There's quite a lot in the archives and I'm thinking of giving it a blast so.... 1) Can you do it yourself or is it best left to a professional to do the first application 2) Assuming yes to my first point is there anyone based in the north west that people have used with glowing results (excuse the pun but couldn't help it) 3) Once done is it just a case of keeping it topped up with the wax coat every 6 months or so Thanks as ever Rob
1) Yes you can do it yourself - most people do. You'll need all the kit though - HD Cleanse, Wax, applicators, towels & possibly a clay bar. Set aside an entire day (at least) to do it properly 2) n/a 3) Basically yes, just top it up - how often depends on how much you use the car Don't expect miracles. Zymol is great but if your car has a lot of swirl marks in the paint the Zymol system isn't going to remove these - you'll need to get the thing professionally "mopped" first. What Zymol will do is feed & seal the paintwork. Smells nice too I.
Thanks Iain, from what I understand you need to use the clay bar anyway to go over the whole car with to get residues off the paintwork. Does it all need to be Zymol or can you use other things and just the HD and wax from Zymol? Thanks Rob
You could use anybody's clay bar I think. I've never used one so not best placed to advise. There's a very handy chap by the name of "Zymol Dave" who might be around these parts but certainly sponsors a forum on Club Scuderia who will give you some advice. Alternatively just read through the detailing forum on CS for advice & opinions The best Zymol "trick" is to do the car on a panel by panel basis - i.e. Clay bar, HD Cleanse it & then wax it immediately before moving on to the next panel. Secondly, use the HD Cleanse twice - that seems to make a noticeable difference. I.
I have not used the really expensive Zymol stuff but their lesser expensive polishes are very good. Now the sun is out, even in Cornwall, my Blu Scuro paint was showing a gazillion swirls and light scratches; I was going to have the full Zymol treatment from Parc Ferme but decided to give the Bilt-Hamber Auto-clay and Auto-balm (www.bilthamber.com) a go first, as the tests in a few classic car magazines said that it will remove swirl marks and leave paint looking 'wet'. To my amazement it works! My dark blue paint absolutely gleams and the horrid swirls and light scratches are history. And all for only £30. Keeping the Faith, Ray.
Hi Ray Did you use this to prep the car before giving it the Zymol wax or was this instead of using any Zymol products? Thanks Rob
It is instead of Zymol. I've used it too, and it is an excellent product. I've switched out of Zymol Titanium to the Bilt Hamber stuff. The finish is quite different to Zymol Titanium - it is richer and deeper, whereas the Zymol is very reflective which reduces the depth somewhat. I think only the more expensive Zymol waxes can match the depth of finish. I don't know how long it lasts yet as it's only been on for a few weeks. Still looks good so far though.
Ditto. What also happens is the quality of the finish gets better with each application of the Auto Balm. I have now done 2 full apllications and it is amazing. I will probably do a 3rd - when she who must be obeyed and work commitments allow (it takes an hour or so to do properly) - to remove the last of the swirl marks. One thing I have noticed is that you need to use something like a feather duster to remove dust or it will put fresh surface scratches on again. Keeping the Faith, Ray.
I recently became a Zymol convert after years of scepticism and I remain truly floored by HD Cleanse BUT it needs a pretty much perfect finish to work its magic. It will only hide/fill light swirling and I'd recommend a machine polish to get the paint as perfect as possible before applying the products. The waxes are excellent - Carbon in particular is a star, given its relatively good price by comparison with some of the estate glazes (I also have Destiny which I couldn't honestly say was XXX times better than its cheaper cousin) I can recommend a guy in Leeds who is regarded as being one of the UK's best detailers - please PM if you'd like his contact details.
Thanks for the replies, has anyone any experience of using Swissol and Zymol as to which provided the best results. It seems that to have your car detailed using either is the same sort of price but I'm not sure which will give the best results immediately and long term Thanks PS Andy - yes please PM me the detailer from Leeds details
I don't think the guy in Leeds does Zymol though?? Although if it is who I think it is then he's a top guy and will do your motor proud.
Well I think I've tried almost every wax/polish/clay/sealer/cleaner on the market, most recently Harley wax. My last favorite was Mothers. Never been a fan on Zymol and tried multiple variants. Get hold of some of this Bilt Hamber stuff. It's incredible. I just spent all day doing the b*stard back end of the 348 with all it's louvres etc and I am astonished. It works on *anything*, the black rear grille, the cavallino, any plastic, rubber, or metal parts. First using the clay, then going straight to their glaze and the results are perfect deep, hard shell like lustre. It's also apparently prevents corrosion. I can't recommend this stuff highly enough, it blows the hell out of everything else I've used before. Webbing is gone, minor marks are gone and to top it all off it's quick and easy to use, especially if you don't have a 348!!!
Lagerlout, which product did you use? If it was the Auto Balm polish then I can only assume that it did a great job of masking the swirls and cobwebs as it is a non-abrasive polish. You will need an abrasive polish to remove the cobwebs etc completely. Having said that no Zymol product is abrasive so you would have to use an alternative such as Menzerna or Poorboys.
I used their clay bar followed by the non-abrasive polish. However, I found the non-abrasive polish left some red on my polishing pad so I'm not totally sure it's non-abrasive.. I can't explain why it's done what it's done, but it has and for the money it's well worth trying out. I have a wax collection almost as big as my record collection and am very impressed with the results from this product.
Well I'm not gonna knock it till I've tried it so I'll be getting me some of that. I too am a complete detailing nutter and have more products than I am prepared to admit to in public. Your car must have single stage paint - hence the red pad. Sorry but I'm a complete newb to Ferraris. What model to you have?
^^Lovely car! What does the parrot symbol mean? Edited to add: Glasurit is quite soft paint IIRC - so that would explain the red applicator.
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