Which polish is best?

[Mac1967]

Ok guys,

As trivial to some as it may be....As soon as I get my new Elise I want to start off on the right foot.

I know because Lotus have now switched to acrylic paint, stone chips are easier than before.

So....

Which polish is best to use? Where can I find it? how much is it? just how good is it? and which polishes in your opinion are just a waste of money and elbow grease.

Thanks guys,

Mac

>> Edited by Mac1967 on Tuesday 21st June 12:38

[Matt_C]

I would use wax as polish will only cut the paint back. Wax will build up on top opf the surface.
I find that Zymol is very good, and available at Halfords too.

[S Works]

Autoglym or Meguiars 3-step. Very good stuff!

[tuscan_thunder]

I do not like meguiars.

I use Auto Glym Super Resin Polish (polish brings up shine) and I use Zymol wax. (keeps shine, protects paint)

Polishes are abrasive. Good for keeping paint in good condition if used every six weeks/two months or so.

Zymol is the best wax I have found. The Halfords-stocked Zymol is quite good for general use and fairly priced. The "real stuff" is superb but prices match that.

[Davey S1]

Meguires all the way. Gold Class wax or the new stuff (cant remember its name). Gives 9/10ths the results of Zymol at a fraction of the price.

Auto Glym is good as well but I found it left too much white residue and was not as easy to take off as Meguires.

[gooby]

Davey S1 said:

Meguires all the way. Gold Class wax or the new stuff (cant remember its name). Gives 9/10ths the results of Zymol at a fraction of the price. Auto Glym is good as well but I found it left too much white residue and was not as easy to take off as Meguires.

Hmmm, I found meguires to be absolute rubbish. What a total pain to get off and buff up. Never again. I have been a real Autoglym fan and my neighbour who used meguires now steals my autoglym.

I think the question was, "which polish is best" and there is one simple answer Zymol. I have got a sample pot of Vintage glaze and without a doubt it is the most incredible polish I have ever used and seen.

To begin with you have to do the zymol process. First use the zymol wash remove all the crap, then use Klay. It is a material that feels like a lump of chewing gum that has gone hard for about a week. You use a lubricant to get it moving across the paint. This removes any roughness from the paint. You will be amazed. After using Klay my paint felt smoother than after a good polish with autoglym.

Then you use a "pre polish" which smells so much like choccy pud it had any passing girl questioning what I was doing. This makes the paint feel... it is the smoothest thing I have ever felt.

Then the polish which makes it SHINE.

People argue that you can get 90% of the effect for 10% of the price. This is a little narrow minded. You need LOADS of autoglym and I used to get through quite a bit, You use very little zymol to get a good finish. In no way is it cheaper than autoglym but it is not that expensive. Get some advice from a dealer. I went to Park Farme in Ferndown and they were brilliant.

THat 10% extra shine is what it is about!

>> Edited by gooby on Tuesday 21st June 16:40

[beachbum]

Where's Park Farme in Ferndown, obviously Ferndown, but where specifically. I live there and dont have a clue (about this or much else )

[petros]

Have used Zymol and Meguiars NXT Wax and for the money Meguiars is the best, in my opinion. Results as good as Zymol and far easier to use.

[ste cal]

dudek, er boniek, zmuda???

oh POLISH!!!

ill get me coat

[mac1967]

lol...thanks guys. A couple of conflicts, but i'll have a look and let you know how I get on.

Thanks again,

Mac

[gooby]

beachbum said:

Where's Park Farme in Ferndown, obviously Ferndown, but where specifically. I live there and dont have a clue (about this or much else )

Monsieur Bum,
Took me some time to find the link

www.parcferme.co.uk/

[flameop]

Meguires NXT or Zaino... not Zymol..

polish and wax are diff... a full good clean from scratch..

wash with fairy liqued.. (strips wax off)
Clay bar
Wash (whatever ya bought)
Polish
Wax

Zaino has a diff system.. which is now easier and quiler than before and available over here now

www.advancedcarproducts.com/index.asp?id=32

s

[gooby]

I have just spent the afternoon polishing my old Del Sol (so I can sell her) and there is no way you can tell me there is any polish to beat Zymol. It has made a 13 year old car look better than new. It never looked anyware close to this with autoglym.

[lasermatt]

Right so from the sound of it Zymol is the stuff to go for. I've always used Autoglym super resin polish followed by ultra gloss protection. I've always been pretty impressed but recently i've noticed that the paintwork after polishing isn't entirely smooth - Guess thats down to years of road film etc. so figure the Autoglym super resin isn't strong enough to remove this. Anyway the clay that Zymol do looks like it might do the trick. Just been looking at various websites and the Zymol range is huge!

Whats the recommendations from you lot on products to go for assuming I need shampoo, the Klay and some wax. Would you get their cloths etc aswell - Just picked out the products I thought I'd need and it came to £230!! So want to make sure I get the right stuff.

Cheers

Matt

[gooby]

Get a sampler kit, you gt some of the REALLY expensive wax. You also get the shampoo and the chocolate moose stuff. Then get some Lehm-Klay and the Lehm Klay Lubricant.

You will need an uncontaminated sponge, bucket and shammy and some decent microfibre cloths.

Follow the link to Parc Farme in ferndown, they are superb.

[bogie]

but why spend £200-500 to polish a £10-25K plastic car? ...and if you drive it the next day thens its mucky again.

I tried some Zymol from a friend and I really couldnt tell the difference between it and the 3 stage Meguires stuff ...it cost me £40 to get kitted out rather than £300.

To me Zymol is for the supercar or concours owners...for show cars that sit in the garage and never see rain....for people with £100K cars that dont bat an eyelid to have 'the best' (which it is) products and spend £1000's on them....i just cant get my head around spending that much dosh...my car is always filthy or dusty the day after anyway !

[gooby]

bogie said:

(snip) my car is always filthy or dusty the day after anyway !

Perhaps you need a better polish/ wax

[bogie]

now I might be interested in some £1000 pot of wax if it deflected dust and dirt (on a black car) for say 1 week ...I live on road with dust/trees etc, car is on drive. I can polish my car in the morning and by evening theres a fine layer of dust on it....thats why I cant be arsed half the time !

[Esprit]

I use the 3-stage meguiars stuff....

I use their gel shampoo-wash to keep it clean and give it a coat of wax every couple of weeks... this keeps it shiny and protected.

Every 4 weeks or so, it gets a wash, then a polish to bring back the shine in the wax coat with more wax to maintain the shine.

Every 8 weeks it gets the full treatment, a wash to get the dirt off, the paint cleaner to remove contaminants and the wax build-up and take it back to the clear coat, a polish to give a good base then a couple coats of wax.

I've tried Autoglym and it doesn't give anything like the shine of the Meguiars on my colour (New Aluminium) and doesn't do half as good a job of masking imperfections.

Never tried Zymol because you can't get it in this country... but given what people on here say about it, I doubt it's better than the 3-step meguiars stuff... certainly not given its price-premium.

The Meguiars 3-step system is one of those ones that you get out what you put in... you'll need to add a LOT of your own elbow-grease, but the finish it brings up REALLY turns heads when it's done.... and it's reasonably priced too

[adrianmugridge]

I've used Autoglym, Zymol and Merguirs and in my opinion they are all exactly the same. The same goes for car shampoo, apart from Turtle Wax Clear Vue, which is totally crap and leaves water marks all over the car.

Adrian
Esprit Sport 350