Britemax “Black Max” Ultra-Fine Polish and Glaze

Most painted surfaces end up with those pesky “spider web” surface scratches, which can be caused by dirt in the polishing or buffing cloth.  These very fine scratches are more apparent in dark paint and especially when the sun reflects off the paint, making a circular “spider web” effect at the point of reflection.

Many motorcycle (and automobile) owners don’t realize that these marks are not normal and that they can be removed.  But the difference in the painted surface when the scratches are removed can be dramatic, creating a truly professional-looking, “deep” show-quality shine.

The problem is that most motorcycle owners do not have or use power buffing equipment, nor does the average owner have the skills to run the machines without further damaging the paint.

Most of the commercially available scratch removers or polishing compounds that we’ve tried either do not work effectively or are too aggressive to remove the very fine “spider web” scratches.  The Glare Spider Web Remover, in combination with Glare Professional Polish, works well to remove these scratches, but both must be used to treat the paint for the best effect, and it does take a good deal of time and effort.

We’ve been impressed with the Britemax products we’ve tried, and the new Britemax Black Max “Ultra Fine Polishing Pad Glaze” has proved to be just as impressive.

Britemax makes four different levels of scratch, swirl and “spider web’ remover, starting with the most aggressive “Scratch and Heavy – Medium Swirl Remover” to the “Lubricated Medium Abrasive Compound” and the “Ultra Fine Abrasive Polish – Swirl Remover”.  The Black Max product we’re evaluating here is the least aggressive; Britemax calls it the “Ultra Fine Polish and Micro Swirl Remover”.

The dark gray thick liquid has almost no smell.  The instructions call for rubbing it into the paint with a circular motion until it’s almost dry.  Since the effects of most polishes or waxes will show up best on very dark surfaces, we tried it on the high-quality black paint of a 1986 BMW.

Rubbing the Black Max into the paint somehow reminds me of polishing a pair of dress shoes; the liquid seems to have the same consistency.  It doesn’t really dry, just as boot polish doesn’t dry on the surface of leather, but some of the Black Max disappears into the painted surface.

Since we didn’t have an orbital polisher, we applied the Black Max using one of the dark foam polishing pads recommended by Britemax and buffed it out in three separate coats.  It’s always best to use a clean micro-fiber polishing cloth for the final buff-out.

The fine scratches on the paint became noticeably more faint after each application.  It’s relatively easy to apply the Black Max and it also buffs out with little effort.  It’s not really like other polishing compounds we’ve tried, but more like a liquid polish.

After the three applications, the paint seemed to have a “deep” look, probably because many of the ultra-fine scratches that catch the light were removed by the polish.  A coat or two of a favorite final wax seals it up and puts on the final touch.

It’s always hard to take good quality photographs of before and after a polish or wax application, but these four close-up photos illustrate the surface before the Black Max application and after each application and buff-out:

Score:  5/5