View Full Version : Zymol Car Care Products
Andy Williams
17-09-2001, 17:11
After years of staying faithful to the Autoglym range of products, I thought I'd push the boat out on some Zymol products.
After browsing their new on-line store (www.zymol.co.uk) and recovering from the shock of the prices, I plumped for the starter kit (pre-cleanse, wax, shampoo, vinyl trim cleaner, wax applicator and towel) for 90 quid, rubber seal cleanser and lubricator for 15 quid, Detail wax (for plastic bumpers etc)for 15 quid and a wheel cleaning kit (Cleaner, protector and wheel brush) for 27 quid.
Now 147 big ones for a box of cleaning goodies might sound OTT butthe results are amazing.
The whole package arrived within 48 hours of placing the owner and after reading the owners manual (yes, really) I set to work on my new Leon cupra the following day. First off to wash using the shampoo, the tiniest squirt easily did the whole car. After leathering off, the car was cleaned using the HD cleanse, the car was brand new and looked immaculate on collection, the cleanser took off mountains of invisible to the eye delivery wax and made the car ready for the wax. The wax (not a polish, the makers stress) is worth buying for the fantastic smell alone (the neighbours are now convinced I'm crazy), it's made from natural plant extracts.
A couple of hours of hard graft and time to stand back and see if it was worth the time and money - YES. The finish is AMAZING and even better, after a weeks driving and 800 miles, the car was still immaculate, I don't know how it does it but the wax just seems to repel the dirt.
The wax and HD Cleanse should be applied every six months, I used so little that it will last for years (as long as I keep the wax in the fridge!!)
Equally, the wheel cleaner and protector make cleaning those nightmare wheels almost enjoyable, the interior vinyl cleaner leaves a nice, non-girlie smell and a nice soft sheen finish that repels both dust and fingermarks.
I DO NOT work for Zymol, just a normal member of the public who is incredibly impressed with an expensive but very high quality product.
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Andy
Your not the only one, a friend convinced me several months ago, to try Zymol.
I wasn't dissapointed, the car can get dirty, traffic film all the usual daily crap, just cleans up spotless everytime.
Its expensive stuff like you say, but its worth every penny and last for ages in my opinion. :)
It is a bit of a mission to apply the wax, the best method i found was to use the heat of my hand to apply it, it melts the wax into the paintwork easily, before buffing it off, my friend who is in the BMW Club of Great Britain swears by the stuff, and his BMW always look immaculate. :)
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Mark
zboyd@seatcupra.net
Imperial Blue Leon Cupra 20VT
Magazine Editor for the SEAT Drivers Club UK.
The majority of the Porsche Club GB use it too. It's the business, especially on dark colours. A big clean twice a year is worth it for an easy life the rest of the time; road muck in the winter or flies in the summer all come off sooo easily.
Jimmyboy
13-01-2003, 07:25
Andy, was it not difficult to wax your car in this weather? I always find polish etc very difficult to remove in this damp cold weather cos there is always a bit of water especially if you've just washed it and this makes the polish smear all over the place. :cheers:
Sounds good stuff though. Has anyone use Meguiars to compare the Zymol products to cos I quite like the sound Meguiars.
Hi All
Frustrating stuff this Zymol ! I have a starter kit sitting in the boot of my Leon but the instructions say not to use it below 18 C as the wax won't bond to the paint surface properly. My car lives outside and its been too cold to wax the dam'n thing since I imported it in October ! Still nice to look at though :).
You only get to wax it twice a year cos its only warm and dry enough to do it two days a year :grump:
Cheers, Snark
Originally posted by Jimmyboy
Andy, was it not difficult to wax your car in this weather? I always find polish etc very difficult to remove in this damp cold weather cos there is always a bit of water especially if you've just washed it and this makes the polish smear all over the place. :cheers:
Sounds good stuff though. Has anyone use Meguiars to compare the Zymol products to cos I quite like the sound Meguiars.
Enter the competition and bag some free Meguiars kit. ;)
le cupra
14-01-2003, 12:19
Have previously used meguiars on a concours polo 16v but plumped for the zymol for my new 03 cupra. The stuff is fantastic, far easier to use than meguiars and the results are superb. Top marks.:D
I personally like the zymol stuff alot, even though its a bitch to get on (hd-cleanse & carbon). I have noticed that paint chips on the hood are less likely than without.
It doesn't bond well below 18º as someone mention + I've also noticed
that it doesn't bond well on high humidity days.
i have quite a few hairline scratches and chips. Mostly just the lacquer rather than through to the paint. How does this work with these. can you see a white residule on them like you can with Autoglym?
I think I might have to invest. Mind you it will be a while before its 18 degrees!
Tigger II
14-01-2003, 13:29
Jimmyboy,
I have used the Meguiars 3 stage treatment on my Saab and Cupra. Both are black and came up beautifully. Not only that but they are now so easy to keep clean using the Meguiars Car Wash stuff.
