Removing #2000 Grit Sanding Marks with One Step by BLACKFIRE! LIVE!!!

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Removing #2000 Grit Sanding Marks with One Step by BLACKFIRE! LIVE!!!


BLACKFIRE One Step

A product that corrects, polishes and seals in one step

First - DON’T try this at home kids. Seriously - most people should NOT be machine sanding or even hand sanding with #2000 Grit sanding discs or wet/dry papers on FACTORY paint.


I did this to show just how much correction you can get out of this new one-step product.


I machine sanded my demo hood with #2000 Mirka Abralon Sanding disc and the removed 100% of the sanding marks using BLACKFIRE One Step, which is a one-step Cleaner-wax or more specifically a one-step cleaner/sealant sine it doesn’t use “wax” for protection but some form of synthetic sealant.



Since I’m typing live at the Ace Cafe Show - I’ll let the pictures do the talking.


First I machine wet sanded the paint using the Mirka Abralon #2000 grit sanding disc.

This is me lighting up the sanding marks, what looks like DULL PAINT using the SCANGRIP Sunmatch Swirl Finder Light.

Uniform Dull is what you're seeing here as machine sanding leaves behind a very uniform sanding mark pattern. Also on context - fairly deep sanding marks.

Now I've placed a tape line down the panel to separate where I'm going to buff from the rest of the panel and then again, I light her up!

Here you see three nickel sized drops or dollops of BLACKFIRE One Step Cleaner/Sealant on a RUPES coarse blue foam cutting pad on a RUPES Mark II BigFoot 21 Orbital Polisher (free spinning)

That's me holding the polisher while taking a pictures simply to document that "yes" it's me and "yes" I really did all this live at the car show. After taking the picture of course I held the polisher with both hands and worked the polisher over the paint.

That’s residue on the paint as I have NOT wiped the wax off yet...

NOW I've wiped the BLACKFIRE One Step off the paint and lit it up using the SCANGRIP Sunmatch Swirl Finder Light...

That my friends is showing you that 100% of the #2000 grit sanding marks have not only been completely removed but the product, the pad and the tool left a flawless finish.

I've moved the light over to the sanded side - if you look closely right along the tape line you can see the tale-tale signs of the sanding marks. That's because you cannot easily remove 100% of the sanding marks RIGHT NEXT TO THE TAPE as the tape creates a higher surface level than the actual paint surface and this higher surface level means you cannot push the pad and abrasives down onto the paint next to the tape line.

Over the BLACKFIRE One Step section....

Over the tape line....

Over sanded paint....

If you're looking for a GREAT one-step cleaner/sealant - get a 32 ounce bottle of BLACKFIRE One Step. It is amazing.


On Autogeek.com


BLACKFIRE One Step - 32 ounce bottle

BLACKFIRE One Step - 1 gallon jug

 

[fly07sti]

Subscribed

 

[dlc95]

Nicely done!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Nicely done!

Thanks for taking the time to chime in...

I did this over and over again for the people that came by the booth. Of course I had to explain that in the REAL world people don't machine sand paint with #2000 grit sanding discs and then remove the sanding marks using a one-step cleaner/sealant or AIO also in the generic... a cleaner/wax.

Everyone that watched the demo was impressed and of course I told them to get their own bottle of BLACKFIRE One Step to go to Autogeek.com or call one of our friendly customer care reps at

1-800-869-3011

 

[Cruzscarwash]

this will be coming in gallons right mike? also any idea on how long we can expect the durability of the protection or something to compare it to?

 

[fly07sti]

I'm impressed Mike. Now I know you enjoy using HD Speed on your truck, do you see this BF AIO taking its place?

 

[Cruzscarwash]

I'm impressed Mike. Now I know you enjoy using HD Speed on your truck, do you see this BF AIO taking its place?

Good question z Mike did call it the "speed killer"

Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I'm impressed Mike. Now I know you enjoy using HD Speed on your truck, do you see this BF AIO taking its place?

Good question z Mike did call it the "speed killer"

I know it can be hard to read and/or remember every thread I start or comment I make on the forum but for the record, what I've used on my truck is a plethora of one-step cleaner/waxes. In order here's what I used this year,

1. McKee's 37 360
2. SONAX Paint Cleaner
3. 3D HD Speed
4. Meguiar's D166 Polishing Wax

I sold my truck a few weeks ago. I'm looking for something older and bigger.


BLACKFIRE One Step is a top shelf one-step cleaner/sealant. I'd put it on the same top shelf as 3D HD Speed. Kind of like a lot of compounds and polishes we carry. I don't know if I could say there's a BEST but I can say there's a lot that would all stand shoulder to shoulder on the same top shelf.

I would highly recommend purchasing a quart and put it to your own test.

 

[Cruzscarwash]

I


I sold my truck a few weeks ago. I'm looking for something older and bigger.

What!! You sold the red beast!!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

What!! You sold the red beast!!

Yes. I pointed this out because there is now no way I can test out One Step as the truck is gone...

Loved the truck but don't want to own a monster truck that has an onboard computer or fuel injection and all the downsides of fuel injection.

I'm probably going to purchase a Monster Jeep for marketing reasons. Something with 44" tall tires, a small block Chevy with Chevy drivetrain. Something that some other guy has already dumped a ton of money into and now just wants to get out of it.


