Review: BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Review: BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant



BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant

What it is?
A liquid acrylic-based metal sealant.


What does it do?
Seals the surface of metal surfaces as well as clearcoated and painted metal surfaces.


When to use it?
When metal surfaces are new and in excellent condition or after neglected surfaces have been polished to like-new appearance.


Why to use it?
Protect metal surfaces from corrosion, deterioration and oxidation as well as restore and maintain beauty, shine and brilliance.


Special Instructions
Do not use on hot surfaces or in full sun. For neglected surfaces, first polish using BLACKFIRE Metal Polish. For surfaces in new and excellent condition, wash and dry or wipe clean first.


My comments...

I've polished a LOT of metal in my life. There are scads of metal polishes on the market, most work good, some not so good and some work great! What there is NOT a lot of on the market are sealants for metal. So most people that own something that has some type of polished metal surface understand and are used to the idea that after polishing, the results will look good for a while, but sooner than later it will be necessary to re-polish in order to maintain the same shine, luster and brilliance.

So a dedicated sealant is much needed and a welcome new product for owners of cars, trucks, boats, motorhomes and motorcycles.

I have not reviewed many metal sealants in my life because as mentioned above, historically there have not been a lot of metal sealants on the market. You can find a metal polish just about anywhere, but sealants? Not as easy. Normally I like to use a set of oxidized aluminum wheels that have already performed the polishing work to for showcasing a metal sealant. But this is a short week for me as Yancy and I have been busy shooting b-roll video for "My Classic Car" and we also had a special guest here to shoot a new video for their upcoming new product launch. So I walked the parking lot here at Autogeek looking for something to test this product out on and found my co-worker Will's Ford Super Duty Truck.

Normally when I work on cars part of the process is washing the car. No time for that on this day, plus this thing is HUGE and it's around noon here in South Florida, that means it's baking hot outside! So outside of my normal practice to start with a freshly washed vehicle, (Will would be so lucky to get a free truck wash), I tested this product out on Will truck just like you see it. BUT - that's okay because the info given to me about this product states,


It conveniently has its own level of light cleaning ability to finish up what the other products may have left.


So besides sealing the surface we'll see if it will also remove the road film off the front chrome grill and grill sides.


Here's my victim....

Yep... she's a daily driver - just like most people own... (and drive)

From this angle, it's hard to see the front chrome accurately...

Here we go, much better...

For hand application, you can use a foam or microfiber applicator pad. I choose foam for decorative chrome on most cars.

Here's a good amount to cover the front top area...

There's also dead, dried-on bugs and it peeled these away no problem.

I can see a little road film coming off and onto the pad....

Next I'll test by machine - I just happen to have my FLEX PXE handy...

I think I'm on the 1 setting and using a Lake Country foam polishing pad....

Might as well get the Blue Oval....

I see quite a bit of road film and oxidation/tarnish coming off....

IMPORTANT
Directions state to let if fully dry before removing.

Then remove with a clean, microfiber towel.

And here's the final results...

Chrome looks brand new! And the surface is sealed and protected for up to 6 months.

The Ford Blue Oval emblem came out real nice. I think this is chrome and plastic as the blue portion is plastic.

The side of the grill looks just like a mirror!

And the side of the grill makes me look much taller and skinnier than I really am.

BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant
An acrylic based sealant for all metal surfaces, paint and from my testing above, appears to also be safe for smooth, hard plastic surfaces.

Review
The true review for this type of product will be to see how well and how long the treated surfaces hold up. Because I did this on Tuesday and as I type it's Thursday, I'll continue to monitor the truck and the results and then update this review.

As for the application of the product, the performance of the application and the wipe-off, it worked GREAT! and the chrome surfaces I worked on look brand new. While chrome is very hard, it still scratches easily. So it's important to use both polishes and as shown here, sealants that are non-abrasive so you don't put scratches into the chrome. The results from this project show the sealant to be not only safe for chrome but also safe for plastic and to me, this means it's safe for pretty much any surface it's recommended for use on.

There are no foul odors while applying and wipe-off is super easy. This is a great complimentary product for the BLACKFIRE Metal Polish or any metal polish. You can find my review for the BLACKFIRE Metal Polish here.




