Carnauba wax - alternatives to Zymol?
Discussion
My Chimaera 450 is due a wax polish in the next few weeks, up until now I have used Autoglym wax polish. Having heard excellent reviews about Zymol, and seen the price, I was wondering if anyone had used anything similar (with the magic Carnauba content) and got similarly impressive results (or better than 'liquid' wax polishes anyway).
Thanks for suggestions,
Chris
Thanks for suggestions,
Chris
As a mad ex porsche national concours champ, ive tried em all...... zymol is good, but totally overpriced IMO,
autoglym super resin is good stuff for the price, but residue gets everywhere. My latest "find" is raceglaze...a wax, not a polish...great price, good carnauba content, no residue...easy to buff, great stuff that currently is on my S3C. The advertise in the TVR sprint. Give it a go......but remember a wax is only as good as the prep work......unfortuately
a good shine only comes with a lot of effort. Have fun! mark
autoglym super resin is good stuff for the price, but residue gets everywhere. My latest "find" is raceglaze...a wax, not a polish...great price, good carnauba content, no residue...easy to buff, great stuff that currently is on my S3C. The advertise in the TVR sprint. Give it a go......but remember a wax is only as good as the prep work......unfortuately
a good shine only comes with a lot of effort. Have fun! mark
I've recently bought some 'Presta Fast Wax' which was recommended by my local auto paint supplies shop (£8 for almost a litre). It has carnuba wax in it and best of all can be used in direct sunlight (if only!). Have only used in on my daily runner so far but results were good and application easy as the stuff is very runny. www.prestaproducts.com
Blitz....
Where did you buy this? Heard a lot of people raving about this in the US - didn't know it was available here.
I use Zaino (mentioned earlier - although its a Polymer Sealant, not a Carnauba Wax) on my daily driver since its longer lasting, and Pinnacle Souveran Wax and Polish on the TVR. Both have to be imported from the US (unfortuantely), but its quite easy since they can be purchased from a number of web-retailers that will ship internationally and take credit cards.
-andy-
Where did you buy this? Heard a lot of people raving about this in the US - didn't know it was available here.
I use Zaino (mentioned earlier - although its a Polymer Sealant, not a Carnauba Wax) on my daily driver since its longer lasting, and Pinnacle Souveran Wax and Polish on the TVR. Both have to be imported from the US (unfortuantely), but its quite easy since they can be purchased from a number of web-retailers that will ship internationally and take credit cards.
-andy-
Read Wax Wizard's posts at - www.seatcars.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5302 - for very good advice.
Scroll down about 20 posts.
He knows his stuff!
>> Edited by cuprabri on Wednesday 10th July 20:57
Scroll down about 20 posts.
He knows his stuff!
>> Edited by cuprabri on Wednesday 10th July 20:57
quote:
Blitz....
Where did you buy this? Heard a lot of people raving about this in the US - didn't know it was available here.
www.frost.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Car_Care_9.html
I don't use their glaze as I prefer 3M Imperial Hand Glaze.
I thought it would be worth copying the guy's reply mentioned by cupraman - he is obviously in the industry. Check this out....
Gentlemen! Good Morning.
I have read the above posts with interest.
However, allow me please to cure some misconceptions here.
There is not one single wax that can possibly prevent stone chips!!! No matter the wax be it Zymol, mine/swissol, Turtle, Autoglym etc etc.
The wax layer on paintwork is there primarily to provide gloss and protection against the elements.
The wax layer is only a micron or two in thickness!!!!. If applied regularly wax will provide heaps of protection and maintain the gloss level.
The only physical item that can STOP stone chips is Armourfend. This is a clear plastic film that is applied to vulnerable areas and yes it does stop stone chips.
A minutely thin wax layer cannot and does not stop stones from chipping paint especially when you consider the final velocity of a colliding stone often in excess of 60mph.
Standard off the shelve products are always a compromise and cannot do anything particularly well. Nearly all off the shelve products contain solvents and fine micro abrasives called silicates and usually contain synthetic waxes. These products by definition are called POLISHES.
Each time a polish is used you remove a microfine layer of paint. This is eveident on older cars where when looking along swage lines etc you'll often see undercoat instead of the top layer of paint. On clearcoat paints (modern metallic and pearlescent paints) you do not see this happing as the lacquer whilst still a paint is clear. It is a clear paint without the use of pigments.
