Product Review: Carmate Black Resin Restore

Following my initial impressions here:
http://wetshinedetailing.blogspot.com/2009/11/carmate-black-resin-restore-initial.html

Black Resin Restore have been holding up pretty well on the Honda City's wiper cowl. How will it hold up on lower quality/more porous trim?



In addition to that, a new contender is added to the competition, Black Wow

Read the full review of this expensive little product after the jump.


If you haven't read my first thoughts about this product, you can read it here:
http://wetshinedetailing.blogspot.com/2009/11/carmate-black-resin-restore-initial.html

So after five weeks, we have the following result.



Sorry for the low light condition picture. As you can see, Carmate Black Resin Restore still looks very good, and this picture is taken when the trim is dirty and unwashed for almost 10 days. On left side of the picture, Jeff Werkstatt's Prime Acrylic still adds some colour to the trim, but is almost unnoticeable. Autoglym Bumper Care is completely washed off and does not show any more darkening effect.

Now let's find out how it will hold on more porous trim. Also, a new contender is introduced, Black Wow. Many thanks to Krismas a.k.a Azizi for it.



From my research on Auto Detailing forums, many of its users have mixed feelings about it. Some absolutely love it for it's long lasting darkening effect, while others felt that it is a total waste of money.

The wiper cowl on this Proton Saga has been scrubbed and cleaned with Osren Multi Clean three times and then wiped with Isopropyl Alcohol(diluted 1:1) before applying the following products.



After application,





As you can see, the three trim dressings/coating darkens the trim really well whereas JW's Prime Acrylic only deep cleaned the surface and slightly darkens it.

Since the air was very humid and the drive home might affect the product's curing/drying process, I taped that section with some plastic.



It is then left to dry overnight and under the hot sun the following day.









A closer look at each section,









Fast forward 5 days of hot sun and heavy rain.





Black Wow's colour has diminished quite noticeably, followed by Autoglym Bumper Care, and finally Carmate Black Resin Restore, which had the least change in looks.

I was quite surprised at this result as I expected Black Wow to outlast AG Bumper Care. That is not conclusive, as it might last longer on less porous trim. Also, the position where AG Bumper Care is applied can be considered bias as it is on the far side of the trim. It has a smaller surface area and has a larger area that is protected by the car's hood, that is, when driving in the rain, it is not being bombarded by rain drops as heavily as the other areas.

Anyway this is a review of Carmate Black Resin Restore, not a comparison of AG Bumper Care with Black Wow or other products.

So what do I think about Carmate Black Resin Restore?

Application (2.5/5): Not very easy to apply as it is very thick and sticky. On porous trims, you will need more effort to apply the product as the trim will absorb more compared to less porous trim. On less porous trim, lesser amount is required and spreading is also easier. If you accidentally get some onto the paint, remove it immediately.

Value for Money (4/5): What? 4/5? Yes it may be small, only 10ml, but the fact that it lasts so well, the interval of re-application is longer. If you were using a water based dressing and want to keep your trim looking good all the time, chances are you need to reapply it every week or two. Then again, if I were to use this on customer's cars, a premium will be charged.

Performance (5/5): Bang on, the longest lasting trim product I have ever used. If you can afford the time and money for this product, I highly recommend it for personal use.

Product Availability (2/5): I have only seen this in Eneos during their 'Japan Products Fair', stocks could be limited and this brand isn't as popular here compared with other brands such as Meguiar's or Autoglym. Not to mention the unreadable Japanese instructions and product description on the back, unless you are Japanese, BANZAAAI!!

Thanks for reading this review. The review of other Japanese Products as mentioned in the previous post will be postponed, in place of that, Rainaway's products will be reviewed first, stay tuned!

Good and bad comments are always welcome. If you have not subscribed, click the 'Subscribe' tab above and enter E-mail, you will be notified of new posts.

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[Video] How To: Detail Your Wheels, Wheel Wells and Tires

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Product Review: Carplan Eco Car range

As the world becomes more environmentally conscious and individuals and organizations start going green, how will detailing become a part of it? Are we still able to keep our cars clean with minimal carbon footprint?







Click 'read more' to read the full review of Carplan's Eco Car range.



As people realise the world's natural resources are becoming scarce and pollution is going to be a constant battle, people start to become more environmentally conscious and responsible. Going green has put a foothold in many aspects of our present lifestyle. Individuals and organizations try to minimize their carbon footprint by changing their way of living, organizational objectives, manufacturing techniques and creating a new product segment altogether. For example, Samsung recently released their Eco TV, which boasts clean and efficient manufacturing techniques, minimizing waste and saving on packing.

So where does detailing fit into all this? To answer this, we first have to ask ourselves what are the benefits of detailing. Sure it increases your car's resale value and helps to maintain the condition of different surfaces. For example, car polishes and waxes help to prolong the life of the clearcoat to prevent the need for a respray. Similarly, leather cleaners and conditioners prevent leather seats from cracking and drying out. Detailing also creates a stronger sense of pride for car owners.

