Wax/Paint Care/Additives

[robpark]

Hey gang.


Quick question for you, what do you use for a wax/paint protectant after a thorough wash? Turtle Wax? Dura-shine?

Want to protect the paint and keep my bimmer nice and shiney.

Is water beading bad for the paint finish?

Thanks!


PS. ANy of you use additives in your fuel systems/oil/tranny? Z-Max?
Rob.

[bol]

You can't get good wax products off the shelf in Calgary. Turtle Wax and such are garbage. Autopia, autogeek, etc all carry good stuff online. I'm a big fan of klasse + pinnacle souveran wax.

If you're just looking for something simple just use pinnacle signature or a synthetic like klasse or zaino. The P21S paint cleaner + P21S wax works really well but it does not last longer than a few months.


You don't want any additives. You don't need them and they're all junk. Z-Max is mineral oil(completely useless.) The only decent additives are red line stuff(water wetter works as does their fuel injector cleaner.)


Water *should* bead when it hits your paint. Thats your sign that you still have wax left.

[robpark]

Thanks for the reply bud.... I was doing my research on additives and apparently Z-Max is under investigation in the 'states...

I am looking for a good wax/finish....What about the stuff they sell at the BMW dealerships?


Thanks!


Rob.

[bol]

Originally posted by robpark
Thanks for the reply bud.... I was doing my research on additives and apparently Z-Max is under investigation in the 'states...

I am looking for a good wax/finish....What about the stuff they sell at the BMW dealerships?


The BMW car wash is good. The rest is just relabelled Zymol products...(which I'm not a huge fan of.)


Wax and polish really depends on how much effort you want to put into it.

Klasse AIO + 2 coats of Klasse SG + 2 coats of Pinnacle Souveran wax = awesome finish.

P21S Paint cleaner + 2 coats of P21S wax = great finish.

If your paint has lots of scratches or oxidation you'll need to polish and to do that properly you'll need to spend almost $400 in polish products(porter cable polisher and pads plus 3 stages of polish.) It takes a lot of work.

Don't cheap out on your applicators either. High quality micro fiber rocks as do 100%(must be!) cotton towels.

The detail forums on autotopia and other websites have lots of valuable information. Everyone has their own preferences and the above are mine. I'm pretty anal when it comes to my cars finish and put a lot of effort into it. It is not uncommon for me to spend an ENTIRE weekend from 7pm on Friday to 4pm on Sunday working on my paint.

http://www.netera.ca/~adam/gallery/albums/Waxed/IMG_3339.jpg

[interlude]

zaino is also an awesome brand

www.zainobros.com for detailed info on products.

[bigbadboss101]

Yup, Zaino is good. This time around I got Klasse AIO and SG and I think I prefer Zaino. For off the shelf stuff I guess Meguire is decent.

Don't put junk in your engine.

[Tuner1]

Originally posted by bol
You can't get good wax products off the shelf in Calgary.

If you're just looking for something simple just use pinnacle signature or a synthetic like klasse or zaino. The P21S paint cleaner + P21S wax works really well but it does not last longer than a few months.




FYI, we stock lots of the P21S product and can also order Zymol, and not the Crappytire 'budget' Zymol!

Rob

[Clem]

I'm partial to Zaino. Easy on, easy off. Can even be applied in direct sunlight.

http://clem.e46fanatics.com/E46/images/zaino-1.jpg
http://clem.e46fanatics.com/E46/images/zaino-2.jpg
http://clem.e46fanatics.com/E46/images/zaino-3.jpg
http://clem.e46fanatics.com/E46/images/zaino-4.jpg

[bol]

Originally posted by E36S50B32


FYI, we stock lots of the P21S product and can also order Zymol, and not the Crappytire 'budget' Zymol!

Rob


Good to know!