There is a new breed of off the shelf products that are called waxes. However take time and carefully read the rear label and often you will find that it says " uses 100% carnauba wax" or there is a haz chem warning or an inflammable warning.
Let get this straight. If a product were to be 100% carnauba wax it would be unusable as pure carnauba arrives to us in the size of concrete blocks and needs to be smashed with lump hammers!
The clever play on words has you all going.
The standard wax content of the off the shelve products contain anywhere between 3 to 5% wax content by volume. The cheap products use synthetic resins and other waxes such a mondellia wax. The new breed of "off the shelf" waxes contain around 10% by volume carnauab wax. The also nearly always contain some form of solvent.
The cheaper the price almost garauntees the use of such solvents like naptha or toluene or xylene. In their raw state these solvents are extremely volatile and are not nice at all.
However where I differ (Wax Wizard/Swissol) and this includes Zymol is that we do NOT use solvents nor do we use abrasives or silicones.
Swissol and Zymol make waxes that are extremely carnauba rich (ranging from 30 to over 60% by volume). We both use natural "heavy oils" and light essential oils to carry the wax.
Both swissol and zymol rely on an initial two stage treatment to prepare the paint. The first stage is to deep clean the paint to remove contamination that washing alone cannot remove and to feed the paint the hvy oils that was origianally there. These hvy oils reinstate the losses thru solvents, detergents and sunlight and general weathering.
Once this stage has been done you then seal the paint using a wax to add further gloss gloss and to provide a microscopic thin film of protection.
Regular waxing (monthly) will give the optimum finish in terms of gloss and protection. Keep something regularly maintained is easy than letting it slide and then you face the shovel the sh*ite up hill again and need to re cleanse the paint.
We (swissol as well as zymol) recommend that you cleanse the paint twice a yr. This is best done from arond Ester to now and then again in October in readiness for the winter.
However where I and my collegues at Swissol have made much investment is to improve the ease of use of the waxes and have developed some super formulations including one that has teflon added.
Zymol waxes, whilst they are good, they need to be applied to a small section at a time, then wait for a "curing" time and then buff. In unskilled or for the novice this is boring and most 1st timers trip up here by appyling too much wax.
Swissol waxes have been further refined so that the WHOLE can be waxed before buffing. One wax, the new Shield Wax with Teflon can be applied and the car is then placed in the sun for the wax to cure. Buffing is a simple gentle dusting with a towel that is provided. The wax can even be applied to a warm paintwork and also be left for a few days before buffing.
Zymol as well as swissol waxes need to be applied very sparingly.Pots from either manufacturer will typical provide around 40 complete waxings.
I am currently still using the teflon wax that I cracked open in May last year and I use this wax on each and every car that I prepare. So far I have done over 40 vehicles and still have wax left.
Swissol as well as zymol are both simarly priced. Both our ranges are designed for those who want the ultimate in car care, the ultimate in gloss and ultimate in protection. Our waxes are edible! Try that with any of the high strret products.
Swissol and zymol CANNOT BE made production line style. The high quality of ingredients goes toward the what appears to be a very high price.
Consider that a £35 or £40 pot of wax that gives 40 applications is now suddenly very cheap on a cost per application. Consider also that neither wax from either manufacturer will stain any exterrior plastics nor leave or produce any white residue!!!
Swissol Saphir wax and Zymol Titanium are more or less the same. They have increased wax content as well as more refined oils. They are considered to be mid range waxes.
Swissol Shield wax with teflon has a wax content (pure white wax) of 50% by volume. The white wax is derived from No! yellow carnauba where the natural impurities are refined out of the raw wax. This produces a VERY pure wax and due to its purity will provide exceptional gloss but due to the added teflon the wax has extreme resiliance. The wax is suited to those who require the best gloss gloss and best protection and is ideally suited to those whose cars live outside 24/7.
Those that have experienced fine marks on the paint that look like scratches these are called swirl marks. They are caused form the use of harsh or even mild abrasives, cloths that are too harsh and from incorrect washing including the use of commercial drive thru car washes.
The problem is easily dealt with without the use of harsh abrasives.
What is needed is some time and dedication and the waxing afterwards is the icing on the cake. Preparation of a car if done properly is time consuming as it is not a race.
