Let's give a warm welcome to Black Wow

Welcome to DB!

 

Thanks for the kind welcome everybody!! Nice to see you Pat!

re: Black Wow and color
Black Wow is the name of my first chemical invention for the car care industry. Previously, I had created two products known as the OneGrip and PC Guard, products that assist and protect paint for PC users. Black Wow was created to cure a common problem with exterior plastics. I basically challenged the market with something that was mostly unheard of and that was to create a long lasting, easy to use product, with a nearly indefinite shelf life.

Up until then, MOST products were essentially lotions that you applied frequently, they came in large bottles, and they were fairly inexpensive. I chose the path of creating a product for the enthusiast, not from a manufacturers point of view. That means that my product doesn't sell well in the local auto parts store because unlike other products where they are used up frequently and need to be repurchased, I've discovered over the past 4 years of selling BW, that most people only need one bottle since it lasts so long.

That's why I just released a half size version with a smaller price tag just last month.

My current car is a 2010 MINI Clubman S in midnight black. Previously I had a 2005 MINI Cooper S in Jet Black and before that a 2003 MINI Cooper in Indi Blue. I love MINIs and the community and our cars have a lot of plastic, so that's where I did my initial testing and marketing. It's still one of my most loyal markets and appreciate that greatly as I spend a lot of time supporting it.

The name Black Wow was originally known as OctaneGuys' Stuff Gel. I held a naming contest on NAM, the MINI Forum, and had over 110 entries. I chose the top 3, awarded prizes, but sadly, wasn't happy with any of them.

So I took a long hard look at the product and the number one comment after using BW is "Wow that's Black", on once faded black trim. Actually some of my customers have said the same thing in stronger words but that's not appropriate here, lol, nor on a product label.

So I decided upon Black Wow as the name. It's short, and the initials BW didn't conflict with any product I knew of, and it just stuck.

To this day, since 2007, I get emails and PMs from customers telling me they bought BW and still have 2/3rds of the bottle and love it.

I have found BW to be a controversial product on some forums. There are some forums where BW is bashed to death mostly by people that have used it improperly or have ulterior motives for pushing another product. Anytime I read that BW lasted only a day or two, there are only two reasons. One, the material they used it on wasn't suited for the technology that BW uses, or two, the material fully absorbed BW because it was so neglected. The simple answer is apply a bit more until it reaches saturation and then it will last as expected. Some materials only need one application, others need multiple applications.

BW is more of a restoration product that a simple dressing.

One more thing, black is best!!! Atleast for car paint! I love black too and that's the color I polish out most frequently!

Here's a pic of my MINI Clubman

 

Welcome to DB Richard!!!!!!!! Thank you for being a part of our forum!!!

 

Sweet car I think trim is usually something most production detailers forget about but it makes such a huge difference in appearance it's something I always address. And the customers always rave about the looks of dressed trim, so I've looked hard at your product. Never tried it as I dress every car that gets atleast my wax package or above and feel I would run out of a 4oz container pretty quick. What's your thoughts on this? About how many applications are your average consumer getting out of one bottle?

 

Thanks Cooter!!

Definitely hear you on trim. I mean, you can take a ragged car and dress the tires and shine up the trim and it will look like it was just detailed from 10 feet away, lol.

A sesame seed sized drop covers a 2 foot x 2 foot area.

The 4oz bottle is actually overfilled to 5oz and that extra ounce makes a huge difference. For trim in fairly good condition, i.e. not white from oxidation yet, but grey, one application is enough to last a month. Once the trim has started to dry out, a few applications works best.

I have found that 3 applications spread out over 12 hours (once every 4 hours) is much better than 3 application in 1 hour. Letting it absorb results in a darker and longer lasting result.

Take a look at this Lincoln Mark LT I worked on


After just one year of ownership the cowling already looks like this


First application of BW looks great


But after a wash and an hour later it looks faded. Most people would start complaining and posting on the forum how bad it is, etc. etc etc.


Doesn't look any better up close


The technology behind BW is that it readily absorbs into most plastic materials but tries its hardest to not come back out. So this allows a cumulative effect whereby, you can keep applying BW into the material until it reaches saturation and will no longer absorb.





With this final pic, there are two shades here. The lightest side is untouched, the lighter side was 3 application of BW in 1 hour, and the darkest is 3 applications of BW spread over 12 hours.


What this means is that BW when given the time to absorb on severely neglected trim, looks better and will stop the fade. Maintenance of this is a simple touchup over the course of the next few weeks or month. Because it's cumulative, the amount of BW necessary for future applications will be less.

The early instructions of putting BW on then washing the car won't result in the best durability. It needs time to soak. How long depends on how much the trim has been neglected.

