I'm Zymoling! (for the first time)

silver323i

New member
Hi, my name is Mark. I just recently found this board and it seems great. Well, I was recently given a Zymol sampler kit (Clear, HD-Cleanse, and four ounces of each of their three most expensive waxes) so I decided to try it out. So then I read here about people negative reaction to Zymol, but I still want to test it for myself. But, not on my 323i or my Papa's 528i, but on my sister's old POS 318i (we are a BMW family). The car is nine years old and is dark green. We bought it used and the paint is horrible. There are swirls and scrathes all over it. The hood is so chipped that I swear you could find all the constallations in it somewere. Other than that, the paint is a nice color. I used the clear (wash), some Griot's clay, then HD-Cleanse. The cleaning and claying went well, but the HD took a long time. I am not sure if I wasn't using enough, but it was a pain. It made the paint quite smooth, although I was disappointed with it's advertised ability to remove light scratches. I am about to use the Destiny wax (the cheapest of the three) and yes, I will try using my hands (with medical gloves though) I have taken some pictures but I have to get them developed (no digi cam that works) and I will post them up. Sorry for the long-winded post, I don't know if anyone even cares, but, anyways, hello.



Edit: I think I misused about a million commas.
 
Nothing wrong with Zymol waxes, but the paint prep products are a bit mild as it's geared for a consumer level.



If you went and got yourself a PC, some pads and the right polishes prior to use of the Zymol, you'd be floored!



It's just amazing what you can do with a PC and polish. For bad swirls and paint, the Megs DACP works very well, as does 3M products given the right combo and pad. Finishing with a very fine hand glaze or light machine glase (#7 megs or #3 Megs or 3M PIII-FG) can really bring out the shine prior to you wax. Doing the claying is critical in an attempt in preping the finish for polish. Without claying, all that junk will transfer to the finish WITH the polish and you end up with more mess.



Some of us (myself included) are very "anal" when it come to prep prior to wax and we take every measure to get that mirror look just prior to waxing or sealing.



Hey, I have the Zymol Japon, Detail and Seal products too, as I was wondering what all the fuss was. This is how you find what works best for you. Looking at other peoples cars here, what they used, what steps, technique etc, then just apply it to your type of finish.



Soon you'll be at that level asking, how can I do better?



Buy yourself some Pakshak MF towels for removing polishes and wax. A lot of use use them, very plush and soft, best price, best service you can't go wrong with Pakshak.



Have some fun from this site, quite a bit to see and learn. Check out all the LEARN links and in the Autopia "shop", there is a guide and other goodies. There are other websites we order products from, and all learn from each others experience.



Enjoy



Regards,

Deanski
 
HD cleanse isn't the best stuff out of their product line. The only way how to get results from it is layer layer and more layers. Swirl removal is still lacking. The shampoo you got is pretty good and so is the wax.
 
Thanks for the response guys. I actually just finished and I am suprised at how well it turned out. I can't get any proper pics now though becuase it is quite dark out. Oh, how I said that I would be using a medical glove, that didn't work well so i ust took it off and used my bare hand. It was extremely fun. Although, I must admit that I probably looked quite eccentric ( to say the least) in my garage at 2AM in my boxers putting wax on my car with my bare hands. There was something beautiful, and dare I say intimate, about smoothing the wax over the simple curves of a car. I think next time I will use different polish but the rest of the kit was definately satisfactory. Well, thanks and that's all for now till I get some pics, bye.
 
Sounds awesome, man! Lets see some pics! :)



The problem with applying by hand is that you waste a lot of product. Next time, try waxing the vehicle with a foam applicator. Your results will be just as spectacular, but you'll use a lot less product.



-Bob
 
silver323i said:
There was something beautiful, and dare I say intimate, about smoothing the wax over the simple curves of a car.



Actually that's a huge part of the whole Zymol sales pitch. From an application and performance perspective, applying a wax with your bare hands is inefficient, wasteful, and does not ensure the best possible results. But from a psychological/emotional perspective, its a brilliant idea. Hey, whatever works to sell the product and the image, right? I'm sure the whole "sensuality" thing has sold plenty of jars of overpriced car wax.



