Review: BLACKFIRE One-Step Cleaner/Wax by Mike Phillips

[Mike Phillips]

Review: BLACKFIRE One-Step Cleaner/Wax by Mike Phillips


This is a real-time review in that I just received the latest incarnation of this product yesterday. The beta versions I tested worked great but I think the before and after pictures below show this newest version is the new Speed Killer.


I've only used the product for one section and that was to do my Test Spot. I'll update this post later today with my final thoughts after buffing out this entire car. Until then... like the saying goes...


A picture tells a thousand words...

Here's my test car, it's an old swirled-out 2-door Chevy

In case you can't tell - this is the before shot

This is the after shot - the little dots you see are not defects - they are gold metallic flakes in the paint

This was after 8 section passes using the Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher with a 6.5" Griot's Orange BOSS Foam Cutting Pad on speed 6

Before
This is the paint above my Test Spot. Note I've turned the overhead lights off to get rid of the their reflection on the panel. That's why you see a color change in the paint. At this point the light shining down is just the SCANGRIP Sunmatch Swirl Finder Light.

Moving down the panel towards my tape-line

On the tape line

Just past the tape line...

The middle of my test spot...

BLACKFIRE One Step

I think the soonest you can get your hands on a quart of this is the first day of SEMA - that's Tuesday, October 31 or Halloween.


Stay tuned...


On Autogeek.com


BLACKFIRE One Step 32 ounce bottle


BLACKFIRE One Step

Griot's Garage 6" ROP - Standard cord

Griots Garage 6 Inch Heavy Duty Random Orbital Polisher - HD Cord - 25' Heavy Duty Cord already pre-wired

Griots Garage BOSS 6.5 inch Orange Correcting Pads - 2 Pack

 

[Cruzscarwash]

Mike, I like what I see, hopefully I can see it in person at SEMA next week.

Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk

 

[Meghan]

Mike, I like what I see, hopefully I can see it in person at SEMA next week.

Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk

We will have it available to demo at SEMA, you will love this product!

 

[Cruzscarwash]

We will have it available to demo at SEMA, you will love this product!

Nice!!! Definitely looking forward to it, also on the look out for a good one step and would mind trying a speed killer. Any idea on longevity time for it??

Sent from my XT1609 using Tapatalk

 

[Mike Phillips]

***Update***


Just posted another FB live to my FB page.

I knocked out the hood and the tops of the front fenders in 25 minutes.

Check out the video. The link to my Facebook page in in my Sig Line

 

[Mike Phillips]

Continued...


Finished

Here's the final results and remember - this was ONE STEP...

Comment

The finish literally looks like I spend all day compounding, polishing and then waxing. Truth is I buffed this out in less than 3 hours from start to finish!

The product I used is the new BLACKFIRE One Step and it is hands-down the best one step cleaner/wax I've ever used.

Review

NO MICRO-MARRING even on black paint. That's hard to do with most one-step cleaner/waxes.

SUPER LONG BUFFING CYCLE - You can buff till the cows come home. It stays liquid as long as you keep move the pad over the paint.

ZERO DUSTING - You the kind of guy that hates dusting? Complain about products that do everytime you get a chance? Then here's your new favorite product.

Excellent correction - I'm impressed and I'd say I'm hard to impress.

Any tool or by hand - It's a free-for-all




Final thoughts...

For your own daily drivers, your toys or if you detail professionally...

Get some.

BLACKFIRE One Step 32 oz.

BLACKFIRE One Step 1-Gallon


It's also available in 16 ounces but for the price difference between the 16 ounce bottle and the 32 ounce bottle you might as well spend the extra few bucks and twice as much by getting the 32 ounce bottle.


BLACKFIRE One Step 16 oz.

 

[FrankS]

Nice review Mike!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[01GreyStangGT]

I’m presuming that the Paint Sealant takes the place of Wet Diamond?


Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline

 

[ScottH]

Mike what is the claimed durability?

Thanks,
ScottH

 

[kevincwelch]

Very nice. Looks like a serious contender!

 

[Dr Oldz]

First I must say beautiful car!! The vinyl tops are still sexy!

Secondly, nice work, Mike. Definitely gonna try this when available as I am searching for a AIO currently and just haven’t been happy with most that I have tried. If you can provide any info on the protection it leave behind, I would be grateful.

 

[DBAILEY]

We seem to have a AIO war brewing amongst all the manufacturers. I would like to know about the protection also. Is it wax based protection or is it all polymer (it is polycharged like BFWD). I am assuming that BFMS wax will sit fine on top but ss BFWD compatible on top?

 

[Pats300zx]

Wow the Chevelle came out amazing Mike. It looks like the BF AIO is a serious contender in the AIO market. It seems manufacturers are coming out with serious focus on AIO's lately. Its great to see how they have transformed over the years. HD Speed, McKees 360, Megs D166, and now Blackfire. Great stuff !!!!

 

[fightnews]

Looks good do you typically do 8 section passes?

 

[fightnews]

Who owns the new backfire line if you don't mind me asking?

 

[RTexasF]

How far the All In One products have come! Thank you Mike for bringing this one to the forefront in the vast world of AIO's out there.