As a side step consider one product that maybe used by memebers that comes in a blue container and its name begins with M and has three letters and ends in R.
Now this product is a shampoo, a cleaner and a protector and sheds tons of white dust and ruins any black trim should you get some on. It is a jack of all trades and master of none.
people are often duped by the demonstartion whereby lighter fuel is pour on to a painted surface and set alight. Everyone gasps in wonder and thinks this is the bees knees in protection.
How many burnt out cars have you seen that have used this product!!!!!!!!!!!???????????
This trick can be displayed even on swissol pr zymol prepared finishes. The trick is that it is the vapour that is burning and not the fluid on the surface. Note how always the demonstartor extinguishes the flame before it reaches the paintwork. The temperature attained in this demo is more or less as the same with a car that has a dark paint when it has be exposed to midday summer sun.
Swissol is the product that has soaked me up and I represent. Zymol is a fine product as well. The off the shelves products are also fine but they unlike zymol and swissol are mass produced too a price using solvents, silicones and micro abrasives. They are designed for the masses who are not really interested in the ultimate gloss and protection.
Zymol and swissol are like Mobil Rally 1 and say castrol RS oils. They are the ultimate.
I wonder how many people here use cheap supermarket oils in their cars........not many me thinks. Why? Cos you want the best in lubrication etc for your car.
Any more questions I'd be more than happy to help and try to give you unbiased answers.
those who need to cantact me please do so at:
waxwizard@eurobell.co.uk OR mark.underwood@swissol.co.uk
>> Edited by nubbin on Thursday 11th July 09:11
Gentlemen! Good Morning.
I have read the above posts with interest.
However, allow me please to cure some misconceptions here.
There is not one single wax that can possibly prevent stone chips!!! No matter the wax be it Zymol, mine/swissol, Turtle, Autoglym etc etc.
The wax layer on paintwork is there primarily to provide gloss and protection against the elements.
The wax layer is only a micron or two in thickness!!!!. If applied regularly wax will provide heaps of protection and maintain the gloss level.
The only physical item that can STOP stone chips is Armourfend. This is a clear plastic film that is applied to vulnerable areas and yes it does stop stone chips.
A minutely thin wax layer cannot and does not stop stones from chipping paint especially when you consider the final velocity of a colliding stone often in excess of 60mph.
Standard off the shelve products are always a compromise and cannot do anything particularly well. Nearly all off the shelve products contain solvents and fine micro abrasives called silicates and usually contain synthetic waxes. These products by definition are called POLISHES.
Each time a polish is used you remove a microfine layer of paint. This is eveident on older cars where when looking along swage lines etc you'll often see undercoat instead of the top layer of paint. On clearcoat paints (modern metallic and pearlescent paints) you do not see this happing as the lacquer whilst still a paint is clear. It is a clear paint without the use of pigments.
There is a new breed of off the shelf products that are called waxes. However take time and carefully read the rear label and often you will find that it says " uses 100% carnauba wax" or there is a haz chem warning or an inflammable warning.
Let get this straight. If a product were to be 100% carnauba wax it would be unusable as pure carnauba arrives to us in the size of concrete blocks and needs to be smashed with lump hammers!
The clever play on words has you all going.
The standard wax content of the off the shelve products contain anywhere between 3 to 5% wax content by volume. The cheap products use synthetic resins and other waxes such a mondellia wax. The new breed of "off the shelf" waxes contain around 10% by volume carnauab wax. The also nearly always contain some form of solvent.
The cheaper the price almost garauntees the use of such solvents like naptha or toluene or xylene. In their raw state these solvents are extremely volatile and are not nice at all.
However where I differ (Wax Wizard/Swissol) and this includes Zymol is that we do NOT use solvents nor do we use abrasives or silicones.
Swissol and Zymol make waxes that are extremely carnauba rich (ranging from 30 to over 60% by volume). We both use natural "heavy oils" and light essential oils to carry the wax.
Both swissol and zymol rely on an initial two stage treatment to prepare the paint. The first stage is to deep clean the paint to remove contamination that washing alone cannot remove and to feed the paint the hvy oils that was origianally there. These hvy oils reinstate the losses thru solvents, detergents and sunlight and general weathering.
Once this stage has been done you then seal the paint using a wax to add further gloss gloss and to provide a microscopic thin film of protection.