On Autogeek.com


BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant

Orange Heavy Duty Nitrile Gloves - Pick your size

 

[luvmyrv]

I imagine many of the grilles and "chrome" trim are not actual metal. On my Chevy grille it's quite light and plastic with a chrome finish on it. 1 stone chip will quickly reveal that is indeed plastic. But as you mentioned on the Ford logo, being plastic, it appears that this sealant is also effective on those surfaces. Tghe running boards on my truck aren't even a true chrome, seems to be more of a plating.

 

[DBAILEY]

The old version of the BF Metal Sealant used to be my go to for a wheel sealant until I coated my wheels. It lasted a long time as a wheel sealant. I think it had high temp resistance.

I did not know it was a metal polish though. Maybe its just a cleaner? I always polished the metal with something else like OPT metal polish and then put a layer of BF on top

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I imagine many of the grilles and "chrome" trim are not actual metal. On my Chevy grille it's quite light and plastic with a chrome finish on it. 1 stone chip will quickly reveal that is indeed plastic. But as you mentioned on the Ford logo, being plastic, it appears that this sealant is also effective on those surfaces. Tghe running boards on my truck aren't even a true chrome, seems to be more of a plating.

I think you're right, but I think the chrome is actually a type of chrome.

Forrest at Mothers is the real expert at this topic.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Bob aka FUNX650 posted this,

"Plastic Chrome" is basically ABS or ABS+PC that has been coated by an electrolyte deposition of chromium (sometimes aluminum) process. This vacuum-metalized plastic film is very thin. Non-abrasive products should be your choice for maintenance as abrasives will only induce more scratches and the ultimate removal of this very thin coating.

And I found this from Forrest

The plastic that is chrome clad (grills, even some wheels - a plastic face that's cladded and then glued to a steel rim) is much softer than "real" chrome.

So it sounds like the chrome you plastic is a type of chrome, just not the same as the chrome on the bumper of a 1952 Chevy.

 

[luvmyrv]

Gotcha! Thanks for clearing that up! I am sure that Super Duty grill is much like the rest of them.

 

[57Rambler]

"Plastic Chrome" is basically ABS or ABS+PC that has been coated by an electrolyte deposition of chromium (sometimes aluminum) process. This vacuum-metalized plastic film is very thin. Non-abrasive products should be your choice for maintenance as abrasives will only induce more scratches and the ultimate removal of this very thin coating.

I'll jump in on this because in my early days as an engineer in the auto business (before I became a safety systems designer) I worked in the exterior trim group and mainly with decorative moldings. Initially I worked with real chrome-plated moldings, and later, anodized aluminum moldings replaced the chrome moldings due to the enviro concerns with the chrome plating process (as a side note, the plant where these were made was demo'd in the early 2000's and the enviro cleanup bill exceeded $400M ... draining sludge ponds, removing contaminated soil, etc.).

As far as today's moldings, they are either electrolytically anodized aluminum or the aforementioned plastic "chrome". Anodized aluminum moldings (and other trim) can be used in either interior or exterior applications, while the plastic "chrome's" usage (ie. interior or exterior) is determined by the method by which it was formed. Interior plastic "chrome" is produced by the vacuum metalization process, which is not an electrolytic process but rather akin to a vapor deposition of the chrome on to the plastic surface. Exterior plastic "chrome" is indeed produced by an electrolytic process, but because plastic is not conductive, the plastic must first be "seeded" with a metal to make it conductive. Typically, the plastic is then electroplated with copper before the final step where it is electroplated with chrome.

When it comes to care, I highly concur with the previous warnings to not use anything abrasive on any of the types of plastic "chrome". Anodized aluminum moldings are a little more forgiving but you still do not want to use anything too abrasive or you will damage/remove the protective oxide layer that has been electro-deposited on the surface.

If you've got old-school, real chrome on a mid-70's or earlier vehicle, chances are good that you have nickel (2 layers) + chrome (1 layer) and about the only thing you can do to hurt that is to take stainless steel to it (an old "trick" to remove rust which backfires).

