Turtle Wax T-3KT Black Box Kit

My wife currently drives a 2005 Mercury Mariner and no matter how many times we take it to get washed and waxed, the car never seems to have that pop to the black paint job that it used to have when we first bought it. So I decided to finally try the Turtle Wax Jet Black that I always see at the local auto stores (through Amazon it's about $5-6 cheaper than retail, so that's a plus).First the pros: it works as advertised. Holy cow does it work as advertised. You have to wash the car first before anything (there is no wash included in the Jet Black pack, so I used just plain ol' Turtle Wax Max Power Car Wash). Once it's cleaned and dried, you put on a pre-wax cleaner like you would regular wax, buff that off, then put on the included Black Carnauba wax, let THAT dry to a haze, then buff it off. After that long and arduous task (see the cons), the car looked like it had just rolled off the assembly line. It literally had a mirror-black finish. There were a few minor rubs on the fenders that were covered by the pre-wax/Carnauba wax, and a long scratch on the hood was almost completely covered.Something to note: it works to fill in MINOR scratches, but if it's under the clear coat and into the paint you're probably not going to have much luck with it. Which is kind of obvious and I don't think you need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that wax, regardless of whether it has black dye or not, is not going to fix that. And yet numerous other reviewers are still somehow shocked that it doesn't fix/cover scratches. So just be aware that you probably shouldn't expect miracles with this stuff.Regardless, the final result was stunning, on our car at least, so definitely worth the $13.99 + free shipping.And now for the cons: It is messy. EXTREMELY messy. I wore gloves and the stuff still seeped through the gloves and colored my fingertips black. It specifically states on the package that if you're allergic to dyes, wear gloves. And you should, regardless of allergy, because the stuff will get everywhere. It comes with 2 applicators, one for the pre-wax and one for the Carnauba wax, but they're those foam-style applicators and once you use them, they're garbage; interestingly enough, Amazon recommends that you purchase a separate pack of applicators and it's not a bad idea because these things are one-and-done. Once it dries to a haze you use a black detailer spray to wipe it off and buff it (with your own microfiber cloth; the package doesn't include any). Prepare to junk those cloths when you're done, though, because they most likely will not be salvageable.The other major con is that it is time-consuming. As in, you will need to set aside anywhere from 3-5 hours start to finish. Whether you think it's worth the time is subjective; looking at the finished result, I certainly thought it was. On the other hand, I don't plan on making it a part of my regular routine. I bought the Jet Black Spray Wax separately for in between washes, and have actually used it once already and it helped keep the same level of shine, so that may be the way to go.In any case, for the price it's not a bad alternative to the more expensive designer-type wax products, IF you have the time and constitution to spend that much time waxing a car. I'm giving it 5 stars because of the end result, since our car has not looked like this literally since we first bought it, but fully acknowledge that spending 3-5 hours waxing a car is not something that the average person, or even I, would consider doing on a regular basis.

I LOVE this product! It does EVERYTHING it promises to do!I own a 2002 back car here in NY and our winters are brutal with all the salt, and contruction in the summer, LOTS of "dings" and scrapes in the parking lots.Tutle wax black box made my car look like it just came out of the showroom!! i have had many compliments on my cars' wax job which looks like mirror glass.....I LOVE IT!!Black box is a 4 step EASY treatment system. Wash and dry your car first.Directions are very easy to follow.ONLY issue I had, and it is NOT major, is that there in only a couple wipes, towels to use to remove the detail spray you have to use after you apply the pre-wax wash, then again after you apply the black box wax and use the detail spray to wipe it off, then you buff the wax.FILLS IN SCRATCHES AND THOSE "dings"I couldn't believe it!!!! It looks like new!!!Just don't get ahead of yourself applying the steps...you will WANT to when you see how AWESOME your car looks BUT FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. I also used old, soft socks to remove the detailing spray both after the prewax wash and after applying the wax.WEAR GLOVES...........Your hands will be covered in black and only use socks, t-shirts or any other soft cloths that you plan to throw out.....they WILL be completly black BUT SO IS YOUR CAR!!!! WELL WORTH throwing out some old, holey socks to have a beautiful, shiney, no marked up, mirror glass waxed car..... I LOVE what black box did to my car and I will buy it over and over again as long as I own a black car!!!Jan in upstate NY

I just finished my black '12 Mustang today (Jan 26) with this wax. It looks good! Before this I had just used car wash with wax built in to the wash. It worked but the car is getting older and I wanted to protect the paint better. I've used regular paste wax on other cars before and the results look similar. Problem is, I don't have a comparison with regular wax versus the black wax for this vehicle. So, for all intensive purposes, the car looks like it's been waxed...I just don't know if it looks better than non-pigmented wax or not. So,some notes and why I knocked a star off:1. It's a two stage process. You are supposed to use the precleaner first before waxing. This really adds time and I'm not sure it helped at all. If I wax this car again (it's trade-in time), I'll skip the cleaner. That's why I knocked off the star; I think I wasted 2 hours applying that stuff.2. The package doesn't say anything about a minimum recommended temperature for use. I used it in the shade (per the directions) in the middle of the day in winter at @47 degrees. That was too cold. It was as if the wax was too cold. It clumped and was a real pain to get off. I stopped and used it the next day at @55 degrees and I had no issues.3. You will need quite a few microfiber cloths to get the wax off. Common sense, really, but make sure you buy 5 or so. Run of the mill blue ones worked well for me.4. I found it to actually be more difficult to take the pre cleaner and wax off when spraying the detailer on the applied wax and precleaner (per the directions). Maybe it was just the temperature, but don't bother using the detailer until you're done.5. Kind of obvious, but this stuff is black and will stain your hands, microfiber cloths, and clothes. Wear old clothes.After is was done, the car looked great! It had a mirror finish and I could see myself in the paint. It got rid of some swirl marks and scratches but not the bigger swirls and scratches. Just like regular wax, really. Again, I don't know if it did better because of the pigment or not but it does look good. In short, I think just purchasing the black wax would be sufficient but the low cost of the kit makes if a good value.