Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

Hey guys. First of all, dont ask why I called the topic "zymol baby". I just felt like saying baby ok? Anywho, after renewing All of my burnt lightbulbs, replacing the fuel filter, fixing the squeak in my sunroof and curing the annoying brake pedal squak, I have nothing to do but order my koni yellows and welmeister springs on monday. Or do I??? It occured to me that my car has not been waxed for a long time and could really use some of the stuff. I have been told that zymol is good and I always trust products from meguiars but I am open to suggestions. Are there any waxes that are bad for our factory coats? Are those buffers all that they are cracked up to be? I have heard that they can burn the paint on angular surfaces (944 is not exactly slabsided) and that they burn swirlmarks in the paint if they are not kept totaly flat.

Luke

I wasn't that happy with zymol. But it still worked pretty good. Don't expect it to live up to expectations though, because they are high.

icat

OK, here's a contrasting view - I LOVE ZYMOL! Only thing to keep in mind is that the first coat is hell to put on. I don't know why, that's just my experience. Every other coat thereafter was as smooth as glass. Now, having said this, I wax often. Every two months or so when the car is getting heavy use, less often when she's a garage queen.
Another car care favorite of mine is "Back to Black" - does wonders on the rear spoiler and the rubber trim around the mirrors. Smells good too!

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

Another product I really like is meguiars tire polish. Its a pruple gel that goes on and stays on for about 3-4 weeks. And yes, it smells good, sorta like grape candy or something.

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

Hey Keith, what do you mean the first coat is hell to put on? How do you go about using zymol, is it different than other waxes? Oh yeah, and while we are on the car care thing, dont buy those armor-all (that isnt how you spell it, is it) swipes.The stuff reminds me of a bunch of cloth soaked in high strength rubbing alcohol.

pikey7

I know I'm going to sound like an info-mercial, but.......

I tried it, and I'd never go back. Zymöl is great! It is a little more effort the first application, as everthing has to be perfectly clean before the first wax, but after that, it's as easy as normal waxing (possibly even makes the washing bit easier), and gives an absolutely fantastic result. Before I tried it, I actually took a clay-bar to my car as the colour had faded so much, now it looks like new.

As Luke says, your expectations are high, as it costs a pretty penny, but I've found no reason to try anything else.

And no, I don't work for them.......

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

Hey, good thing you brought up the clay bar. I've read that they can be pretty messy. Are they worth the effort? My paint still has quite a bit of luster, its just not as waxed as it should be.

pikey7

I had some really faded paint on the bonnet (hood??) of my car, so I tried the clay bar, rather than go to a paint shop for a probably-iffy-respray. At first it didn't come up too bad (wasn't messy at all!), but after a couple of days, it started to fade again... don't know if I did it wrong, but I wasn't too impressed. So, I used 3M cutting compound (can't exactly remember the name!), and It worked brilliant. I'll probably have a read up somewhere on the clay bar to find out how to do it properly!

Dan in Pasadena

Guys...a clay bar system is not intended to do the same thing as rubbing compound. Clay bars just remove microscopic surface impurities that have bonded to your paint. Rubbing compound removes material, whether it be oxidized paint, "good" paint, minor dirt, etc.
I didn't much care for Zymol and I believe the difference is that Zymol is supposed to be water-based.
As for improving washing... if you keep your car perfectly clean and waxed on a regular basis it is ALWAYS easier to wash. Why? because less dirt sticks to it in the first place. Second because the dirt that does get on it almost falls off it when you do wash it. Finally, my long stadning practice - since I was a 16 year old kid and had my first car - is that I wax at least one panel virtually every time I wash my car. When I was a kid I used (then) 99 cent Simonize or Jiffy wax. (The same products are now $4.99!) But the idea is that same, the sun is going to eat SOMETHING. If you don't give it something, it will eat your paint. So mostly I tend to wax the hood and roof more than the door and fender panels. My car is PERFECTLY shiny and smooth almost at all times. I've clay barred it about twice a year because that microscopic tree sap and bug crap still sticks - it is SO corrosive that it cuts right through the wax. So I was so long. Hope this helps.

lou951

I've used Zymol, but my personal favorite is Gliptone. Ive been using their carnuba wax and Show Gloss carnuba wax for years. It is easy to put on and take off. Between waxes I use 3M's Imperial Hand Glaze, takes out swirls and gives it a "wet look".

scular

I stick with Mcguiar's (Cleaners, washes, tireblack stuff, leather protector, plastic?vinyl protector, and waxes). They are really helpful and if you talk nice to the sales people they often give you samples.

Bryan

I've been using products from Griot's Garage lately and like them a lot. Their Best of Show wax is great. It's easy to put on, easy to take off, and looks great. I've also used their clay and machine polishes, and they work great for me. I've also used Zymol, Meguiars, Mothers, you name it. Griots works best for me. Their machine polishes aren't as aggressive as the 3M line, which works well for me since I'm not an expert detailer. Taking out fine scratches with even Griot's most aggressive polish does take a while. But you stand about zero chance of polishing through your paint even if you have (like me) minimal polishing technique. So for me it's a trade off I'm willing to make. I don't mind if it takes 1-2 hours per panel to clean and polish because I'm not in business detailing cars. Pro detailers could never use it because they have to work fast to be able to make a profit. On the other hand, the highest speed on my polisher isn't all that fast, so maybe if I had a higher speed polisher it would go faster. So many variables here - hard to make any hard and fast rules or recommendations.

Basically, after cleaning, claying, machine polishing, and waxing my 944's neglected finish with Griot's products, I got an appreciative nod from my friend who does professional detailing. He thought it looked very respectable (it looked AWESOME to my untrained eye). So it took me 5 times as long and I got results almost as good as a professional detailing.

Wachuko

Take a look at this site...
http://www.thewaxtest.com/home.html

It seems like P21S would be the way to go, combined with something else for preparation...

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

Wow, they sure like P21S, and by the looks of it, it doesnt seem to be hard to use. I think I'll give it a try. First, I have to buy a clay bar. Any suggestions? Should I get a buffer for the wax or will good ol hand motion (no snickering! Thats a different hand motion you pervert!) do the trick?

icat

Sorry for the delay in getting back on the Zymol...
I think, and this is just my opinion, that the first coat of ANY wax is the most difficult - Zymol included. By difficult I'm refering to the amount of effort (subjective) that it takes to remove the product once it is applied. Second coats, applied in a timely fashion, will always be easier as you will have already established a "base" coat.
One other new care product I like is from Turtle Wax - it's a bug remover with wax built in. I use it on the SUV and love it. Bugs come off easy and you don't kill the wax job.