What to use?

I

imported_M3Pilot

New member
Hi. As you can tell I'm new here and as this is a detailing forum I thought you should be the people who know what works and what doesn't.

So I aplogize now as I'm sure this question has happened so many time that your all sick of it by now :)



Right, my car is currently get a nice new shiny coat of paint so I want to do my best by it. So what are the best product I can use.

I know it's going to be down to somewhat personal preference, but I still seek your advice.



I'm in the UK and can't get Zaino over here so there stuff is out.



I am currently considering Zymol which is extemely expensive over here I think i'll need a mortgage to get some :)



Meguiar's which has started to be sold over here but to the same range of products that you can get over there. But don't know much about there products



Autoglym which I have used in the past which I though was ok but nothing special..



So what else is out there that really is good and that i might be able to get hold of.



Thanks for your help people :)
 
LETS work the other way around ,please mention products you can get.................it will be a lot easier!
 
ALAN81 said:
LETS work the other way around ,please mention products you can get.................it will be a lot easier!
Click to expand...



Ok.



Zymol.



Pretty much anything by Autoglym.



Meguiar's, Gold Class shampoo and clear coat wax.

Deep Crystal system 123. Cleaner wax. Quik Detailer. It seems like the basic stuff but none of the professional stuff that you can get over there.



Mer.

Turtle wax.

Amour All.

Still trying to find out if I can get hold of any 3M stuff over here.
 
Zymol is so dear over here for example.

Carbon/Creme wax is $61 at pot and the Concours Wax is $213 at pot:eek:

I'm sure it's nowhere where near that expensive over there.I've heard of Wax Wizard but never used it.



UK and Great Britain are the same thing just different names for the 4 countries that make it up, England, Scotland, Wales, & Nothern Ireland.

England is just England.
 
use the gold class shampoo and the gold class wax if you wax your car every three weeks or so and watch it you will have no problem.Can you get Micro Fiber towels? This would cut down on the scratches and possible swirls....................Do they have Meguiars #26? that is a great product also
 
Welcome to the forum.



3M is available in the UK http://cms.3m.com/cms/GB/en/2-29/rlFREQ/view.jhtml , as is One Grand http://www.frost.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Special_Offers_5.html , so is P21S http://www.iauto.co.uk/system/index.htm we have a larger selection that the Americans :). Zaino can be bought in Germany http://www.viper-lifestyle.de/zainoengl.htm. Klasse can be imported from various places in the USA.



Don’t discount Autoglym. The glass polish is regarded well by some on this forum. Even the CMA site says the Super Resin is just as good as Klasse, it just does not last quite as long.



As for Zymol, well a lot has been written here, in summary - it is ok, just very expensive for what you get. A tin of Blitz is around 15 GB pounds and will give similar results to Zymol. For more info use the search button.



Have a look at DavidB book, you can download several chapters free of charge. This book is worth every penny - everthing you need to know is in the book and on this forum for making your car look perfect.



Steven

Cumbria UK
 
I e mail Zanio and Sal told me I could get it in Germany.





I've never heard of One Grand?

What is P21S?

I was told that 3M hand Glaze was a great product which is why I was trying to find where I could get hold of 3M in the UK
 
One Grand make Blitz wax, a very good glaze and other cleaning products. P21S sell wax, polish, shampoo, plastic polish, wheel cleaners etc. The shampoo is very very good, I think it is the best stuff in the UK. Do seaches for P21S and you will not see many people say bad things about them. If you also search for Blitz there must be thousand of lines written about it.



P21S is the USA brand name, in the UK it just refers to the wheel cleaning products.



Steven
 
Blitz sounds like decent money £15 a tin



So wax / glaze is it the same thing or different?

I was planing on getting a clay bar too as they seem to work wonders.



So what do you actually use Steve?
 
M3Pilot said:
Blitz sounds like decent money £15 a tin



So wax / glaze is it the same thing or different?
Click to expand...
Welcome :) For many people here Blitz is considered a terrific high quality wax for the price, with very high durability. I haven't used it myself, but that is what everyone says. Try a title search for "Blitz" and you'll find lots of good comments.



P21S is also very highly regarded, easier to use (just wipe on/off), and won't stain trim. It reputedly has a bit more bright gleam than Blitz. It is more expensive however and doesn't last nearly as long. Good for people who like to wax often.



A glaze is different from a wax. A glaze is something that typically hides and fills in (very) minor swirls and gives the paint a higher gloss. However it offers very little protection (if any) and has a very short lifespan (maybe a week?). Glazes should be topped with non-cleaner waxes. Strangely, Zymol calls several of its Estate waxes "glazes". If I were to guess, I'd say this is because of their low longevity.



If I were you, I'd use Blitz if you don't go with Zaino. You can also do Blitz over top of Autoglym (and Klasse as well) if you like.
 
Wax, polish and glaze are all completely different products. Simply, glaze is a product with fillers that hide minor swirl marks and gives a very deep shine, the problem is they do not last a long time. Wax is often used just for looks as it does not last more than a month or two. Synthetic products like Klasse, Zaino, Autoglym can last anywhere from 6 – 12 months but give a glossy finish whereas wax gives a deeper shine. It all comes down to your goals and personal preferences.



I use various Autoglym stuff: Glass Polish, Super Resin and sometimes Extra Gloss, Plastic cleaner, Tar Remover. P21S: wheel cleaner, shampoo and sometimes plastic cleaner (there is more, I just cannot think of what else I have). One Grand: Blitz, Glaze, plastic cleaner, DIY general cleaner. Gummi Phlege from BMW dealers – perfect for cleaning rubber door seals. Jaguar make a damn good glass polish for really getting the dirt of windscreens. Various MF towels and Maguires foam pads. 3M clay.



