Author Topic: Top dollar cleansers, waxes, etc (Read 5283 times)

cenotaph · « **on:** February 01, 2007, 08:34:00 AM »

I've heard good things about Zymol, Einzett, Mother's, and I don't get it. Also I keep seeing stuff about this "clay bar" thing.

Anyone know:
What is good about these cleansers, polishes and waxes?
How much better are they than the standard Turtle Wax, and other cheap waxes?
WTF is a clay bar and whats good about it?

When I get my next car--which is soon--I want to make the paint look like new and give it protection. Of course, without respraying. If the paint is in good condition this should be possible, yes?

Thanks!

Froos · « **Reply #1 on:** February 01, 2007, 08:45:51 AM »

I use the Meguiars claybar works great, real smooth finish, they are suppost to get dirt out of the porus layers of paint, check their website for more detailed info
http://www.meguiars.com/faq/index.cfm?faqCat=Auto%20Detailing%20Clay&faqQuestionID=66§ion=_66

(i dont own any of their stocks)

asubimmer · « **Reply #2 on:** February 01, 2007, 10:15:54 AM »

I use ONLY zymol on my car. Its works really well and the smell...yum lolz. It does a great job protecting your paint and keeping/restoring the color. It may also have to do w/ the buffer I use

Alpine003 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 01, 2007, 11:12:01 AM »

I guess I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to waxes/polishes/etc. because my friend is a professional detailer. I've been fortunate to try all types of products including the entire Zymol lineup including the $1400 Atlantique wax. The german made Zymol stuff is all organic and supposedly, you can eat it. There are 2 lower line Zymol sold in stores. These are made in Chicago or USA. They're not the same as the original Zymol.

Rather than writing a whole book, I'll just make it short and concise for my recommendations:

Off the shelf - store bought stuff
-Zymol Car Wash
-Mother's/Meguire's Clay Bar
-Meguire's NXT synthetic wax
-Meguire's Purple Extreme Shine for tires
-Castrol Super Clean Brake Cleaner
-Meguires of Mother's Quick Detailer or "Wax as you dry" between waxing.

Mail Order stuff
-Griot's Car Wash
-Griot's polishes
-Klasse All in One
-Klass Synthetic Sealant(This is the stuff all the good german car dealerships in Europe use)
-PS21 Wheel cleaner
-S200 wax(people like to apply this wax over the sealant for added gloss and depth)

I'm sure I'm missing a few others.

There are constantly others out there or newer products but I feel these present the best bang for the buck and any other products show very negligible differences in shine/clarity/depth.

You will notice different degree of the waxes/polishes depending on your paint color and type. For example, if you have an Alpine White car, no need in getting anything really expensive as the results can be neglible between various polishes/waxes. I will say I noticed the best depth and brilliance on my black metallic WRX when I applied the Atlantique that no other wax could duplicate. But once again, black metallic is a more sophisticated color that can be noticeable with various waxes.

Our 318's are sub $5k cars for the most part. Do what is sensible and makes financial sense.

My $.03

D. Clay · « **Reply #4 on:** February 01, 2007, 04:44:52 PM »

Way off topic but what the h*ll. I dropped my glasses on concrete while working on my Bimmer. Both plastic lenses scratched as they slid across the floor - deep enough to feel with your fingernail. Meguiar's clay bar removed the scratches! Oh, it even removes the swirl marks from black cars that you get after using a power buffer.

sheepdog · « **Reply #5 on:** February 01, 2007, 05:08:47 PM »

Meguiars and BlueMagic make clay bars, same thing different color. The clay I hear even comes from the same place. The liquid they come with is just soapy water.

The purpose of the clay is to clean the surface, removing wax, dirt, anything *****ded, etc. It will not make a car shiny. It cleans and removes scratches because it removes anything in the scratch and anything loose around it. Works well on glass. It actually reveals the true surface of whatever you clean with it. If swirls are in wax, it will remove them, if it is in the paint and hidden by wax, it will reveal them.

This leaves you a clean fresh surface to start polishing and waxing.

With that said, claying your car is great, really can help bring the paint back to life. As for waxes and such, I love the Meguiars line in the beige bottles. I have had great luck with it. If your car is oxidized, try Meguiars Deep Crystal. Then polish and wax.