 

[david b]

Great review as always!

What about price?

Thanks,
David

 

[Mike Phillips]

Wow the Chevelle came out amazing Mike.

I agree, it really came out nice considering this was a one-step cleaner/wax and I did all the machine polishing in under 3 hours.

It was on display in the garage all day today, (Saturday) for people to inspect.

This Monday I'll do something with the vinyl top and the tires and then probably send her home..

 

[fightnews]

I agree, it really came out nice considering this was a one-step cleaner/wax and I did all the machine polishing in under 3 hours.

It was on display in the garage all day today, (Saturday) for people to inspect.

This Monday I'll do something with the vinyl top and the tires and then probably send her home..

To bad you just did your truck with the miguiars cleaner wax you could of used this stuff on it

 

[Mike Phillips]

Nice review Mike!

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Frank.

It's not like most my reviews, which tend to be a lot more in-depth but right now I don't have a ton of time to type out detailed copy, so this review is just the meat, no potatoes.

I’m presuming that the Paint Sealant takes the place of Wet Diamond?

Takes the place of All Paint Protection.

Mike what is the claimed durability?

Thanks,
ScottH

Off hand I don't remember seeing any copy yet that makes statements about durability time.

Here's what I do know and what I've been posting to this forum for 8+ years when the topic of durability comes up for ANY product and it all comes down to how the surface is TOUCHED.

If I had a dime for every time I typed out the word touched in relationship to taking care of car paint I'd be a millionaire. But seriously, if you touch your car with a brick - as in wash the car with a brick, nothing is going to last very long.

If you wash your car like I describe in my how-to book, The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine - then you're being gentle and avoiding MICRO-ABRADING and then whatever it is you've applied to your car's paint has the best chance of lasting as long as its potential.

My guess is - approximately 3 months, maybe longer. But also keep in mind that this is a cleaner/wax, it's primary goal is to remove defects, create a deep wet shine and of course... leave behind some protection. For anyone looking for a super duper long lasting "anything" then take a look at ceramic coatings and remember before applying the super duper long lasting coating you will have to do the compounding, polishing and chemical stripping steps as DEDICATED steps, not step included in a one-step cleaner/wax.

Great question as I know everyone wants to know how long all the various brands of cleaner/waxes last. I'd say a minimum of 3 months if you wash carefully. Longer if you always park the car inside a garage when not in use.

Very nice. Looks like a serious contender!

Great defect removal, excellent gloss and clarity, super easy to work with - yeah I'd say it's a contender.

First I must say beautiful car!! The vinyl tops are still sexy!

Secondly, nice work, Mike. Definitely gonna try this when available as I am searching for a AIO currently and just haven’t been happy with most that I have tried. If you can provide any info on the protection it leave behind, I would be grateful.

Thanks for the kind words, I'm not a huge vinyl top fan but it does look good on this car. As for protection and durability I'll have to check. I walked out into the garage last week, there was a huge group of new BF products, first I've seen of most of them and now I'm using them and writing reviews. As I get more info like my norm - I'll gladly share it.

We seem to have a AIO war brewing amongst all the manufacturers. I would like to know about the protection also.

Is it wax based protection or is it all polymer (it is polycharged like BFWD).

I am assuming that BFMS wax will sit fine on top but ss BFWD compatible on top?

This is Meghan and Bobby's project, revamping and re-launching this line, I'm sure one of them can chime in and share the specifics you ask about. I did some testing for a few of these product early on but not the majority.

Wow the Chevelle came out amazing Mike. It looks like the BF AIO is a serious contender in the AIO market.

It seems manufacturers are coming out with serious focus on AIO's lately. Its great to see how they have transformed over the years.

1. HD Speed,
2. McKees 360
3. Megs D166
4. and now Blackfire.

Great stuff !!!!

Good observation Pad.

I put a lot of focus in the detailing classes I teach on to primary types of car detailing, you can call them what you want here's what I call them,

1. Show Car Detailing
   
2. Daily Driver Detailing

When detailing daily drivers, especially if you're doing this for money - you NEED and WANT a GREAT one-step cleaner/wax to save time while still putting out high quality results. In fact I can pull up multiple write-ups from my past classes showing this concept.

So "yeah" the market for one-step cleaner/waxes or for those of you that like the three letter term AIO (same thing), it's a competitive market and that's good for end-users.

Who owns the new backfire line if you don't mind me asking?

PBMG

How far the All In One products have come!

Thank you Mike for bringing this one to the forefront in the vast world of AIO's out there.

I normally would have used dedicated products and steps for a cool car like this but for my own testing purposes I chose to go with a simple approach.

Can't beat less than 3 hours from start to finish to buff out an old 2-door Chevy like this one...

Great review as always!

What about price?

Thanks,
David

Thanks David and sorry to say - I have not seen any pricing as of yet. I'm sure it will be public on October 31 - the first day of SEMA

To bad you just did your truck with the miguiars cleaner wax you could of used this stuff on it

That's Meguiar's not miguiars


As for using D166 on my truck - it's no big deal, that product worked great too.


Thanks for all the comments, questions and feedback guys...