Audios S6
Active member
- Oct 12, 2011
- 1,634
- 0
I received this product at no charge from Meghan, and in return, I agreed to provide a review on the forum. I will try to keep this as objective as I can.
Abbreviated copy from AG
BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner is a versatile, water-based cleaner for all leather, vinyl, velour, carpet, headliner fabric, wood, plastic, and metal. It is designed to be both gentle and effective, and it contains no harmful ingredients. BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner uses Swedish non-ionic surfactants to safely clean all interior surfaces. Use BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner to maintain a clean, inviting interior with just one product!
BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant with Polycharger is the only product you need to maintain the look and feel of leather and soft vinyl upholstery. This 100% water based protectant uses micro-engineered polymers that are readily accepted by leather and soft vinyl. BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant contains no oils, silicones, or petroleum distillates. It leaves a deep, satin, natural-looking finish on interior auto surfaces. [Note that later in the copy there is info on using it on all surfaces]I do quite a bit of mobile work and use my personal vehicle for those jobs. If it's both interior and exterior work then there's a lot of stuff to cram into my vehicle, so I'm all for simplifying my arsenal for travel purposes. Having a cleaner and protectant that can be used on nearly all surfaces is a huge benefit. Having it in one bottle would be even better, but it's important to recognize that when you get into more heavily soiled areas, a combination product isn't the one you want to reach for and to maintain consistency of the dressed look, one should strive to be consistent with the protectant. So, I accept that I do have a need for a dedicated cleaner and protectant on some jobs. I do take several different stain removal chemicals to deal with a wide variety of stains, so I don't want to cart around a leather cleaner, vinyl cleaner, carpet cleaner, upholstery cleaner and another 4 protectants as well.
The Interior Cleaner does have a bit of a 'cleaner' odor to it. I don't like leaving behind any strong odors when I'm done, but this is mild enough that it's not one to linger and doesn't bother me while I work. In my trial, I used it on a dashboard, center console, leather armrest and leather driver's seat.
Dash before, looks a bit dusty, but not very dirty
Dash After, looks cleaner, that's a good thing. You can see a bit of the cleaner left behind in the left side of the photo, I allowed it to flash without wiping and there was no visible residue on this black vinyl.
After cleaning the above items, here's a photo of the white towel, yuck.
Now we moved to the back seat. This was quite a bit worse. The little one has been using the seat back as a foot rest. You'll also note quite a bit of debris on the sill and there is just a bit of salt stain on the carpet near the back seat. This is a case where is single cleaner is great. With 2 different plastics, leather and carpet ajoining each other I don't have to be careful to avoid the leather with the carpet cleaner or the vinyl cleaner.
Seat back
Sill
After a quick spray and wipe, the dirt, debris and salt are all gone.
And the towel afterwards
Next I applied BF Interior Protectant to the dash. In this case, I applied and worked it in to get even coverage, then buffed with a dry towel to get an even finish. The scent is very mild and pleasant, I'm not certain what it is, but slightly sweet and maybe a bit floral. I've been using this protectant for a while and I've gone through maybe half a bottle in at least 12 cars, several being large SUVs, so this bottle will last a while.
50/50 of the protectant
Final thoughts: I really enjoy the Interior Protectant, though based on my experience, I would be careful with wood or other gloss type trim as it can streak there and require a little extra attention. But it leaves a great finish, especially on smooth, matte & satin plastics. The cleaner performed well on all the surfaces I tried it on, left no discernible residue and the odor dissipated very quickly. There's not much to nitpick about it other than reducing the odor further. .
Abbreviated copy from AG
BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner is a versatile, water-based cleaner for all leather, vinyl, velour, carpet, headliner fabric, wood, plastic, and metal. It is designed to be both gentle and effective, and it contains no harmful ingredients. BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner uses Swedish non-ionic surfactants to safely clean all interior surfaces. Use BLACKFIRE Interior Cleaner to maintain a clean, inviting interior with just one product!
BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant with Polycharger is the only product you need to maintain the look and feel of leather and soft vinyl upholstery. This 100% water based protectant uses micro-engineered polymers that are readily accepted by leather and soft vinyl. BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant contains no oils, silicones, or petroleum distillates. It leaves a deep, satin, natural-looking finish on interior auto surfaces. [Note that later in the copy there is info on using it on all surfaces]I do quite a bit of mobile work and use my personal vehicle for those jobs. If it's both interior and exterior work then there's a lot of stuff to cram into my vehicle, so I'm all for simplifying my arsenal for travel purposes. Having a cleaner and protectant that can be used on nearly all surfaces is a huge benefit. Having it in one bottle would be even better, but it's important to recognize that when you get into more heavily soiled areas, a combination product isn't the one you want to reach for and to maintain consistency of the dressed look, one should strive to be consistent with the protectant. So, I accept that I do have a need for a dedicated cleaner and protectant on some jobs. I do take several different stain removal chemicals to deal with a wide variety of stains, so I don't want to cart around a leather cleaner, vinyl cleaner, carpet cleaner, upholstery cleaner and another 4 protectants as well.
The Interior Cleaner does have a bit of a 'cleaner' odor to it. I don't like leaving behind any strong odors when I'm done, but this is mild enough that it's not one to linger and doesn't bother me while I work. In my trial, I used it on a dashboard, center console, leather armrest and leather driver's seat.
Dash before, looks a bit dusty, but not very dirty
Dash After, looks cleaner, that's a good thing. You can see a bit of the cleaner left behind in the left side of the photo, I allowed it to flash without wiping and there was no visible residue on this black vinyl.
After cleaning the above items, here's a photo of the white towel, yuck.
Now we moved to the back seat. This was quite a bit worse. The little one has been using the seat back as a foot rest. You'll also note quite a bit of debris on the sill and there is just a bit of salt stain on the carpet near the back seat. This is a case where is single cleaner is great. With 2 different plastics, leather and carpet ajoining each other I don't have to be careful to avoid the leather with the carpet cleaner or the vinyl cleaner.
Seat back
Sill
After a quick spray and wipe, the dirt, debris and salt are all gone.
And the towel afterwards
Next I applied BF Interior Protectant to the dash. In this case, I applied and worked it in to get even coverage, then buffed with a dry towel to get an even finish. The scent is very mild and pleasant, I'm not certain what it is, but slightly sweet and maybe a bit floral. I've been using this protectant for a while and I've gone through maybe half a bottle in at least 12 cars, several being large SUVs, so this bottle will last a while.
50/50 of the protectant
Final thoughts: I really enjoy the Interior Protectant, though based on my experience, I would be careful with wood or other gloss type trim as it can streak there and require a little extra attention. But it leaves a great finish, especially on smooth, matte & satin plastics. The cleaner performed well on all the surfaces I tried it on, left no discernible residue and the odor dissipated very quickly. There's not much to nitpick about it other than reducing the odor further. .