As for expensive polishes and wax...
Does your car sit out at work or home? Do you daily drive it? If so, why would you spend tons of money on a wax that will make it look incredible for a day or 2. Invest in wax that will protect, look good for a long time, and is cheap. Zymol and Meguiars work well; my only complaint with Zymol is it is easy to get streaks. There is no point in $30 much less $100 wax on a car you drive daily, and is not worth $100,000 dollars.

Seriously, if you do things right, in a weekend, you can have a killer looking car that is easy to maintain for about $50, this includes, brushes, polish, wax, rags, basically everything. Most of which is not a consumable. These will give you a great shine, better than most cars on the road.

sheepdog · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2007, 05:12:23 PM »

http://www.m42club.com/detailing.html

This is how I do it, though I need to update it a bit, it should get you going.
Everything used in it is available through places like Auto Zone.

Choking Hazard · « **Reply #7 on:** February 08, 2007, 10:37:29 AM »

The clay is really a very fine abrasive, so you can overdo it and penetrate the clear coat. It is much finer than an abrasive wax though, great for hazy areas. Wash the car well before you use it (spray a litle soapy water, rub the clay bar like soap, wipe off), b/c if there is any grit it will get picked up by the clay then will scratch the finish as you move the vlay around.

sheepdog · « **Reply #8 on:** February 08, 2007, 01:55:03 PM »

Quote from: Choking Hazard;19085

The clay is really a very fine abrasive, so you can overdo it and penetrate the clear coat. It is much finer than an abrasive wax though, great for hazy areas. Wash the car well before you use it (spray a litle soapy water, rub the clay bar like soap, wipe off), b/c if there is any grit it will get picked up by the clay then will scratch the finish as you move the vlay around.

I advise washing the car after you clay it before waxing. Just to make sure you have removed all of the soapy water and clay. Unfortunately this means waiting for it to stop dripping (even if you hand dry it). You will get less streaking .

mikesjo · « **Reply #9 on:** February 08, 2007, 02:27:28 PM »

I clay it w/ whatever claybar I can find, usually a mothers or meguiars bar.
Autoglym super resin polish
S200 Wax

FL318is · « **Reply #10 on:** February 08, 2007, 02:56:59 PM »

OK, my turn! I can barely change my own oil so naturally if i want to spend time with the car, its gotta be washin' and waxin' and puttin' on stickers!

I have 3 BMWs, 2 alpines and one bleck.

For the schwarz car I only use PS21 carnuba. I like it because it conditions the black paint and the over wipe drys clear or light white. Carnuba dosen't hold up very well in the Florida baking sun. I can actually smell it melting. But I do love the results.

The black car had (and still does but much, much less, swirl marks from a #$%@@ buffer) until I clayed, polished and waxed. With a black car I made sure to; keep the clay wet, only use back and front motion (not circular) and fold the clay very often. It was a full weekend.

The 318 had/has some old water/leaf stain and discolorization. I used clay over the entire car and it really brought the paint lustre and depth out. The stains require elbow grease and polish. Again I use PS21 polish but I think a good grade would be fine. The wax, depends on what I would like to try but never a turtle wax. That stuff requires a jack hammer to get off.

In short, clay, polish and wax und hav eine beir!

mikesjo · « **Reply #11 on:** February 08, 2007, 10:13:47 PM »

Just so everyone knows, the S200 and P21S Carnuba is the same thing

.

Alpine003 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 09, 2007, 10:17:46 AM »

Quote from: mikesjo;19151

Just so everyone knows, the S200 and P21S Carnuba is the same thing .

Yup, except one is advertised with Harleys while the other is advertised with Mclaren F1's.

RPKennedy · « **Reply #13 on:** February 09, 2007, 12:28:02 PM »

Wow. S-Dog. That is a solid effort. If I spell-check and edit it a bit, can we publish it?

sheepdog · « **Reply #14 on:** February 10, 2007, 05:53:55 PM »

Quote from: RPKennedy;19197

Wow. S-Dog. That is a solid effort. If I spell-check and edit it a bit, can we publish it?

Publish it Where?

I do not mind, but, let me go through it first. It needs updating and some new info I have come across can be added to it.

Author Topic: Top dollar cleansers, waxes, etc (Read 5283 times)

cenotaph

RPKennedy