ProDetail
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- Apr 23, 2012
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Caution : Picture Heavy
In this review, we are reviewing Black Wow Classic as well as Black Wow Pro, both on a Chevy Avalanche.
- Photo courtesy of BlackWow Pro Facebook Page -
In this review, we are reviewing Black Wow Classic as well as Black Wow Pro, both on a Chevy Avalanche.
*PreWow was used prior to Black Wow Classic, but not before either applications of Black Wow Pro. Also to make it easier to write this review, BlackWow Classic will be abbreviated BWC and BlackWow Pro will be abbreviated BWP as well as PreWow will be abbreviated PW. I hope this doesn't confuse anyone.
Background:
I have been on the hunt for a couple years for a product that I could use to restore slightly faded trim on my customers vehicles that was affordable, durable, and easy to use, while still being good enough to use as an add on service for severely neglected trim. After reading a few reviews I purchased the Black WOW Prepare to be WOWed Kit
to test out.
Initial test were very promising, I didn't really use the PW too often, but most of the vehicles coming in the shop warranted a quick application of BWC and as I applied it to various forms of trim I was able to learn 1st hand what its strengths an weaknesses where. When it comes to porous pieces like the trim on Honda Civics between the hood and windshield, Honda Element, and Jeep Wranglers the durability is outstanding (I still have customers coming in almost a year later with BWC still going strong), but on non porous trim like those found on door pillars, roof rails, etc..., trim would be around the same as Mothers Back to Black, week or 2 at best.(At the time I didn't know why this was the case until I sought out some help) After seeing what worked and what didn't I decided to put it to the test in restoring severely neglected trim. So I bought another 4oz bottle of BWC, called a friend who just so happened to have a Avalanche, who's trim has seen much better days.
Before - August 5, 2013
Use and Application of Black Wow Kit: August 5, 2013
We washed the Avalanche as we normally would, once washed we set about taping off the paint around the rear trim, and applied PW direct to the trim with a DA Carpet Scrub Brush to give the trim the deep cleaning. Once we cleaned prepped the trim with PW, we then cleaned off the PW with a strong APC. If you leave PW on the trim, it can effect the durability of BWC and BWP.
Here is what it looked like directly after 2 applications of BWC.
Later on that evening we used the Avalanche as a show vehicle at the Local "National Night Out". Here is what the trim looked like after a few hours of absorbing. I missed the signs that something was wrong, the trim was starting to absorb all the BWC.
3 Days later I got a call from my friend that the trim wasn't looking right, told him to bring it down and this was what I saw. August 8. 2013
This is one of the reasons why we test every product ourselves before we put on paying customers vehicles. So I set out to find out why this was happening, contacted Richard Lin himself and told him the problem I was having.
This is were I was actually blown away, instead of writing me off, or placing the blame on me he, he asked me questions, everything from prep and application, to how it was looking and how long it was taking to get the look it currently had. We
talked for a while on the phone and then again online and this is where I learned why BWC and BWP work the way they do. Both are silicon based, and for them to work, they have to be absorbed into the trim so that it can be restored from the INSIDE - OUT. Solution was to apply BWC till the trim was fully "hyrdrated" and stopped absorbing, first problem with that is that BWC is slow absorbing, takes many applications over a longer period of time to get the desired effect on severely neglected trim, which from a production point of view is impractical unless you have the vehicle for several days. 2nd Problem was, I ran out of BWC on the Avalanche. I figured since I was already working with him on the problem, I would just purchase the solution from him and just order more BWC through him, but what no one knew at the time was that Richard, who already saw the limitations of BWC, how it was being used from detailers all over the country, was already developing a significantly faster version of BWC. Instead of letting me purchase BWC, he refused payment and instead sent me the first bottle (outside of his shop) to me to apply to the Avalanche and test it's durability.
A few days later, I received the package, called my friend, and got to work putting the, then unnamed, BWP to the test.
Blackwow Pro (Beta) Application August 18, 2013
Before
As you can see, in some areas the trim has fully absorbed BWC, now 13 days after initial application. Lets see what "Blackwow 2" can do.
First Application of Blackwow Pro:August 18, 2013
As you can see, the left side is already absorbing, significantly faster than BWC.
We waited 10 minutes between applications. Here is the 2nd and final application:
After the 2nd application, I waited another 10 minutes, wiped off the excess and my friend went about his day, Prep and coating, and clean-up took about an hour. I'd say it'd take around 3 or 4 application of BWP if I was dealing with the same trim untreated originally and it would have taken 2 maybe 3 hours, not 3 weeks. Major improvement in time, but at a sacrifice in durability. BWC can get over a year of durability on properly prepped trim, while BWP is around 6 months, so it's up to you to determine which is better for your scenario.
Ease of use and time management aren't the only reason why I liked BWP over BWC, product usage was also outstanding.
Before Application to the Avalanche:
After 2 coats of BWP to all the trim of the Avalanche:
Here is Black Wow Pro 2 weeks after application: September 2, 2013
2 weeks and no more signs of absorbtion leaving an outstanding finish, matte, dry to the touch, and no transfer. The trim is "hydrated" not just stained or dyed back to a black state. So in my opinion, anyone who details for a living should have this in there toolbox, even enthusiast can benefit from the ease of use of Blackwow Pro over Blackwow Classic. Both are great products, you just have to weigh the pros and cons and pick which works best for you, can't go wrong either way :dblthumb2:.
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