Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 6
Review: BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax
BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax
What it is?
Liquid, synthetic paint sealant.
What it does?
Protects paint, creates gloss and shine.
When to use it?
On new cars with paint in excellent condition and/or on paint that has been previously washed, clayed and polished. This is a non-cleaning sealant so it should only be used on clean paint.
Why to use it?
Protect your car's finish from the elements and create a beautiful looking finish.
Special Instructions
Apply a thin coat by hand or machine and allow to FULLY DRY before removing.
Key Feature
This product is heat resistant. Over the decades I've seen people worried that a carnauba wax will melt off their cars when the car is exposed to high temperatures. If this describes you or if you live in a geographical area that's sees high temperatures and especially if your car is a daily driver parked outside some of the time, most of the time or ALL of the time, then this is the product for you.
Review and how-to
To be honest, I'm not really good at writing reviews. I think I'm really good at writing something more important and that's how-tos. So if you've been reading any of my writing for the last 17 years online, you've probably seen and maybe even learned a thing or two from some of my how-to articles. So instead of writing just a review, below I'll show you how to use this product and THEN share my review. By using the product on a actual car, I am able to provide HONEST feedback on the product versus what I see too much of today and that's mock-up info.
Step 1: Clean car
You can clean your car a number of ways, for this SIV I'm going to use a waterless wash. The car didn't look dirty when it arrived but at the same time, I don't want to clay a car that has even light dust and this could put scratches into the paint.
Pro Tip
You need lots of clean towels to use a waterless wash. The idea being to switch to a clean towel often so you don't merely remove dirt from one panel and then rub it over the next panel.
I counted and even for a clean car, I used 7 towels to remove the waterless wash. If you want to know more about how to use a waterless wash, say so in the comments below and I'll link to a video.
Step 2: Remove any above surface bonded contaminants
This mean, inspect the paint using the baggie test, if it feels rough to the touch, then using detailing clay to remove the offending contaminants.
Knead the clay into a patty about 5" across.
Lay down a liberal amount of clay lube.
Rub the clay over the paint.
Pro Tip
Place your hand over the clay patty so your fingertips lay PAST the edge of the clay patty.
I don't see any contaminants coming off the paint and onto the clay but this could mean the roughness I felt was CLEAR OVERSPRAY PAINT - as this car has been repainted with a custom paint job.
Before the clay residue dries, remove it with a clean microfiber towel.
The paint already looks more glossy after just a waterless wash and claying the paint. The owner says he's owned the car for one year and since buying it has NEVER waxed it. So it's time to seal this paint.
Step 3: Apply the BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax
You can do this by hand or machine. My running joke here at Autogeek for the last 10 years goes like this,
We don't sell hands - so I show you how to work by machine
I'll machine apply to the flat easy to buff panels and hand apply to the smaller and more intricate panels.
For the machine application, I'll use the Griot's G9 - 9mm random orbital polisher with a Griot's 6.5" red foam waxing pad on speed 2.
Apply some of the BlackIce Hybrid Liquid Wax directly to the face of the pad.
Then using a slow speed, spread the wax over each body panel using overlapping passes. The goal is to lay down a THIN UNIFORM layer.
For the thin panels and more intricate areas I'll apply a thin coat by hand.
I machine applied wax to the driver's side and I'll hand apply to the passenger side.
Both approaches work great with this liquid hybrid wax.
IMPORTANT
Allow the wax to fully dry to a haze before wiping off. Not only will this make wipe-off easier, it enables the protection ingredients to make a proper bond to the paint.
Step 4: After the hybrid wax has fully dried, remove using a clean, soft microfiber towel.
And here are the results, a super high gloss shine that's slick to the touch.
Review
Nice product. When used correctly, and by the word correctly I mean clean, smooth paint, this product glides on and off super easy. It leaves the paint feeling very slippery, which is a characteristic of high quality waxes and sealants. There's no dusting and in our garage environment it dried to a haze in about 15 minutes.
Besides application and wipe-off, I think the really nice feature is the ability to resist high heat temperatures. Here in South Florida, it can be hot outside dang near every day. Even days when it rains, once the rain is gone the sun comes back out and pretty much bakes everything dry. So if you live in Arizona, New Mexico, the Mojave desert or anywhere in the sunbelt, this would be a great choice for your vehicles.
On Autogeek.com
BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax
BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax
What it is?