 

[PaulMys]

I'll jump in on this because in my early days as an engineer in the auto business (before I became a safety systems designer) I worked in the exterior trim group and mainly with decorative moldings. Initially I worked with real chrome-plated moldings, and later, anodized aluminum moldings replaced the chrome moldings due to the enviro concerns with the chrome plating process (as a side note, the plant where these were made was demo'd in the early 2000's and the enviro cleanup bill exceeded $400M ... draining sludge ponds, removing contaminated soil, etc.).

As far as today's moldings, they are either electrolytically anodized aluminum or the aforementioned plastic "chrome". Anodized aluminum moldings (and other trim) can be used in either interior or exterior applications, while the plastic "chrome's" usage (ie. interior or exterior) is determined by the method by which it was formed. Interior plastic "chrome" is produced by the vacuum metalization process, which is not an electrolytic process but rather akin to a vapor deposition of the chrome on to the plastic surface. Exterior plastic "chrome" is indeed produced by an electrolytic process, but because plastic is not conductive, the plastic must first be "seeded" with a metal to make it conductive. Typically, the plastic is then electroplated with copper before the final step where it is electroplated with chrome.

When it comes to care, I highly concur with the previous warnings to not use anything abrasive on any of the types of plastic "chrome". Anodized aluminum moldings are a little more forgiving but you still do not want to use anything too abrasive or you will damage/remove the protective oxide layer that has been electro-deposited on the surface.

If you've got old-school, real chrome on a mid-70's or earlier vehicle, chances are good that you have nickel (2 layers) + chrome (1 layer) and about the only thing you can do to hurt that is to take stainless steel to it (an old "trick" to remove rust which backfires).

Incredible info.

Thank you for that.

 

[Pats300zx]

I was fortunate to get very small samples of the Blackfire Metal Polish and Sealant. I used them on my Porsche Macan exhaust and was very happy with the results.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I'll jump in on this because in my early days as an engineer in the auto business (before I became a safety systems designer) I worked in the exterior trim group and mainly with decorative moldings. Initially I worked with real chrome-plated moldings, and later, anodized aluminum moldings replaced the chrome moldings due to the enviro concerns with the chrome plating process (as a side note, the plant where these were made was demo'd in the early 2000's and the enviro cleanup bill exceeded $400M ... draining sludge ponds, removing contaminated soil, etc.).

As far as today's moldings, they are either electrolytically anodized aluminum or the aforementioned plastic "chrome". Anodized aluminum moldings (and other trim) can be used in either interior or exterior applications, while the plastic "chrome's" usage (ie. interior or exterior) is determined by the method by which it was formed. Interior plastic "chrome" is produced by the vacuum metalization process, which is not an electrolytic process but rather akin to a vapor deposition of the chrome on to the plastic surface. Exterior plastic "chrome" is indeed produced by an electrolytic process, but because plastic is not conductive, the plastic must first be "seeded" with a metal to make it conductive. Typically, the plastic is then electroplated with copper before the final step where it is electroplated with chrome.

When it comes to care, I highly concur with the previous warnings to not use anything abrasive on any of the types of plastic "chrome". Anodized aluminum moldings are a little more forgiving but you still do not want to use anything too abrasive or you will damage/remove the protective oxide layer that has been electro-deposited on the surface.

If you've got old-school, real chrome on a mid-70's or earlier vehicle, chances are good that you have nickel (2 layers) + chrome (1 layer) and about the only thing you can do to hurt that is to take stainless steel to it (an old "trick" to remove rust which backfires).

Much good stuff. Thank you for sharing.


:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Initially I worked with real chrome-plated moldings, and later, anodized aluminum moldings replaced the chrome moldings due to the enviro concerns with the chrome plating process (as a side note, the plant where these were made was demolished in the early 2000's and the environmental cleanup bill exceeded $400M ... draining sludge ponds, removing contaminated soil, etc.).

I've been to a chrome shop before and given a tour where the process was explained and it was very eye-opening. And the amount of chemicals used for the chroming process was substantial.

I think this is why many chrome shops have closed. And my guess is we won't see any NEW chrome shops opening as the cost of running the shop in an environmentally manner plus the cost of complying with U.S. Government regulations and laws will be too cost-prohibitive.

On the flipside of this coin, I think there are other countries that don't have the stringent laws and regulations America uses to be eco-friendly to the world, that will fill the void and the pollution will simply go unchecked.