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BLACKFIRE Interior Protectant,
as good as it is, was not designed to combat the sustained UV exposure of a bike
or convertible. I looked at other leather conditioners which claim UV protection
and found the vast majority of products, while fine conditioners, were using UV
blocking technology developed in the 1980's. Considering the level of protection
needed, these products were totally inadequate in the amount of UV protection
provided.
I also looked at conditioners
that claim to put a protective moisture barrier on the leather. Again, because
these products were developed a decade or more ago, they contained polymers that
were greasy, slippery, shiny or actually sealed the leather's surface
(preventing heat dissipation). None of these were bad products. They just were
not the state-of-the-art product I was looking for.
Frustrated, I asked our
BLACKFIRE chemist to make me the best product he could to protect my car and
bike's leather against the relentless Florida sun. The result of my request is
BLACKFIRE High-UV Leather Conditioner . While I originally wanted a
product for my personal use, this leather conditioner turned out so good that I
decided to bring it into the BLACKFIRE line and share it with other enthusiasts.
The conditioning part of the
formula was never a problem. Conditioning, or replacement of oils lost through
evaporation, is well understood and hasn't changed much in the last fifty years.
Combining really effective UV screening with a moisture barrier to prevent photo
oxidation proved more difficult.
To resist perspiration, salt,
skin oil, and lotion stains, our chemist selected a co-polymer recently
developed by Dow Corning. This co-polymer cross links with itself to provide a
blanket of protection on top of the leather. It blocks moisture yet still allows
air flow through the coating to facilitate heat dissipation. This co-polymer is
also non-greasy, dries almost on contact to a matte finish and isn't slippery.
For UV protection, we went all
the way to Switzerland to CIBA, the maker of TINUVIN 5151. Without getting too
deep, TINUVIN 5151 contains both competitive UV absorbers and hindered amine
light stabilizers (HALS) to significantly retard photo-oxidative degradation.
UV-Absorbers prevent degradation by blocking, or absorbing, UV energy. HALS stabilizers
act as radical scavengers and inhibit photo-oxidative breakdown reactions. Both
work together to provide the highest level of UV protection available
To pack the maximum amount of
conditioning oils, protective polymers and UV-absorbers in the formula, it had
to be a rich cream. I do not recommend using
BLACKFIRE High-UV Leather Conditioner on perforated leathers as it could clog
the pores and do not use on napped leathers such as suede.
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BLACKFIRE High-UV Leather Conditioner
is now super-charged with Polycharger! |
| No mixing or blending is required.
The Polycharger technology is built-in! Polycharger extends the
protection and durability. Polycharger does
this by interlocking or cross-linking polymers to create a barrier of
invisible amour with tremendous strength. |
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Bottom line, if your car,
bike, boat or RV has solid leather seating, BLACKFIRE High-UV Leather
Conditioner is the very best conditioner, UV block and moisture barrier on the
planet.
Net weight 16 oz.
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