Regular waxing (monthly) will give the optimum finish in terms of gloss and protection. Keep something regularly maintained is easy than letting it slide and then you face the shovel the sh*ite up hill again and need to re cleanse the paint.
We (swissol as well as zymol) recommend that you cleanse the paint twice a yr. This is best done from arond Ester to now and then again in October in readiness for the winter.
However where I and my collegues at Swissol have made much investment is to improve the ease of use of the waxes and have developed some super formulations including one that has teflon added.
Zymol waxes, whilst they are good, they need to be applied to a small section at a time, then wait for a "curing" time and then buff. In unskilled or for the novice this is boring and most 1st timers trip up here by appyling too much wax.
Swissol waxes have been further refined so that the WHOLE can be waxed before buffing. One wax, the new Shield Wax with Teflon can be applied and the car is then placed in the sun for the wax to cure. Buffing is a simple gentle dusting with a towel that is provided. The wax can even be applied to a warm paintwork and also be left for a few days before buffing.
Zymol as well as swissol waxes need to be applied very sparingly.Pots from either manufacturer will typical provide around 40 complete waxings.
I am currently still using the teflon wax that I cracked open in May last year and I use this wax on each and every car that I prepare. So far I have done over 40 vehicles and still have wax left.
Swissol as well as zymol are both simarly priced. Both our ranges are designed for those who want the ultimate in car care, the ultimate in gloss and ultimate in protection. Our waxes are edible! Try that with any of the high strret products.
Swissol and zymol CANNOT BE made production line style. The high quality of ingredients goes toward the what appears to be a very high price.
Consider that a £35 or £40 pot of wax that gives 40 applications is now suddenly very cheap on a cost per application. Consider also that neither wax from either manufacturer will stain any exterrior plastics nor leave or produce any white residue!!!
Swissol Saphir wax and Zymol Titanium are more or less the same. They have increased wax content as well as more refined oils. They are considered to be mid range waxes.
Swissol Shield wax with teflon has a wax content (pure white wax) of 50% by volume. The white wax is derived from No! yellow carnauba where the natural impurities are refined out of the raw wax. This produces a VERY pure wax and due to its purity will provide exceptional gloss but due to the added teflon the wax has extreme resiliance. The wax is suited to those who require the best gloss gloss and best protection and is ideally suited to those whose cars live outside 24/7.
Those that have experienced fine marks on the paint that look like scratches these are called swirl marks. They are caused form the use of harsh or even mild abrasives, cloths that are too harsh and from incorrect washing including the use of commercial drive thru car washes.
The problem is easily dealt with without the use of harsh abrasives.
What is needed is some time and dedication and the waxing afterwards is the icing on the cake. Preparation of a car if done properly is time consuming as it is not a race.
As a side step consider one product that maybe used by memebers that comes in a blue container and its name begins with M and has three letters and ends in R.
Now this product is a shampoo, a cleaner and a protector and sheds tons of white dust and ruins any black trim should you get some on. It is a jack of all trades and master of none.
people are often duped by the demonstartion whereby lighter fuel is pour on to a painted surface and set alight. Everyone gasps in wonder and thinks this is the bees knees in protection.
How many burnt out cars have you seen that have used this product!!!!!!!!!!!???????????
This trick can be displayed even on swissol pr zymol prepared finishes. The trick is that it is the vapour that is burning and not the fluid on the surface. Note how always the demonstartor extinguishes the flame before it reaches the paintwork. The temperature attained in this demo is more or less as the same with a car that has a dark paint when it has be exposed to midday summer sun.
Swissol is the product that has soaked me up and I represent. Zymol is a fine product as well. The off the shelves products are also fine but they unlike zymol and swissol are mass produced too a price using solvents, silicones and micro abrasives. They are designed for the masses who are not really interested in the ultimate gloss and protection.
Zymol and swissol are like Mobil Rally 1 and say castrol RS oils. They are the ultimate.
I wonder how many people here use cheap supermarket oils in their cars........not many me thinks. Why? Cos you want the best in lubrication etc for your car.
Any more questions I'd be more than happy to help and try to give you unbiased answers.
those who need to cantact me please do so at:
waxwizard@eurobell.co.uk OR mark.underwood@swissol.co.uk
>> Edited by nubbin on Thursday 11th July 09:11
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