Have just got some of their new trim detailer which I want to try this weekend. I have also just got a tub of the Wheel Wax from Extreme Car Care so hopefully I can get some of that on my alloys as well.
Jimmyboy
14-01-2003, 14:24
Thanks Tigger. I like the sound of the Meguiars stuff. Their website is good, if a little expensive to buy products from. I find it very difficult to wash my car and polish in the same day as you always get a bit of water along the seals etc that cuases problems during polishing. Usually if you wait until the next day to polish it bloody rains!! Meguiars do seem to do some interesting products, the sort of stuff that Halfords don't sell. I asked them a question on the forum on their website and got an answer back almost right away. The only downside of their forum is that I looked several months later and my question was still the newest thread!
Tigger II
14-01-2003, 14:57
The Meguiars website is very good but they charge carriage on everything. I bought my initial stuff direct from the Meguiars UK site but my last order of Meguiars stuff came from -> Extreme Car Care (http://www.extremecarcare.co.uk/) . With them orders over £55 are carriage free and they will throw in a set of applicator pads (highly recommended). I also thoroughly recommend the Ultimate Wipe, you only need one but for finishing off it is superb. I haven't bothered with their terry towels, I just use the Halfords Cotton Reusable cloths which the wife kindly launders for me after each cleaning session (though for some reason she still refuses to iron them)
Another site that does the Meguiars carriage free is -> Speeding.co.uk Car Accessories (http://www.speeding.co.uk/) though I have to confess I've never ordered anything from them.
Jimmyboy
14-01-2003, 15:07
I've used those Halford polishing cloths, if thats the same as you mentioned but they shed cotton like a dog in summer!! You end with bits all over the car and yourself!! I've looked at www.speeding.co.uk before as they have free delivery on everything although I havent actually ordered anything from them. I heard you can buy Meguiars stuff from the shop at Beaulieu motor museum. I keep meaning to pop in there when I'm out near the forest.
LEO LION R
14-01-2003, 15:34
I bought Zymol stuff last year, and love it. It last longer than others i've tried too, and so probably won't be a while till i have to buy anything else.
Has anyone tried this stuff http://www.5starshine.com/ sounds far to good to be true, and not really sur ewhat it does for your paintwork long term. :confused:
:cheers:
About 18 months ago some of the 944 forum guys got together for the 'Great Andover Polish Off', a brainstorm of one Anton Britten (now sadly RIP - a loss of a greaat character).
Basically Anton had a Jag that he wanted to repaint and sell, so he allowed it to be used to mark out areas of bodywork to be polished by various people with their personal favourite product. I couldn't attend, but the GAPO winners were IIRC Zymol Titanium and Autoglym Gold. I have a Word document about the event, but I cn't ttach .doc files here.
Zymol doesn't fill scratches with white residue, but the surfce clense isn't prticulrly good at polishing them out either. I use metallic T-Cut before the surface clense.
Somebody told me that Halfords are doing Zymol surface clense BTW; I don't know it that is right yet tho...
Ahh, I can zip the .doc, here it is...
To save time I sometimes use a 3M cleaner wax to remove light scratchs and oxidation before applying Zymol.
Which Zymol wax do people use? I've been using the Carbon creme wax but was told the 4x4 wax (titanium I think its called) is better.
I use Titanium. I got my Zymol first because I sold a car to a bloke (now a mate) whose wife is best mates with the previous Zymol importer's wife, if you follow. As such the Zymol ws prt of the deal so I didn't get to choose, but I'm still happy with the one I got.
Titanium is supposed to be more resistant to tree sap and other real-life crap rather than designed for ultimate finish. Concourse is the other extreme; very nice to look at but not very hard wearing.
That's the other thing I've noticed with the carbon... I doesn't last a whole lot.
bought the car wash shampoo and the polish (cant remember the exact name, will check later) from Halfords.
Excellent stuff. The car wash shampoo is similar to Autoglym. Lots of lime in the water here, so it always leaves marks, but with Zymol this was massively reduced.
The polish was impressive. I think its better than AutoGlym and the Turtle Wax Carumba (spl!!!) which i've previously used. Have to say that I thought it came out better on the other halfs car (silver) compared to my Blue chipped (paint not ECU) Leon.
The other thing that impressed me is it hardly left any white/blue marks on the matt plastic.
Very very impressed. As I mentioned available at Halfords (well the Andover branch)
Halfords has just started selling the same stuff up here so I gave it a whirl today.
I agree it's top stuff and reasonably priced also.
I'm still tempted by swissol though.
P.S. my hands are soft and smell lovely after using the polish (Dale Winton mode off)
:cheers:
in bed last night the mrs said "you smell of coconut"
that was a new one on me, courtsey of Zymol :)