I have the Stratosphere Mica (Dark Blue) on my 2003 runner. A friend of mine has a black Highlander and he swears by a product called Blackfire that he found on http://www.properautocare.com/
It's supposed to be for darker finishes. He says it is as good as Griots for a lot less cost. Has anyone used it? Right now I am using Zymol and Klasse products and am considering a switch to Zaino. Also - How often do you claybar? I love the slick feel and shine would like to do this 4-5 times per year. Would this damage the clearcoat? Thanks!

Jim

 

Seems owners of black/dark cars like it and I found this http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...=Google+Search

 

Blackfire is a Silicon based Polymer. The silicon
can be deceiving because silicon can keep water beading up long after the UV protection and other
desireable protective properties have long gone.

 

Do a search here http://www.autopia.org/ . You'll find tons of post about Blackfire.

 

Jim, it depends. I tend to go easy on the claybar treatments. Yes, amateurs like us can harm the clearcoat with improper use. Start with the best claybars and lubricants (opinions vary, see links above) and then watch your technique.

I'll claybar a new car if it's spent time on a rail car in transit. Those pick up rail and wheel dust that's tough to remove otherwise. My 'Runner spent no time on a rail car. From the Tahara plant it rolled to the waiting ship, then dropped in Portland and was delivered five miles by truck. A Dawn wash followed with a quality polish and carnauba wax gave a smooth mirror gloss equal to a claybar finish, IMHO. I use P21S products, known for best-in-carnauba-class reflectivity. Much easier to use than any of the many other carnauba products I've tried.

The other cars depend on where they're parked. The garage queens, never again. I use one car for airport runs. It can sit parked for days, getting jet exhaust, dew, sun and rained on. It gets claybarred annually, polished twice yearly, and waxed quarterly.

 

I clay mine every three month's per recommendation from Griots due to the fact that my truck is outside at work 5 days a week.

In between clay and waxing, I use the Speed Shine after every weekly wash.

A search here for Griot's will yeild much information.