Simoniz anyone?

R

rockymountaindetail

New member
I'm sure many of you guys remember SIMONIZ, right? Back in the day it was the product most used and was synonomous with waxing a car, you would say " simonize my car" like you would say "I need a KLEENEX" or "make a XEROX". Anyway, it was a conventional paste wax and I believe they made a rubbing compound as well. My memories as a kid include using this stuff on my dad's car. If I am correct it was white and very chalky when it dried. It was not the easiest to remove as it was old-school "let it dry and buff" type wax and it was a *%$#@ to get it off.

Anyway, when I was detailing a 40 ft motorhome the other day another owner of a similar unit asked me how much it would cost to "Simoniz" his motorhome. I told him he was really dating himself and brought him up to speed on new products and their benefits. But I really had a good laugh (to myself of course) about wiping that old school wax on a 40 ft motorhome, IN THE SUN, letting it dry, and then buffing it off. I don't think if that guy had sold the RV he would have had enough $ to pay me to do that. I did appreciate however, the memories of Simonizing my dad's 71 Monte Carlo in the driveway that it triggered. I think that was probably my earliest detailing memory and why I am where I am now. No real point to this, just got me feeling nostalgic:biggrin:
 
In 1992 I was taking a high school drafting class. My instructor had just bought a Nissan truck, and he was bragging in class one day that they'd "Simoniz it" for free twice a year for him. Of course, If I had of known in 1992 what I know now, I'd have told him all the dealer would really do is swirl it up horribly.
 
Got to use it in around 1964 on my Dad's cars. But the first one I ever use was J Wax Spray by Johnson Wax, now that was breakthrough product for its time...........
 
Kit

First wax used was called Kit Wax I thought was made by Johnson Wax.Did a google search on this and found it is now marketed by northern lab.They say its been made now for over 40 yrs. Came in a yelloy tin with a yellow see-thru cover and a foam pad inside.Wax was soft and easy to apply.

Paul S
 
I remember when I first started. There was NO web, NO autozone, NO wal-marts. And and only 1 detail shop in all of Memphis. Heck, Armor-All hadn't even hit the market

I use to use loads of Turle Wax in the tin green can. And also there was the red can of compound for oxidized cars(Only God knows all the damage I did with this stuff...lol) I also tried Simoniz, but I was a TW man through and through :biggrin:

I used these products for the 1st year or so before I stumbled upon a auto paint supply store, thats were I met my next love...Meguiars #7 Man I bet I used 100 gallons of that stuff over the next several years Sleep
 
Rain Dance on dad's 73 Charger. A burgundy-brown with metallic flake, white vinyl top. I swear the top was whiter when he sold it in 83 than the day it came off the assembly line.
 
I remember using Polyglycoat for the first time, back in the early 80's. I had my 1st detailing business then and the customer wanted me to use this stuff on his new Isuzu I-Mark (yep, I even remember the car). Can't remember the exact application but it was different from the Eagle One and other waxes I was using at the time.

Yeah, Simoniz, Turtle Wax, Rain Dance, Rally, Classic car wax, Wax Shoppe, all that good stuff from back in tha day.
 
Speaking of Simonize, here's a scan of a magazine ad I bought awhile back. It's from 1973 for Simonize Royale.

simonizad.jpg
 
rocky, no I cannot imagine doing a 40' rv in the sun or shade with that stuff-you got me blasting back also. What I remember the most is the smell, the noise of the can being opened and the condensation under the lid when you took if off.....

Of course you used 'Blue Coral' also :biggrin:
 
I can't remember if it was Simoniz or the original Turtle Wax, but I do remember waxing dad's white 62 Plymouth Fury and having the wax leave permanent streaks, even after all of it was painstakingly rubbed off. Sunlight was OK, but on a cloudy day you could see the marks. Last Christmas at the office someone gave me a "secret Santa" gift of a new tub of Turtle Wax. I put it in a lead-lined box and buried it in the back yard. :scared:
 
awesome ad!!! Wow, can you believe it removes natural dirt AND city dirt?? I live in the mountains....do you think it worked on country dirt too?

....and check out that snazzy applicator.

Thanks for posting that!
 
Another example of how far things have come, I remember helping my dad wash our 1979 T/A 6.6L, GOLD, with Dawn dish soap, EVERY WASH!! I don't remember him waxing it, I'm sure he did with the "best" turtle wax available in our 1500 person town about once a year or so.

Funny stuff.
 
rockymountaindetail said:
I'm sure many of you guys remember SIMONIZ, right?
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Oh man! The horror..... the horror...... :scared: You needed a chisel to get Simoniz off! :banghead:

Kit, Rally, Raindance, the original Turtle Wax in the bottle.... ah, the memories. Some of 'em even came with an applicator pad and cheesecoth. (remember that stuff?) I also recall the early 2-steps like Blue Coral. The LSP poured in a giant bead like mercury!

Nothing quite like a red single-stage '66 Falcon where the front end had fresh paint and original SS from the firewall back. Had to hand wax the original stuff monthly to keep it somewhat matching.

Mighta been rudimentary compared to today but my cars still looked better than almost everyone else's. :wink:

TL
 
I think I was about 13-14 and tried to wax my mom's old '69 Buick LeSabre - that got washed by the rain. I lathered up that car good with DuPont Rain Dance, turned it white with wax. I lost a good 10 pounds from sweating getting that crap/oxidation off. I can still remember that "OMG" feeling as I realized I now have a concrete covered land yacht, that delayed my detailing interests for years!
 
I was about to buy a Porsche 944 about three years ago, and one of the "selling points" that the owner tried to get me with was that "it was just simonized"
I found it interesting that whoever simonized his porsche burned through the paint at almost every edge. I passed on that one.
 
rockymountaindetail said:
That's amazing! I guess they are trying to advertise to the "older" crowd. I don't know anyone under 40 who knows what Simoniz is!
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27 checking in. :D I remember all the stuff that has been mentioned in this thread, but I have a good memory.
The first real experience I had was with the Wax Shop's Super Glaze. I remember being amazed by how well the stuff made a couple of my parents vehicles looked, and that I liked it, so I'd just do it myself for them.
Looking back I remember how I thought it was "cool" that the stuff separated in the bottle after settling, and then it would mix back up. It was like oil sitting on top of clay, then it magically became one with some shaking. Can you say fillers?

I too remember throwing some TW Compound to some rust spots on a white S-10 of a buddy. Scratches/swirls or not, it looked better than rust streaks! :D

DLB
 
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