Now let's look at detailing from an ethical perspective, does it contribute anything to humanity? No. Detailing is not beneficial to human existence, unlike fields such as medicine or engineering, which contributes towards humanity. Therefore, from a humanistic approach, one might argue that detailing is a total waste of time, effort and resources. A very ethical car lover might want to keep their car looking good but at the lowest cost possible. A bottle of all purpose cleaner, shampoo and cleaner wax is enough in most cases. However, many products contain solvents and surfactants that might be harmful to the environment. An ethical and environmentally conscious car lover would then want to keep their cars looking good with the minimum cost and minimum impact to the environment.

There have been many products created to satisfy this (niche?)market. An example is Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine, designed to wash a car without a hose saves water and the chemical itself is also environmentally friendly. Other eco products include waterless spray and wipe products that claim to clean, polish and protect in one step.

What if a person prefers the conventional method of washing with a hose and bucket, giving the paint a good rub down with a polish and deep cleaning interior surfaces with a specialist cleaner?

This is where carplan's eco car range come into the picture. Four products to be reviewed will be the car shampoo, polish, wheel cleaner and dash cleaner. The test mule is an '08 metallic silver Toyota Vios.





























First up is cleaning the wheel wells and tires with Osren Multi Clean










The wheel face and barrel was cleaned with the Eco Car Wheel Cleaner.







It cleaned the wheel face pretty well, but the wheel barrel not so much. As you can see in the picture below, a second cleaning using Osren Multi Clean still removed alot of brake dust as the foam turns brown.



Conclusion, it is okay for frequently cleaned wheels but lack the cleaning power for very dirty wheels.

Next up is the Car Wash. Firstly, the lower panels were sprayed with Osren Multi Clean,





Then the whole car is washed with the car wash diluted at one ounce per gallon ratio.







It does not create much(or any) suds, washing the car feels like washing with water.



It also requires a bit more agitation on an unwaxed car, which could indicate the lack of cleaning power, but it also proves that it is gentle and diminishes any wax on the surface at a slower rate.



Conclusion, does not sud much, (too?) gentle on the surface, relatively costly as only sold in 500ml quantities.

Next product is the car polish. Applied using a Lake Country CCS DA white pad via Random Orbital Buffer(ROB), it cleaned off ingrained dirt pretty well, turning the white pad to dark brown and grey after the whole car.







Only little amounts were used.



However, the lack of chemical solvents made it unable to remove sticky residues such as tar spots. It also dried up very fast, after applying it over three panels, the first panel was already dried up and cannot be buffed off with a dry cloth. After polishing the whole car, polish residue removed using some Meguiar's Last Touch, a damp cloth would be fine too.

The finish it left was clean, glossy and slick to touch.







It should be noted that it is also very low in abrasives, so do not expect it to remove scratches. Conclusion, cleans well(except for tar spots), removal can be difficult as polish dries up quick, unabrasive and will not scratch or scour clearcoat. Protection will be improved if topped up with a non cleaning wax.

Final product is the dash cleaner, directions state to just spray and wipe, but when tested on a glass surface, it leaves some residue, so I think some form of rinsing would be better. Method of cleaning was to slightly wet the surface first, spray on Dash Cleaner, agitate and rinse with Autoglym Hi Tech Interior Cleaning Pad and wipe off with a dry microfiber cloth.




Before cleaning,







During,









After,






Before,



After,





Carpets vacuumed and pedals cleaned,





It cleans off oily stains and dirt well, turning the water in the rinse bucket from clear to murky grey after cleaning all interior plastics(forgot to take a picture, D'OH!). One thing I noticed while vacuuming, a few red insects were flying in the cabin, somehow it was attracted to the scent. Conclusion, good cleaning power, may discolor some surfaces if it's not wetted before application, fragrance may be unappealing to some and is an insect attractant?

In conclusion, Carplan's Eco Car range is excellent in concept, but only moderate in execution. Cleaning power does not match ordinary detailing products. So if you want to use this range, have your car fully detailed with normal products and then only maintain your ride with this range.

Would I recommend it for the average Joe? No, the lack of cleaning power and average user-friendliness puts it off for me. If you are ethical and very environmentally conscious and dont mind the disadvantages, this product range is okay at best.

The whole range is also relatively cheap compared to other brands.

I then applied 2 coats of Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax over the next 12 hours for more protection and dress tires and wheel wells with Osren Tire Shine. Here are some 'after' pictures.



























As mentioned, it won't do much to reduce swirls.















As always, thanks for looking and any comments are highly appreciated.



P.S. I'm not paid to do this review and these are solely my opinion and should not be treated as an absolute when deciding on purchasing a product. Products in the range not reviewed are the glass cleaner and windshield cleaning fluid.

P.P.S. What's next in store?

A How-To on detailing your wheel wells, wheels and tires, this includes a pictorial and a video demonstration.

Future product reviews include Carmate SIV wheel coat, G3 glass coat and Surluster Crystal shield.

Upcoming details are only quick spruce ups of some families cars and unconfirmed full correction details.

Stay tuned! You can subscribe via e-mail for notification on new posts, don't worry, your e-mail will remain totally anonymous to me or anybody else.

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