first .how much money you wanna spend?there are alot of waxes out there.dodo juice blue velvet and dodo juice purple haze may be what you are looking for.are go to autogeek.net.

 

Wait for FromZto5 to respond... He is our resident Kona guru.

 

BWD= Black Fire Wet Diamond

 

Technically that's a sealant, not a wax. If you're using the Wet Diamond and you really want to make the most of it, top it off with the Blackfire Midnight Sun carnuba wax and then the Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray Sealant.

 

+1
Guys a genius when it comes to this color. To bad lava red wasnt around long enough for some to be the resident LR guru haa

 

I absolutely agree.... I have the full line of blackfire products thats exactly how I apply it.

Sorry I wasn't more specific.

 

Not a problem. I can be a bit pedantic at times.

In my case I've been a Zaino user for years and recently switched to the Blackfire. They have similar shine but the Blackfire has a more vibrant hue on glossy colors. The Zaino seems to dull the colors slightly. The Zaino lasts longer, but Blackfire is MUCH easier to use, and that makes a huge difference to me since I hand apply. And the Blackfire resists dust better, which is a big deal for me since my car is garaged at home and at work, so unless it rains while I am driving the only dirt it sees is dust.

I just got my Mustang back from the dealership two days ago. I had them rebuff and polish the entire car because Ford had done a poor job of it and there were several hazy spots on the paint. I told them specifically not to put any sealants or waxes on the car because I have the full Blackfire kit. Tomorrow the car gets washed, clayed, Blackfire Gloss Enhancer, Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant, Blackfire Midnight Sun wax, and topped off with the Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray.

I'm thinking about doing before and after pics to show the difference. I've got a brother in law with a black 11 GT and I'm having the hardest time convincing him that he needs to drop the Meguires Gold and do a proper job with the finish of his car. Poor fool thinks swirl marks are normal.

 

Thanks for all the info. I'm leaning towards the Black fire..

 

Maybe this will help your decision along. Factory paint job on the right, Blckfire Wet Diamond sealant only on the left....




Applied to a Kona Blue Mustang.,,,

 

Fixed the thread title spelling.

 

Wow, that looks better then show room.. Thanks for the pics, and making my mind up...

 

I've been using BFWD since new but I've been thinking about trying a good paste or carnuba. FromZto5's paint looks amazing with the Fuzion stuff. I've been checking it out but that stuffs not cheap....I guess you get what you pay for.

 

Try collinite 915. It's good for dark cars like yours.

 

I think this thread highlights an unfortunate trend in thinking from enthusiasts when it comes to detailing and taking care of their own cars: they tend to think that the product they use in the end (wax or sealant) is important.

Most professionals will tell you the last step product (often referred to as the "LSP") only gives maybe 10% of the look your car has. I think that's way too high; it's more like 1-3% in my opinion.


When it comes to what you use on your Mustang, the color of her makes little difference. Lava Red, Kona Blue, or anything else. If you have light swirls, scratches, marring, etching marks, and other defects, the "look" of an LSP means very little. What should be the concern is protection ability, slickness, ease of application, price, availability, and durability. Those are the factors that are going to be most important because they're going to give you legit feedback in how the product works or performs.

The look of a product means very very little. You'll find lots of information on waxes and their jetting ability which gives a liquidy deep look while sealants tend to be more shiny. The truth is that one properly prepped (polished properly) panel, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the bare paint, the waxed section, and the sealed section. I'm willing to bet very few members of this board have seen a fully polished out Mustang to know what they even look like. I know moderator Overboost has stopped by on a couple of occasions on some work we were performing, and he's well researched and read, so I'm hoping he'll chime into his opinion of a polished vehicle versus a waxed or sealed vehicle as well.


I'll let you guys in on what I often tell my own clients: the final product is much like women discussing make-up. Revlon, L'oreal, Cover Girl, etc; the brands and products don't matter as much as the person they're going on. Our girlfriends and wives (and maybe some lady owners on this board) will try all kinds of make-up; what's new, what got good reviews, some super special expensive brand, what a friend told them about, what they saw on TV, what some supermodel/actress endorsed. As guys, we sit and call them crazy, because we know darn well you could put ANY brand of make-up on Halle Berry and she'd be flat out gorgeous. All the sudden we talk about our cars, and we just KNOW we're a product away from the ultimate shine. Do you see the connection here?

 

Marc, that's the most sensible post I've read in months. So can you please explain a good polishing procedure?

 

I've had the opportunity to see Marc work his magic on a few cars, specifically, Shaun's Grabber Blue car. What I thought when I walked in was quickly blown away. After that point, I have continued to research what it takes to really provide a quality finish to your paint. The wax/sealant should be the least of your worries.

