When I booked this car in and the owner said he wanted the wettest look possible whilst still allowing the flake to pop in the sun, I knew I had an ideal opportunity to test out the new Blackfire range, and in particular the newly formulated Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection sealant. The following detail was one of the most challenging I’ve done to date, and I have to thank the owner for giving me the freedom to try out some new techniques, such as wetsanding! Well, it was either that or a trip to the bodyshop anyway (to fix a couple of very deep scratches), so the owner figured there was no harm in me trying first. When the car turned up it looked dull and jaded, and the paint felt like fine sandpaper. A quick burst of 3W Luxeon lighting revealed heavy swirling, plus some marring from previous polishing/claying attempts. I had originally planned on the job taking 12 hours, but in the end I put in 20 hours to get it the way I wanted it. Worth it though, as the final finish blew me away ”“ I’ve not come across another sealant that looks so wet, whilst still allowing the flake to pop so much in the sun. The glazing step also added significantly to the wetness to the finish, and added a richness to the paint that is often missing from sealant finishes. Here’s the process…
Wash
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
Alloys spot tested then treated with Meguiars Wheel Brightener cut 4:1, left 60 secs and rinsed with open ended hose
Whole car foamed with Poorboy’s Slick n Suds (4:1 mix in foam gun) and left to dwell for 5 mins
Whole car rinsed at moderate pressure using the Karcher
All trims and inside the arches treated with Meguiars Safe Degreaser cut 10:1
Whole car washed with Blackfire Gloss Shampoo using lambswool (bodywork) and microfibre (wheels and inside arches) mitts, and the two bucket method
Whole car rinsed with an open-ended hose
Whole car dried with waffle weave towels
Clay
Blackfire Clay (very aggressive ”“ no point wasting time, but it did inflict further marring)
Blackfire Clay Lubricant
Excess lubricant mopped up with waffle weave towels
Scratch Repair
Scratches cleaned out with P21S Total Auto Wash, rinsed and dried
Scratches filled with 3 thin coats of pigment, followed by 3 coats of lacquer
Once dry, new paint flattened with Meguiars Unigrit 3000, previously left to soak overnight in a bucket of suds
Affected panels then rewashed and rinsed and dried as per wash section above
Wetsanding haze then polished out with PC using Menzerna Power Gloss and 4”¯ Lake Country orange light cut pads
Polish
Whole car taped with 3434, then machine polished with PC, using Menzerna Intensive Polish and Lake Country orange light cut pads. The first go with the Intensive Polish removed some cobwebbing and heavy marring from the claying step, but hardly seemed to touch the deeper swirls and didn’t do much to numerous minor scratches. So much for the rumour that Subaru paint is soft! Two more goes with the Intensive Polish applying heavy pressure shifted 95 % of the defects in all panels, and of those that were left, most looked too severe (definite nail catchers) for full correction anyway, so I decided to leave them. I then followed up with Menzerna Final Polish II using Lake Country white polishing pads, as the finish left by the Intensive Polish was good but not perfect.
I also took time out to try polishing some panels by hand, as I’ve had a lot of enquiries lately asking if Intensive Polish can be used by hand. When I first tried it last year I noticed that the abrasives did not break down very well by hand, and I therefore wrote the site description recommending machine use only. However, now I’ve got more experience with it, I thought it wise to try again. Ten minutes of very hard work per panel using a Meguiars foam pad worked wonders ”“ about 90 % swirl removal! I could see the abrasives starting to break down after 8-9 minutes of work, so the definitive answer is it can be used successfully by hand, but it is extremely hard work. On softer paint I dare say it will give superb results if worked slightly longer, but on harder paint it will always leave some defects, although the overall finish can be dramatically improved, as the pictures below show. On this occasion I did the panels again by machine, as I wanted the best possible finish for the Blackfire products.
The final polishing step was the application of Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish. This product has no cut, and is essentially a really rich, creamy glaze. I noticed a distinct wetting of the paint when it was applied using a Meguiars foam pad, and this helped to make the paint look much richer. All residues were buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush towels.
Protect
All bodywork protected with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection, applied using foam pads and buffed using Poorboy's’ Mega Plush towels. I found it goes on and off much like Menzerna FMJ, and leaves an even slicker finish
All exterior trims treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant, applied using a microfibre pad and buffed after 5 mins with waffle weave towels
Exhaust tip polished with Autosol and protected with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polysh, both applied using Poorboy’s Work Towels
Tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel
And here’s the pics…
Tired, dull and jaded…
A couple of deep gouges (above) and a deep scratch (below)…
Swirl city…
During the wetsanding process (above) and after Power Gloss (below)…
The results of using Intensive Polish by hand ”“ before (above) and after (below)…
A couple of arty shots…
Polished Bliss vs Impreza P1 - 20 hours work!
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