trim a good cleaning with BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner. I personally go to either this product or Detailer's Pro Interior Cleaner when working on customer cars or my own cars.
I then cleaned the seats with Four Star Interior Cleaner Gel.
Most of the Four Star products have little to no smell, but this one had a slight aroma that reminded me a bit of UWW+ or something similar. It was not an overwhelming or offensive odor.
Consistency was watery in spray mode. In stream mode, consistency was more like a runny gel.
After just a few light wipe downs, I was satisfied with the cleaning strength of this product. It cleans and carries away dirt effortlessly and doesn't dry up quickly. Reminds me of using Pinnacle Leather Cleaner.
I then proceeded to try out the Lexol Care Pads. I left a half section of a seat uncleaned for testing since this is an all in one cleaner and conditioner.
This product certainly cleaned the seat well, but left behind a little too much shine for my taste. After a followup wipe down with a microfiber towel, the sheen was a little more to my liking, but still on the shiny side. I'm sure it would look better on a lighter colored seat.
Surprisingly, after I left a pad out for 30 minutes, it was still saturated with product and was still usable. These definitely do not dry up quickly like other ready to use wipes sold by other companies.
I will admit that I cleaned off this stuff with the Four Star Leather Cleaner Gel. This was so that the seats would look uniform in terms of sheen when I finished with the other conditioners.
The next product I tried was Four Star Leather Conditioner. This stuff has a slight chemical smell to it but it doesn't linger in the car long. I only really smelled it during application. Like with many other leather conditioners, I was not stingy with the product. I applied a good amount of product in small sections at a time and was very pleased with the look it produced. It was not overly shiny and the leather felt soft and nourished. I felt satisfied using this on my 16 year old seats.
I decided to compare the Four Star Leather Conditioner to Duragloss 221 Leather Conditioner, a personal favorite of mine.
The Duragloss conditioner has more of a "leathery" smell to it, which I like. The smell even stays in the car for a few days. This might not be everyone's cup of tea but I find it very pleasant and not at all overwhelming.
Both products produced a very similar look. Four Star Leather Conditioner is shown on the left of the picture and Duragloss 221 Leather Conditioner is shown on the right.
I finished off the seats with the Four Star conditioner since it is a product that is still new to me. I'm curious to see how it will hold up. I also used it on the surrounding thick leather trim on the rest of the panels.
Next, I tried out 3 different interior protectants on the remaining panels and trim.
I decided to compare HD Protect and BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant side by side. I found that both products were very similar.
BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant is a personal favorite of mine. I had been using the old formula previously but now I had my hands on the new formula. I instantly noticed that the new formula has an improved smell. I really enjoyed the candy-like scent of this stuff. Consistency is still thick and gel-like.
HD Protect has a more leathery smell to it, similar to Duragloss 221. Consistency was thick as well. I liked using HD Protect just as much as I do the BLACKFIRE protectant. It definitely gets my seal of approval, as do most HD products. Goes on clean, leaves a nice finish, doesn't feel sticky or oily.
HD Protect on the right. BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant on the left. I could not tell the difference in terms of looks.
I finished off the dashboard and center console area with HD Protect since it is still new to me.
I used Four Star Vinyl Protectant on the remaining door panels and various trim. I liked this product as well. The scent is not as noticeable as the BLACKFIRE or HD stuff, but that doesn't bother me at all since it doesn't affect performance. It produced a nice sheen, not too shiny and no sticky or oily feeling.
Overall, I liked all of the products except for the Lexol Leather Care Pads which were just a bit too shiny for my taste. They're not a bad product by any means, in fact some people might prefer them for their convenience as an all in one wipe. Personally though, I like the HD and Four Star conditioners better. The rest of the interior protectants met my standards and then some. I will definitely continue using these on my customer's cars as well as my own cars.
Thanks again to Nick for the opportunity to try these out. I'll be writing some more reviews on some Four Star, BLACKFIRE, and other quality brand products soon.
Thanks for reading!
I chose to put some interior products to the test on my F355's leather interior. The products I used were the following:
- Lexol Leather Care Pads
- Four Star Leather Cleaner Gel
- Four Star Leather Conditioner
- Four Star Vinyl Protectant
- HD Protect
- BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant
- BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner (from my own collection)
- Duragloss 221 Leather Conditioner (from my own collection)
All products were used with separate applicators/towels.