I mentioned in the other thread, it starts with washing. If you don't take a step back and re-evaluate your wash process, you're wasting your time. You can spend hours and hours honing in your finish to be swirl free, but if you don't wash it with proper techniques, you're time is in vain. Start with a set of Grit Guards, learn the 2-bucket method, and invest in some quality MF wash mitts. Use a quality soap and dry the car properly, not with your old bath towels. All these steps minimize the chances for swirling.

Next, learn what it takes to prep a surface for polishing. Clay the surface with a clay bar, then get the finish down to a pure finish so you can polish without fear of contamination or damaging the paint further from embedded contaminants. Learn how to spot swirls and use proper lighting to get a better look at what's hiding behind all that wax or sealant.

Once you polish it, then it's time to really make it shine. Throw your LSP on, protect your hard work, and enjoy the results.

In getting to know Marc, he's opened my eyes to the world of detailing. A lot of things I thought I was doing right were actually harming the finish. I took a step back, got educated, and started from the ground up and re-honed my techniques from wax application to washing the wheels.

My go-to LSP is Blackfire, but, if you don't put the time in, you'll really hold back the true beauty of what lies beneath.

 

Marc and Overboost make very valid points. I have to reevaluate my process because there's so much more to Kona to be appreciated with a good wash regimen.

 

Polishing is a tough topic to talk about. I don't want to scare people away from it, but I don't want to push people into it knowing there really is some risk involved.

In the detailing community, the act of removing trace amounts of clear-coat or single-stage paint with the goal of re-leveling the finish in order to create a more glossy and shiny paint job is often call "Paint Correction" as you're getting rid of the defects in the paint, and making it look like it was intended to.

The importance of DA's can't be over-looked, and it's exactly what I'd recommend to an enthusiast who would like to get their paint looking like-new or better-than-new. They rotate like a rotary while following the orbit of an orbital, hence the name DUAL Action.
Dual Action technology and understanding has come a long way in the last decade (primarily the last 2-4 years). Dual Action polishers are now the go-to machines. They're lighter, safer, and cheaper than rotary polishers. Examples of DA's include the famed Porter Cable 7424, Griot's Professional, and Meguiar's G110.


Orbital Polishing:
Most guys know of or have heard of an orbital as a step into machine polishing. They're usually larger and quite underpowered. The key however is they're safe. They don't generate a lot of heat, and unless you're using some crazy strong rocks-in-a-bottle compound, they're not likely to cut through clear-coat. The main issue is that they're only a step-up from polishing by hand in term of how quickly you can get results.

Dual Action Polishing:
DA's can be used to cut more quickly than orbitals can. They're more powerful, especially the latest upgraded versions of the Porter Cable AKA PC (7424XP) and Meguiar's (G110v2), are light weight, and paired with different polishing compounds and polishing pads, can cut and finish down right on nearly any vehicle. They're still quite safe, but because they add a rotating motion to their orbital path, aren't quite as safe as a truly orbital. The trade off is they work MUCH faster, and much more consistently.

Rotary Polishing:
Rotaries are the old school work horses that can quickly cut through all paint types. They take a bit more practice and skill to use as they tend to pull and tug on those that don't have a good technique, they're much heavier, are more expensive, and are much more durable. When you're willing to have a heavier machine, you have the bonus of being able to use more powerful electric motors that weigh more and are more durable. Durability is a key for these, as they're most often used in places that will use machines VERY often. While a current version DA might last an enthusiast/week-end warrior several years, we've had 3 or 4 break in the last 18 months. At the same time, only 1 rotary has gone down, and can likely be fixed.
Rotary polishers can be great in the right hands, or a costly mistake in others. "Burning through" paint, in which your cut through the clear-coat, or heat it up too much to the point the paint delaminates, can happen very quickly with a rotary (in a few seconds or less). This is especially true with panel edges which tend to be painted more thinly.

Hand Polishing:
I can't talk bad enough about this. You'll spend 5x more time to get 1/2 the result you could with a DA. Even worse, hand polishing is usually seen a the "safest" method, but is not true. The biggest issue with hand polishing, aside from the time and lack of results, is how easily inconsistent it is. What is desired is a uniform material removal of paint, and someone doing this by hand isn't going to invest the time it really takes to have a consistent material removal, because it takes too long and is too tough and tiring on the body. It'd cost $6-8k to get an OEM-style paint job on a vehicle like a Mustang, but people aren't willing to shell out $200 to have a good polish+machine+pad combo? Drives me nuts.

 

Hey Marc. My Porter Cable polisher came with a thick white pad and no instructions on using this pad. I ordered a kit that came with other pads but this white one came in the PC box. Do I use it at all and for what?

 

Marc, thanks for the great explanation. How ofter do you polish the paint and is it needed on a new car?