I am sure I have much more, which I will remember once I have posted this.



The great thing about this forum is the wide range of people who post, we have professional detailers, concours winners and those who just want their cars to look the best they can, and everyone is very friendly.



Have a look at http://www.autopia-carport.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5348&highlight=BMW for pictures using Autoglym etc on an old BMW



Steven
 
I glad that I have found this site as I have kinda been stumbleling around trying to find the info out that I what. I do appericate all your help guys :)



I have found out a lot of info and that was just tonight.



I have just realised that Autoglym Super Resin Polish is really a polish and I was using it and thinking it was a wax and would last a good few months unless I got it wrong.

I guess the clue is in the name:rolleyes: :)



Well my car won't have any scratches, dents, marks at all. so I'm starting with a clean slate really.



I been told that i won't be able to wax or really do anything to the car other than wash it for about 60 day to give the paint time to cure is this true?



Steve where do you get hold of P21S products over here as

http://www.iauto.co.uk/system/index.htm only seem to show the wheel cleaner on there website.



My current thought are for 3M Imperial Hand Glaze or Blitz Omega Glaze Polish.

P21S if I can find where to get hold of the P21S if not Blitz Wax



I have lots of Autoglym Clean Wheels cleaner to get through, as well as a lot of there Bodywork Shampoo to use up unless you guys are going to tell me it will strip the paint off :)
 
The Blitz polish and wax combo if you can get it is great don't take anything away from P21s another great product
 
Do polish/ glazes take any of the paint off, I suppose they must do?



Is this process always needed or is it just to help to remove slight marks in the paint, as I wont have marks in the paint when I get my car back?
 
Polish will remove some topcoat, but most of the products on this forum are mild where a glaze contains fillers which fill the gaps created by swirls, so that are hidden by the fillers.



If you have had your car resprayed then follow the advice of the company on how long to wait. There is a number of threads on this issue on what products can be used.



Download the trial version of the book from http://autopia-carport

it is worth the money if you chose to buy it.



What version of the M3 do you have?



As for P21S, this is the corporate brand name in the USA, just go to the car section for car products, the glass section for glass cleaning products and so on. The products have different name to the American ones, but the products are the same.



There is nothing wrong with the Autoglym products. The only one I dont like is the shampoo, not because it is a poor product, I just prefer the Iauto shampoo, it lasts longer and gives a slicker finish.



The real differnce to a cars look is the technique and products used to apply and remove polish etc. If you take a good product like Zaino and apply with an old shirt all you will get is a poor looking finish and lots of minor damage to the paint.



Steven
 
Lowejackson said:




What version of the M3 do you have?



Steven
Click to expand...





I have a 1989 late spec E30 M3.

I went to see how they were getting on with it on Friday and took some pics.

I can post a couple of pics if anyone is interested?



I thought Autoglym was better than most stuff that I had tried before, but my paint was in the best condition to try and get the best out of i and T-shirts were the norm too, unlike when I get it back. It will be a very high quality paint job which is costing a fortune and I want to do the very best i can to keep it like it.



The P21S sounds like something that i would really like to give ago.



I guess you can import stuff from thge states if just a matter of how much the import duty is at this end.
 
I'm in the UK and got Zaino from www.ecklers.com, I think shipped it worked out just cheaper than going to Viper Lifestyle in Germany.



Cost around £30 shipped for Z1 and Z2, which hurt, but I'm more than happy with the results, though it's a brand new car so I've not had to work too hard to get those results.



If you search the forums it's silly me repeating it, but the ease of use and small amount you have to use etc etc....



I think for us in the UK a mix & match approach is often called for as it can cost silly money to get all the products from one brand shipped to the UK.



I settled on using Meguiars Gold Class shampoo, which is £5 from meguiars UK or www.speeding.co.uk, Zaino Z1 & Z2 as a polish/sealant, and Autoglym glass polish. I got a bunch of Neatitems Microfibers which are probably the best investment of the lot.



If I need to deal with the occasional swirl/scratch I use "cleanse" from Wax Wizard, which was around £8 for 250ml and will last an age.



I'm one of those people who tries different things until I think I've found "the best", so I figured if I brought good products to begin with I'd save money in the long run.



rgds

Paul
 
Paul is correct, it is sometimes cheaper to import and not that hard. After a while you find the products that work for you. Zaino Klasse etc are all great products that will give a great shine for a long time. My preference is for wax, which I need to do every month - but for me that is not a problem. Neatitems MF towels are the best I have tried but you can easily import many different ones.



If you can afford it, get hold of a PC (Porter Cable) which will make things a lot easier. Or put it this way, if you have just spent a lot of money getting the car resprayed, the cost of keeping it perfect is very cheap.



Post your pictures when you get the chance.



Steven
 
Ok here a couple of pics that I took of my car on Friday.

They certainly seem to be getting on with it :)

Everything has been stripped all the bumper and moulding have been stripped right back and and primered.

They got the windows out without breaking them which was a relief.

He said it was bit of a pain in the *** to strip down as there was so many bits and there was a fair few clips missing that he going to buy and get sorted when it gets put back together.

He told me that car was in great condition with only a couple of bit of very minor rust that have now been sorted.

I was very pleased with what they have done so far, as I was alittle

paranoid that it was all going to go badly wrong.

But they are making such a nice job of it and doing everything right with no shortcuts. The repaired 1/4 looks great.



It will be getting primed this afternoon and I will go down a take a few more pics next week, by which time it should be red again.



03.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top