Now back to One Step!

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Thank you! Blackfire products are awesome!

 

[JustJesus]

I sold my truck a few weeks ago. I'm looking for something older and bigger.

You mean....like the Gravedigger? That's older (well, the body style i) and bigger.

Speaking of older jeeps (with chevy drivetrain!!!), just last night I pointed out to my wife, an older Jeep Wrangler that must have had at least 44" tires, lifted pretty high. She asked, "is that even legal for the road?" After saying, "NICE. I want one!" - I love that woman

Now back to One Step!

Okay, then. Excellent demo. And seriously, that's impressive man.

 

[DogRescuer]

So in the real world of wet sanding do you NOT want to go below #3000?

 

[Cruzscarwash]

You mean....like the Gravedigger? That's older (well, the body style i) and bigger.

Speaking of older jeeps (with chevy drivetrain!!!), just last night I pointed out to my wife, an older Jeep Wrangler that must have had at least 44" tires, lifted pretty high. She asked, "is that even legal for the road?" After saying, "NICE. I want one!" - I love that woman



Okay, then. Excellent demo. And seriously, that's impressive man.

if I remember correctly in Cali any high is legal as long as your headlights don't exceed a certain height from the ground. a buddy in HS had to mod his lights because of it and had them attacked to a bar coming off the bumper.

 

[TMQ]

After using the blue Rupes cutting pad with the Blackfire AIO, is it considered done? Or do you still have to finish off some more with a white pad?

In my mind, in general---any time one uses an AIO, one always pairs it with a foam polishing pad with product applied heavy or wet.

I am seeing a variety of applications where people are pairing AIO with different levels of cutting pads to obtain a more cut or better results. Do you have to finish out with a polishing pad afterwards? The concept behind using an AIO is to do the job once and then stop...

Tom

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

After using the blue Rupes cutting pad with the Blackfire AIO, is it considered done? Or do you still have to finish off some more with a white pad?

Great question Tom.

NORMALLY a person would not try to buff out their own car or a customer's car using one of the MOST AGGRESSIVE foam pads on the market with a one-step cleaner/sealant. (cleaner/sealant = cleaner/wax for the average guy).

I was at a car show and doing a dog and pony show pushing the limits as to what can and should be done with a one-step cleaner/sealant. Not only would I not normally do this but I have an article on this topic here,


How to choose and use a one-step cleaner/wax by Mike Phillips


Here's the pertinent portion where I share the secret of successfully buffing out cars in one-step...

Because modern clearcoat paints are scratch-sensitive, meaning they scratch easily, and because the scratches are highly visible to the naked eye, manufacturers have toned down the aggressiveness of their one-step cleaner/waxes.



Your goal
When doing a one-step, your goal is to use the least aggressive cleaner/wax possible to get the job done because even when using high quality products, pads, tools and techniques, there’s always the risk of leaving micro-marring in the paint.



The secret to successfully doing one-steps
The secret to using a one-step cleaner/ wax without micro-marring the paint is to use the softest foam pad you can get away with. When I say,

Use the softest foam pad you can get away with….


This means you need to do some testing with both your cleaner/wax and some soft foam polishing or waxing pads and test to see if your softest pad will leave behind a clear, shiny finish without micro-marring or hazing the paint. This means you need to have a selection of soft pads in your pad collection.

But to answer your question.... IF I had buffed out an entire car with such an aggressive pad and a one-step cleaner/wax then in most cases I would have micro-marring caused by the pad and depending upon the abrasive technology used in the one-step product, I could also have micro-marring caused by the product. If micro-marring was present from one or both of these items then "yes" I would have to re-machine wax with the cleaner/wax or cleaner/sealant with a softer pad to remove the micro-marring.

But - that would never happen, at least to me as I would never take this approach for all kinds of reasons including the reasons I share in my 3-day class. For example, matching your service to your customer. If I were to buff out a car using a one step product I would NOT have promised to remove all the defects. In fact, I would have UNDER PROMISED and thus I would have used a soft, foam polishing pad in most cases.

In my mind, in general---any time one uses an AIO, one always pairs it with a foam polishing pad with product applied heavy or wet.

Correct and this is what I teach in my 3-day classes and also my 2-day roadshow classes. Chances are, what you typed above is what you learned when you took my class.

I am seeing a variety of applications where people are pairing AIO with different levels of cutting pads to obtain a more cut or better results. Do you have to finish out with a polishing pad afterwards? The concept behind using an AIO is to do the job once and then stop...

Tom

You are correct.

When you see people doing two-steps with a one step cleaner/wax it's likely because they know no what they do.

 

[Guyb]

I chose the BLACKFIRE One Step as the free sample when I bought my latest Flex buffer. Looking forward to getting back home to try it out. Thanks for this article Mike.

 

[fightnews]

How much clear coat does your test hood have on it? Isn't it just a hood you got out of a junk yard with factory paint on it?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

How much clear coat does your test hood have on it? Isn't it just a hood you got out of a junk yard with factory paint on it?

Lots!


We pay Paul Grasso at Grasso Garage to paint all our demo hoods and his general rule of thumb is 6-8 heavy coats of clear after a fresh base of black.