Ultimate Black

[TheSublimeGoose]

I bought Ultimate Black a few weeks ago, it seems to be kind of difficult to find. Maybe this was just my experience, but I finally came across it at a local Auto Zone. More on that later. I apologize in advance for a lack of pictures to accompany this post.

I applied the product as per the directions on the bottle, and "Wow!". I have a fairly new car (purchased about 4 months ago) so I figured the trim and plastics couldn't really look too much better. However, the product did indeed darken the surfaces (all my plastics and trims are black). I would liken the sheen imparted by this product as "medium-gloss". Not quite super shiny, but definitely more than say, a natural sheen. A good medium.

As for durability, I wasn't as impressed. I picked up this product as a replacement to a dwindling bottle of Back to Black. BtB would streak off very easily in light rain, and get onto the glass below the trim. Not cool. Ugly, and hard to get off. UB seems to have the same issue. I noted it took two rainstorms as opposed to one light one, as with the BtB, to streak it, but still...any tips on preventing it from streaking? After re-applying, and about 7 days without rain, it still looks great. Bottom line- if you don't mind re-applying after rain/washes, I think it's an awesome product.

As far as actually getting ahold of the product-

It was the only bottle and looked like it had been just tossed in a random place in the car care section at a local Auto Zone.

I'm thinking it's "on the box description" is so close to Ult. Protec. that consumers don't know which they should buy, and so they pick up Ult. Protec. because its labeled as an exterior/interior product, and who wouldn't want a 2 in 1 product. I say this not as an assumption, but rather as a consumer who was torn between purchasing one or the other.

Also, I was thinking that people were getting the product's capabilities confused with Turtle Wax's "black car" detailer line- and that may have led to a lot of returns. Big assumption there, since Mother's Back-to-Black doesn't seem to have that issue.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Black

Thanks for the feedback, Mark!

First, a bit of background on Ultimate Protectant and Ultimate Black. We introduced Ultimate Protectant in squeeze bottle lotion form a couple of years ago and it was met with great reviews but perhaps somewhat limited sales success. As it turns out, the primary reason for the sales situation stems from the "average consumer" being of the belief that interior products come in either spray or wipes form, and a lotion is for exterior use. In reality, the format of the product doesn't matter in the least, but the buying public has this preconceived idea that this is how things are, so they don't buy what they don't perceive to be the right product. So for 2011 we repackaged Ultimate Protectant as a trigger spray and renamed the lotion as Ultimate Black. So, they're basically the same product just presented in a couple of different formats.

Now, as for use and your experiences: Back to Black is a water based dressing so it's subject to the same pitfalls of any other water based dressing; namely, it washes off when it gets wet. The same can be said of M40, HyperDressing, and a whole slew of other water based dressings from a whole bunch of companies. The Utlimate "twins" are also water based but they contain some very unique polymers that allow the product to bond to vinyl and plastic trim much the same way a sealant bonds to your paint. Unfortunately, these polymers want to bond to plastic/vinyl and not any previously existing product. If you ever used something like Ultimate Quik Wax on your paint you've likely gotten some over spray onto your plastic trim - not a problem since that product won't stain trim or leave any noticeable residue. But the polymers in it will prevent the Ultimate "twins" from bonding properly, and they'll still run off in the conditions you've experienced. Still better than your typical water based dressings, as you've noted, but maybe not quite as good as you'd like. But it's not just the presence of durable polymers like those found in UQW that can cause this. If you've got some silicone residue left by another water based dressing, that can compromise the durability of the "twins" as well.

Our suggestion is to thoroughly clean the areas to be treated with a good vinyl cleaner like our M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner and a terry cloth towel, or even with some glass cleaner. Then apply either of these two products sparingly, working then in thoroughly almost like you would with a paint cleaner. If you have excess product to remove, you've used too much. Either product should dry to the touch in a matter of minutes, and the durability will be greatly increased after a good cleaning.

Interestingly, on old, neglected and faded plastic and vinyl trim the durability is downright amazing. This is because there is nothing on those panels that impedes the bonding of the product to the surface. In fact, the products have a tremendous ability to restore the look of these badly faded pieces and keep them looking almost like new (depending on how far gone they are, obviously) for many months, even through rain and multiple washings.

[TheSublimeGoose]

Michael,

Thanks for the response.

I'm glad you explained the Ult. Protectant/Black situation. I'll note there are still quite a few bottles of Ult. Protectant in the lotion form at local stores.

As for the application itself, next wash "session" I'll clean the trim/plastics with APC. I only cleaned the trim with car wash suds (Gold Class) for this review.