This was a long, tiring day! As you might remember, I’ve been promising JohnS a free demonstration detail ever since I took up sponsorship of ScoobyNet at the start of the year, but the weather had defeated us on several occasions, so when Jools offered up his garage we jumped at the chance and did both cars on the same day. I just so happened to have received a full box of Werkstatt samples the week before, so it turned out to be a great opportunity to do a side by side comparison with Blackfire…

1. ~400bhp Roger Clark tuned STI (a bit scary to be honest!)

This 52 plate beast is a track day weapon, and does relatively little on road mileage. The lower half was resprayed last autumn, and overall the car is in great condition – some minor swirls here and there, a rope scuff in the front bumper and a couple if minor scratches. Accordingly, we did most of the work by hand, only breaking out the PC/Menzerna to correct the scuff. Jools had just started washing the car when I turned up, but the rest of the process was to (i) polish by hand with JEFFS Werkstatt Prime, applied with Ultimate German Applicator Pads and buffed off with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush Towels following a quick spritz with JEFFS Werkstatt Acrylic Glos, and (ii) protect by hand with JEFFS Werkstatt Acrylic Jet, applied with a microfibre pad and buffed off immediately with Poorboy’s Mega Plush Towels. The wheels were then treated with AIO (using up old stocks) and Poorboy’s Wheel Sealant, and the tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel. The exhaust tip was given a quick polish with Autosol and Meguirs NXT All Metal Polysh, while the trims were treated with a dose of 303 Aerospace Protectant. The windows were finished with Meguiars NXT Glass Cleaner. Here’s the pics…

Washing commences…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools1.jpg

After the work, the flake is popping nicely given the semi-cloudy weather…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools2.jpg

The wheels well protected for the next track day…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools3.jpg

Not bad clarity for a semi-cloudy day…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools4.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools5.jpg

The Werkstatt acrylic twins don’t do wet and glossy, rather wet and shiny, which is not often seen (and almost FMJ like)…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools6.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools7.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools8.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/jools9.jpg

2. Bog standard STI (with deer impression on front part of bonnet!)

This 52 plate car is a daily driver, and sees a lot of track day action – unsurprisingly it is showing signs of age and abuse! The paint is covered in swirls and scratches, there are numerous scuffs and a dent in the front of the bonnet from a deer kill. It doesn’t help that the road where the car lives is a building site at the moment, so lots of sand scouring going on too! Given that it was 1pm by the time we had finished the first car, I knew that full correction was out of the question, so we opted to treat every panel to two heavy attempts with Optimum Compound via Lake Country orange light cut pads (would normally have gone in straight away with IP, but wanted to see how well the Optimum would do on Scooby paint). The residue was buffed with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush Towels following a quick spritz with OCW. After the correction stage, we then applied Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish by hand using Ultimate German Applicator Pads, and buffed off with Poorboy’s Super Thick n Plush Towels. We then finished with a coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection, applied by hand using a microfibre pad and buffed off using Poorboy’s Mega Plush Towels. As with the first car, the wheels were then treated with AIO and Poorboy’s Wheel Sealant, and the tyres dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel. The windows were finished with Meguiars NXT Glass Cleaner. Ran out time so didn’t do the trims or the exhaust tip. Here’s the pics…

Before doing anything…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns1.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns2.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns3.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns4.jpg

Some correction pairs, showing how well the Optimum did in the limited time available…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns5.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns6.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns7.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/johns8.jpg

3. And now for some side by side comparison shots under exactly the same lighting conditions and orientation…

Werkstatt below…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest4.jpg

Blackfire below…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest5.jpg

Werkstatt below…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest2.jpg

Blackfire below…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest3.jpg

Werkstatt below…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest6.jpg

Blackfire below…

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest7.jpg

And finally, all three cars I’ve done at Jool’s house recently… the finish on the Range Rover Sport is holding up well, seeing as it only gets jetwashed from time to time.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest1.jpg

The three amigos, tired and ready for food, and at least two of them due for a royal bollocking when they get home for being two hours overdue!

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f293/polishedbliss/polishedbliss/sti-pair0406/stifest8.jpg

:)

Truuuuuuuuly Awsome as usual pb.

got to get you down here to the mancheser area so you can sort mine out.
got all the lovely blackfire gear i got from you ready for action but just not got time.

let me know if you are ever over this way so i can bag you first.

carlos..

Very good, and I will second what Carlos says come to the Manchester area - happy to be second in the queue for once !!

Richard

excellent work as usual Rich:D

Both look fantastic, top job

Dunno how you do that - I've got 3 days old (sealed) wheels on that don't look that good. Impressive.

Must be the Klasse before the Poorboys - that's my excuse. :)

I use Poorboy's Wheel Sealant on it's own a lot of the time too - no time for both treatments on some jobs. Always seems to hold up well, just needs a little agitation with the microfibre wash mitt. :)

It did indeed this evening (microfibre mitt that is) .... in the pi55ing rain too :) but then that makes rinsing easier ... heh heh.

Shiny again now though. Top stuff. And Top recommendation/advice all the way.

Thanks Rich,

Martin.

I can confirm that in the flesh, the cars looked much shinier than in the photos above :D

I've been away in Angola for two weeks, and my car is now covered in lots of builders sand/grit etc, so I think a very careful wasging is needed.

John

Aye, we'll have another go at yours in a wee while John, probably with the Menzerna gear. Going to be off work for three months from 1st July, so it's now Polished Bliss all the way. :)

Very impressive results.....as usual! :D

Is it a trick-of-the-light or does the Blackfire seem to give a slightly richer shine?...if you know what I mean, the blue seems to be a bit darker.

The blue does indeed seem to be a bit darker/wetter in real life. However, the other product really bring out the metallic flake in the paintwork in the sun.

I guess it's a case of which look/finish you prefer. Both looked great to me!

Bumped to answer question. :)