Glad you had fun. As others have said, Zymol isn't bad stuff but from a performance/price ratio, there are a number of better products on the market.



:welcome To Autopia :)
 
silver323i said:
There was something beautiful, and dare I say intimate, about smoothing the wax over the simple curves of a car.
Welcome to Autopia! :welcome I think you'll fit in just fine here from the sounds of it! :D



You'd think a place like Autopia would be the ideal target audience for products marketed like Zymol, but the best part about Autopia is that we're more results-oriented even though we love the art of detailing. Zymol isn't big here because warm, fuzzy feelings alone can't make your car shine. :)



As suggested above, you'll need some stronger polishes to take out all those swirls. A PC is a great help, and I highly recommend getting one if you are that into detailing, but that doesn't mean you can't do it by hand as well. It's simply more work.
 
B3Golde said:
HD cleanse isn't the best stuff out of their product line. The only way how to get results from it is layer layer and more layers. Swirl removal is still lacking. The shampoo you got is pretty good and so is the wax.



The reason you are having trouble with it is because you're not using it right.



HD Cleanse is a cleaner...not a polish. It is totally non-abrasive. It won't remove scratches or swirls. There is no debefit to "layering" it because all it leaves behind are oils. The most analagous product to it that people like here is AIO. HD Cleanse doesn't protect at all unlike AIO, but it removes oxidation and greatly deepens the color of the paint. I didn't use it this year because I wanted to try the things people here suggested, but I will probably go for it again next year because I feel that it does more to darken the color/remove oxidation than AIO does.



Zymol waxes are good too, but they DO NOT LAST. I used to use Carbon on my car. It looked amazing. Working with it was Paradise because of the awesome smell. However you will have to FREQUENTLY rewax. Using this on my (daily driven) Maxima during the winter was a huge mistake. Their upper end waxes are for garage queens or people who live where they can wax whenever the feel like it all year round. Their products are great for your paint and look awesome, you just need to be able to re-apply frequently. If I owned a Ferrari or other exotic garage queen that didn't get driven too much I would definitely use Zymol products on it...maybe with a layer of Blitz underneath just for safety.





EDIT: Whoa I didn't see the thing about applying it with your bare hands. They say you ahve to do that with some of their upper end waxes to warm the wax and make it easier to apply...I dunno though. I am a MUCH bigger fan of their products than people here, but that's a level I wouldn't be willing to go to...too hard.



also on the pricing. HD Cleanse is obscenely expensive and doesn't go far enough given it's cost. However I have no problem paying 40 bucks for a wax like Carbon. Yes, it's more expensive than Blitz or others per application but it is nice stuff and it does go a long way when you consider the size of the can.
 
Silver---I too have been relatively new here; maybe about 2-3 months, the amount of experience is pretty mind-boggling--lot to read and even more to try. Look at Deanskis pics-Whoa



I too bought the Zymol on a 50% off trial and wanted to see if the hype was justified--I have a 01 Miata Emerald Green. The wash is a good product and I use it weekly. The HD was a pain to use and get out of seams, etc. It did a fair job; I tried the hand deal--wasteful and cramping. I've added another coat of wax since, you can do the Miata in a hour by hand. Did the car look good--yeah definitely but the product was disappointing. I was really put off by the surface "feel" to it--it was like dry, not like a Megs 26 where your fingers glide and slide off the surface.



Additionally, whatever level of care you take to wash and dry--I even tried the blow dryer deal last week, it's really surface scratch and swirl heaven.



Last week I took the plunge and took some 3M FineCut, a wool bonnet, and my old cheesy orbital waxer to a real problem hood on my Explorer--I was amazed at the results and I would bet your POS could benefit as well. Keep reading and visitng this forum and there is a PC in your future. Go off the edge and Zaino
 
Thanks guys. I actually did not find that using my hands rather than an applicator wasted much, I found it easy to apply very thin and smooth layers. My hands did not cramp either, I geuss I have limber fingers. I think I'll read more and teh ndecide on something to replace the HD with. I will keep using the wax I have noe though until I run out. Thanks again, Mark.
 
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