Bimmer Times

Tuesday, 11:47 AM

San Diego 

Howdy….. 

 As a seller of BMW wheels, I often overlook the importance of a good BMW wax finish in complementing a great set of wheels, so I set out to find out what other BMW enthusiasts prefer…. Far from a scientific proving ground, I did find a few brands that kept popping up. Zymol recieved many 1st choices. “Only Zymol touches my baby”. Zymol was recently bought out by Turtle Wax. They bought the name only and not the rights to the patents.Zaino. . . “I have tried a bunch of diifferent wax..they don’t touch Zaino.” I was reminded that Zaino isn’t really a wax, it is a sealant. Another tells it like it is…”wax sucks…any of the real detail freaks will tell you the same thing…wax is for lazy people who don’t care…go uber wet look…Zainobros.com. Someone who has tried almost all the products finally settled “on Zaino Z2, Z5, AIO, C/S, for the best protection and shine [he] has ever seen. Their ZPC-Fusion is an awesome light scratch and swirl remover. Their Z16 is the best tire dressing [he] has ever used.”Several fans of Meguiars…, though they seem to want to try zymol…

P21S…”The p21s is easy on/off and no white residue is left on the black mouldings.” This product got a good review from Chem. Weekly. Their enhancing cleanser and Concours wax got a 4 star rating for effectiveness and cost/value for European car finishes.I saw a good endorsment from someone who used both Zymol and P21S. Both are great. Zymol is more expensive but gives your car that showroom shine. P21S is good for a quick shine that looks great, but it won’t last as long as Zymol.Should you use an automatic buffer? I have been told that machine buffers are bad for your car because you can damage the clear coat and also you can buff off the wax you just put on.

One BMW enthusiast said his neighbor used to put Turtle Wax on his Lincoln. He would apply, then dry, then spend a long ass time buffing it off, elbow greese indeed. Thats what is so good about P21S. . .You don’t need a lot of it per application. It just buffs off so easily. Each container costs approximately $30, but from the two cars that he did, the container is still full, hardly even touched.

3M car wax works the best for old weather beaten paint, though kind of expensive.

Someone felt using any tools (ie buffers besides your own hands) is bad.

A professional detailer uses Eagle 1 tire dressing beacause it is the least oily tire dressing he could find. He goes with Armorall cleaner for the interior. He has tried numerous brands yet finds these to produce the best results.

More good advice: Clay it first (Sonus), 3m Imperial Hand Glaze, (Zymol or P21s pre wax cleaner) & top it off with 1 Grand Blitz wax - after that all it needs is a rinse of H20 for months.

*Clay: go easy with clay! - not only using very light pressure but only use it when surface feels rough. Clay has been used for years by body shops for getting rid of overspray, it’s like “micro sandpaper”. Using it too often WILL go through paint. Use it once maybe twice a year.

Avoid using cheap waxes, “you buy cheap - you get cheap” & also German finnishes are different paints/components than the Japanese and American cars. German clearcoat is also softer than J/A cars.

And a “biggy” to remember is to apply in STRAIGHT LINE not circular. Initially circular was thought to be similar to buffing, and better coverage (overlapping motion). But circular motion adds swirls & scratches. Have you ever seen a painter appling paint in circular motion?

Now if all the above is BS, you can always use a candle!

See you on the road.

Sammyg

This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Detailing. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.