First things first, I gave the interior plastics and trim a good cleaning with BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner. I personally go to either this product or Detailer's Pro Interior Cleaner when working on customer cars or my own cars.
I then cleaned the seats with Four Star Interior Cleaner Gel.
Most of the Four Star products have little to no smell, but this one had a slight aroma that reminded me a bit of UWW+ or something similar. It was not an overwhelming or offensive odor.
Consistency was watery in spray mode. In stream mode, consistency was more like a runny gel.
After just a few light wipe downs, I was satisfied with the cleaning strength of this product. It cleans and carries away dirt effortlessly and doesn't dry up quickly. Reminds me of using Pinnacle Leather Cleaner.
I then proceeded to try out the Lexol Care Pads. I left a half section of a seat uncleaned for testing since this is an all in one cleaner and conditioner.
This product certainly cleaned the seat well, but left behind a little too much shine for my taste. After a followup wipe down with a microfiber towel, the sheen was a little more to my liking, but still on the shiny side. I'm sure it would look better on a lighter colored seat.
Surprisingly, after I left a pad out for 30 minutes, it was still saturated with product and was still usable. These definitely do not dry up quickly like other ready to use wipes sold by other companies.
I will admit that I cleaned off this stuff with the Four Star Leather Cleaner Gel. This was so that the seats would look uniform in terms of sheen when I finished with the other conditioners.
The next product I tried was Four Star Leather Conditioner. This stuff has a slight chemical smell to it but it doesn't linger in the car long. I only really smelled it during application. Like with many other leather conditioners, I was not stingy with the product. I applied a good amount of product in small sections at a time and was very pleased with the look it produced. It was not overly shiny and the leather felt soft and nourished. I felt satisfied using this on my 16 year old seats.
I decided to compare the Four Star Leather Conditioner to Duragloss 221 Leather Conditioner, a personal favorite of mine.
The Duragloss conditioner has more of a "leathery" smell to it, which I like. The smell even stays in the car for a few days. This might not be everyone's cup of tea but I find it very pleasant and not at all overwhelming.
Both products produced a very similar look. Four Star Leather Conditioner is shown on the left of the picture and Duragloss 221 Leather Conditioner is shown on the right.
I finished off the seats with the Four Star conditioner since it is a product that is still new to me. I'm curious to see how it will hold up. I also used it on the surrounding thick leather trim on the rest of the panels.
Next, I tried out 3 different interior protectants on the remaining panels and trim.
I decided to compare HD Protect and BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant side by side. I found that both products were very similar.
BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant is a personal favorite of mine. I had been using the old formula previously but now I had my hands on the new formula. I instantly noticed that the new formula has an improved smell. I really enjoyed the candy-like scent of this stuff. Consistency is still thick and gel-like.
HD Protect has a more leathery smell to it, similar to Duragloss 221. Consistency was thick as well. I liked using HD Protect just as much as I do the BLACKFIRE protectant. It definitely gets my seal of approval, as do most HD products. Goes on clean, leaves a nice finish, doesn't feel sticky or oily.
HD Protect on the right. BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant on the left. I could not tell the difference in terms of looks.
I finished off the dashboard and center console area with HD Protect since it is still new to me.
I used Four Star Vinyl Protectant on the remaining door panels and various trim. I liked this product as well. The scent is not as noticeable as the BLACKFIRE or HD stuff, but that doesn't bother me at all since it doesn't affect performance. It produced a nice sheen, not too shiny and no sticky or oily feeling.
Overall, I liked all of the products except for the Lexol Leather Care Pads which were just a bit too shiny for my taste. They're not a bad product by any means, in fact some people might prefer them for their convenience as an all in one wipe. Personally though, I like the HD and Four Star conditioners better. The rest of the interior protectants met my standards and then some. I will definitely continue using these on my customer's cars as well as my own cars.
Thanks again to Nick for the opportunity to try these out. I'll be writing some more reviews on some Four Star, BLACKFIRE, and other quality brand products soon.
Thanks for reading!