Liquid, synthetic paint sealant.
What it does?
Protects paint, creates gloss and shine.
When to use it?
On new cars with paint in excellent condition and/or on paint that has been previously washed, clayed and polished. This is a non-cleaning sealant so it should only be used on clean paint.
Why to use it?
Protect your car's finish from the elements and create a beautiful looking finish.
Special Instructions
Apply a thin coat by hand or machine and allow to FULLY DRY before removing.
Key Feature
This product is heat resistant. Over the decades I've seen people worried that a carnauba wax will melt off their cars when the car is exposed to high temperatures. If this describes you or if you live in a geographical area that's sees high temperatures and especially if your car is a daily driver parked outside some of the time, most of the time or ALL of the time, then this is the product for you.
Review and how-to
To be honest, I'm not really good at writing reviews. I think I'm really good at writing something more important and that's how-tos. So if you've been reading any of my writing for the last 17 years online, you've probably seen and maybe even learned a thing or two from some of my how-to articles. So instead of writing just a review, below I'll show you how to use this product and THEN share my review. By using the product on a actual car, I am able to provide HONEST feedback on the product versus what I see too much of today and that's mock-up info.
Step 1: Clean car
You can clean your car a number of ways, for this SIV I'm going to use a waterless wash. The car didn't look dirty when it arrived but at the same time, I don't want to clay a car that has even light dust and this could put scratches into the paint.
Pro Tip
You need lots of clean towels to use a waterless wash. The idea being to switch to a clean towel often so you don't merely remove dirt from one panel and then rub it over the next panel.
I counted and even for a clean car, I used 7 towels to remove the waterless wash. If you want to know more about how to use a waterless wash, say so in the comments below and I'll link to a video.
Step 2: Remove any above surface bonded contaminants
This mean, inspect the paint using the baggie test, if it feels rough to the touch, then using detailing clay to remove the offending contaminants.
Knead the clay into a patty about 5" across.
Lay down a liberal amount of clay lube.
Rub the clay over the paint.
Pro Tip
Place your hand over the clay patty so your fingertips lay PAST the edge of the clay patty.
I don't see any contaminants coming off the paint and onto the clay but this could mean the roughness I felt was CLEAR OVERSPRAY PAINT - as this car has been repainted with a custom paint job.
Before the clay residue dries, remove it with a clean microfiber towel.
The paint already looks more glossy after just a waterless wash and claying the paint. The owner says he's owned the car for one year and since buying it has NEVER waxed it. So it's time to seal this paint.
Step 3: Apply the BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax
You can do this by hand or machine. My running joke here at Autogeek for the last 10 years goes like this,
We don't sell hands - so I show you how to work by machine
I'll machine apply to the flat easy to buff panels and hand apply to the smaller and more intricate panels.
For the machine application, I'll use the Griot's G9 - 9mm random orbital polisher with a Griot's 6.5" red foam waxing pad on speed 2.
Apply some of the BlackIce Hybrid Liquid Wax directly to the face of the pad.
Then using a slow speed, spread the wax over each body panel using overlapping passes. The goal is to lay down a THIN UNIFORM layer.
For the thin panels and more intricate areas I'll apply a thin coat by hand.
I machine applied wax to the driver's side and I'll hand apply to the passenger side.
Both approaches work great with this liquid hybrid wax.
IMPORTANT
Allow the wax to fully dry to a haze before wiping off. Not only will this make wipe-off easier, it enables the protection ingredients to make a proper bond to the paint.
Step 4: After the hybrid wax has fully dried, remove using a clean, soft microfiber towel.
And here are the results, a super high gloss shine that's slick to the touch.
Review
Nice product. When used correctly, and by the word correctly I mean clean, smooth paint, this product glides on and off super easy. It leaves the paint feeling very slippery, which is a characteristic of high quality waxes and sealants. There's no dusting and in our garage environment it dried to a haze in about 15 minutes.
Besides application and wipe-off, I think the really nice feature is the ability to resist high heat temperatures. Here in South Florida, it can be hot outside dang near every day. Even days when it rains, once the rain is gone the sun comes back out and pretty much bakes everything dry. So if you live in Arizona, New Mexico, the Mojave desert or anywhere in the sunbelt, this would be a great choice for your vehicles.
On Autogeek.com
BLACKFIRE BlackICE Hybrid Liquid Wax
