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      04-23-2007, 04:24 AM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mjh93sa View Post
There are loads of threads about cleaning, but the following works for me:

Parts:
Zymol Treat (leather conditioner)
Zymol Pre-Wax Applicator (x2)
Zymol Towel (x2)
Zymol Microfibre Cloth
Zymol Wax Applicator
Zymol HD-Cleanse
Zymol Clear
Zymol Glas
Zymol Z3 Glaze
Chamois Leather
Large Sponge
Small Sponge
Autoglym bumper care
Standard dish cloths
Paper towels
Vacuum cleaner

The process:
Interior
  1. Vacuum the interior.
  2. Apply Zymol Treat with a pre-wax applicator. Work around the interior and then buff up with a Zymol Towel.
  3. Wipe down dash and interior plastics with a damp dish cloth.
  4. Use paper towels and Zymol Glas to clean all interior glass.
Exterior
  1. Wash car using Zymol Clear. Large sponge used for large areas and smaller for detailed areas and finally sills before being binned.
  2. Rinse and then dry with a chamois leather.
  3. Apply HD-Cleanse using a pre-wax applicator and buff off with a Zymol Towel.
  4. Apply wax with a wax applicator and buff off with a microfibre cloth.
  5. Apply Autoglym bumper care to tyre walls and plastic trims with a dish cloth. Buff up with a clean dish cloth. Autoglym gives a wet look, whilst Zymol Tyre Preserve gives a great matt black look, but needs much more product to achieve good coverage, so Autoglym gets the nod from me.
  6. Clean exterior glass with Zymol glas using paper towels.
Stand back and admire. .... and be ready to wash bird sh!t off in the morning, or for it to be raining.
I am guessing this takes longer than half an hour ...

My regime is more like this:

1. Pay lady who comes to our office to clean car

2. Get home and apply Meguars NXT spray wax.

3. Drink large G&T
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      04-23-2007, 04:39 AM   #46
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Quote:
Originally Posted by needforspeed View Post

3. Drink large G&T

While admiring the lovely swirl marks and scratches the lady caused?

Or do they do a decent job?
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      04-23-2007, 04:49 AM   #47
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While admiring the lovely swirl marks and scratches the lady caused?

Or do they do a decent job?
She does a better job than I could.

I am starting to notice some paint contamination though - which I guess would be removed by a proper clay bar session.

The trouble with this sort of thing is you can get to into seeing the car super clean and it saps a lot of time.

I'd put my company cars through the car wash about once a year and the only wax they saw was in the final rinse.

Now I'm already waxing the car ... I'm on the slippery slope ...
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      04-23-2007, 05:40 AM   #48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverbmwz3 View Post
I thought chamois leather were not the best idea in terms of swirl mark potential etc.? Anyone else use anything different?
I keep looking at other thintgs, but the chamois works and I've had no problems with it so far.
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Originally Posted by silverbmwz3 View Post
Presumably the HD and Wax applicators get binned after one use?
As soon as they start to get grubby. You can get a couple of goes out of a pre-wax applicator for HD-Cleanse and you only need do that every year (or even less). For the leather I'm still using the original pad as the seats don't get much use (other than mine) and so stay clean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by silverbmwz3 View Post
Which wax should I get? Titanium?
Depends on your needs and budget. At the moment I'm using up a tub of Z3, but they don't seem to do that anymore. Next time it'll probably be either Titanium or Concours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by needforspeed View Post
I am guessing this takes longer than half an hour ...
It does tend to take a bit more than half an hour, and you do need to have a look at the weather reports first.

However, subsequent washes are a lot quicker as the dirt lifts more easily and you don't need to wax everytime. Generally I try to HD-Cleanse about once a year and wax at least every fourth wash. But yesterday for example it only got a wash and an air dry down the local bypass. (and of course it then rained overnight)
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      04-23-2007, 06:00 AM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mjh93sa View Post
It does tend to take a bit more than half an hour, and you do need to have a look at the weather reports first.

However, subsequent washes are a lot quicker as the dirt lifts more easily and you don't need to wax everytime. Generally I try to HD-Cleanse about once a year and wax at least every fourth wash. But yesterday for example it only got a wash and an air dry down the local bypass. (and of course it then rained overnight)
I know it's worth it .. having seen your car and others ...

I'm just trying to resist getting too hung up on keeping mine shiny. Trouble is it looks so damn nice when it's clean.
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      04-23-2007, 06:04 AM   #50
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Thanks Matt. We'll convert NFS yet
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      04-23-2007, 07:48 AM   #51
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Thanks Matt. We'll convert NFS yet
Best way to convert me would be for you and the guys to really zymol up my car a couple of times. Once I have seen you in action I'll be away.

You may need to do it quite a few times though - maybe once every couple of weeks for a year or so, but I am sure by the end that I'll be hooked.

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      04-23-2007, 08:04 AM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by needforspeed View Post
Best way to convert me would be for you and the guys to really zymol up my car a couple of times. Once I have seen you in action I'll be away.

You may need to do it quite a few times though - maybe once every couple of weeks for a year or so, but I am sure by the end that I'll be hooked.

You'd have to let me take the car away for the year so I could do it properly
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      04-23-2007, 01:00 PM   #53
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Let's have a Zymol meet. Then Matt can do all our cars! We could buy some of that Royal stuff between us... only £7k a tub (for life though).
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      04-23-2007, 01:23 PM   #54
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Having washed the car yesterday I had to rinse most of it off again tonight after literally driving through a sh1t storm. A gull flew across my path on the motorway and liberally coated most of the car. Bonnet, windscreen, roof, front wings and even the door mirrors.
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      04-23-2007, 01:30 PM   #55
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Nightmare. Do you wash your chamois after use?
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      04-23-2007, 02:32 PM   #56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverbmwz3 View Post
Nightmare. Do you wash your chamois after use?
I just rinse it in clean cold water during and after use (and if it goes on the floor it goes in the bin).
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      04-25-2007, 05:30 AM   #57
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With the Zymol leather feeding stuff (forget what it is called but comes with the kit) - is it a good idea to use that from new, or will it cause that lovely new leather smell to go?
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      04-25-2007, 07:28 AM   #58
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I've been using the "treat" leather care from new. Didn't notice any change in smell.

The treat actually smells of banana (in the bottle) and gives the leather a nice semi-gloss look (at least on black), as well as making it just a shade easier to slide across getting in and out.
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