So how long will a 4oz bottle last a production detailer? Depends on what kind of cars you do, but most likely the bottle will last as long or longer than most dressings unless you are purchasing professional dressings by the gallon and diluting it such as Meguiar's Hyperdressing. Different product for different applications.

Richard

 

welcome richard i have ur black wow . and its great!!! and smells awesome!!!!!

 

Welcome Richard your stuff is great! When will pre-wow going to hit Phil's store?

 

we should have pre wow shortly as I believe Rich will be shipping out our orders shortly

 

Yep, it will be in very soon....assuming the crazy weather out near Phil won't hamper FedEx too much!

Should be there before the end of next week!

Richard

 

im going to have to get some of this, I have a suburban with the plastic fender flares, im constantly having to dress them.

do you have samples available? or is only in the retail bottle?

 

What is Pre-Wow?? PW remove wax and polish stains from plastic and rubber. It also cleans up paint transfer and other contaminants. Whenever I see a foreign substance that I would normally clay, I try PW first and it usually works best. PW is safe on paint and on skin. It has a pleasant smell. =)


If you're wondering what PW is, this is my latest addition to the Black Wow family. I have a good feeling that the PW lineup will one day feature cleaners for specific material types as development of the product has lead to many different offshoots.

Pre-Wow was reformulated 6 times over a 2 year period before settling on the current forumla. It provided the best results on plastic and rubber for the purpose of permanently cleaning wax/polish stains. The kind that are impossible to get out, especially on textured plastic. I found that during testing, the proper applicator made all the difference in the world on textured plastic, so I included a Pre-Wow Trim Brush with each bottle. Just spritz on some PW and a few seconds of scrubbing to work PW into the material and wipe it off. You'll see the residue turn black on the towel.


There is one other applicator that I encourage all PW users to have on hand and thats the cheap painter rags from Home Depot. They come bundled for $6 in packs of 12. They are rough to the touch and feel like the towels at a Motel 6, lol. Used gently and in combination with PW, you can remove paint transfer, foreign contamination, and stains from rubber and plastic with ease.

PW cleans up with a dry towel, some QD, or soap and water.

PW also cleans up Black Wow. If you get some BW on your fingers, just spritz on some PW, rub it in like soap, then rinse with soap and water, and your fingers won't be slick at all. We use PW to clean up BW spills during the production process.

PW does have some temporary darkening/dressing effects, but it's not intended to be a "dressing".

PW works great on dressing matte painted objects like wheels, tool boxes, wiper arms, roof racks, etc.. It both cleans and makes the surface uniform.

Perfect candidate for PW and the Trim Brush

Cleaning up some mirror covers before protecting with BW




Things PW excels are removing permanently




Using the painters rag look at this before, a neighbor side swiped this MINI


A few spritzes of PW and a gentle wipe with the rag


No polishing or claying and total time to repair was less than 5 minutes.


What remains could be wetsanded and polished

Another example of PW from another fender bender


After


One more






PreWow only

 

In addition to Richard's fame as the inventor of BW & PW and chief cook & bottlewasher at ShowCarDetailing.com he may be the only person on the planet that stocks 3" LC pads! :applause2:

BTW, they worked perfectly for the application I wanted them for. :thumb:

TL

 

Haha that's awesome! So glad to hear it! :thumb:

Richard

 

Welcome to DB Richard

 

Looking forward to hearing about it haha. I'll be over tomorrow for sure

 

Cool brush!
Lol but I didn't get one when I ordered PW when u announced it on NAM

 

Nope, but you should have gotten the "Firm Toothbrush". We didn't have these brushes finalized at that time. They have pretty much the same stiffness, so either one will work. You did get that one didn't you?

Richard

 

ohhhh yup I did haha didn't know they'd work the same
but the toothbrush obviously wouldn't look as cool without the pre WOW logo on it

 

i should get me some of this PW, sounds real awesome and perfect for my wax stained trim on my mazda's roof trim
and i went to your supplies site and i see HKD! i be like YEA but anyhow thats not related lol

 

Yeah, the toothbrushes were temporary. I needed something cooler and no brush would be complete without the domed logo.

During yesterday's Complete detail on this 2004 MINI, I used PW to clean the washer jets. I squirted some PW on the brush, and gently scrubbed the jets. The towels were laid down to catch any PW that came off while brushing.





I need a longer lens, it was the closest I could get




There was also some polish/wax residue on the wheel arches, so cleaning them with the same painters rag with a few squirts of PW was all that was needed.


Pre-Wow was also used here to even out this rain gutter. On the MINIs, these get mottled and quite dirty. PW can help make it more uniform and ready for Black Wow. The painters rag is the perfect applicator for this. Just enough bite.


Kyoshiro, I expect eShine to carry PW as well. They haven't ordered yet, so they don't have stock yet though.