A4 spring tidy up - Zymol vs Swissvax

[NeilScarrott]

Overview

So the A4 has now been wearing Zaino since October 2006 and this has been immensely impressive, can't really fault it.

I had in this time stocked up on some Swissvax Best of Show and had been given a sample of Zymol Concours, so the objective of today was to use these high end carnaubas and give the Zymol HD Cleanse and Swissvax Cleaner fluid a run out too.

Wash

So this is how the car looks at the start

So to start I whipped out the £5 pump sprayer I got from Netto earlier in the week. Nice bit of kit this for the money, I had some fun earlier in the week using CG Strong Wash on my windows and was surprised how well it worked, so I gave the lowers and the arches a spray down with this diluted 10 parts water to 1 part product.

After this, I then used my Old Formula SSF in the Autobrite lance to foam the car

I rinsed with pressure and the car was looking perfectly clean.

Infact I intend to avoid mitt washing for the majority of the summer and use a touchless wash as this is perfectly effective on what is a blanket of dust and insects. (I will of course continue to mitt wash my alloys).

The car was finally rinsed with 0 ppm filtered water from my RO unit and left to dry naturally.

Clay

I cracked out the Sonus green and the Meguiars Last Touch and started to clay.

Very little claying was needed, but some mild contaminants did come off during the process (not that clear but the clay is slightly dirty).

Some of the lowers needed some Autobrite tar and glue remover with an old microfiber cloth to remove some tar spots.

Polish

Now to examine the paint, all in all it is in very good condition, the winter wash regime hasn't really put much marring into the paintwork, the marring which does exist being mainly from the pre filter days.

Just the odd lighter scratch to take care of.

Unfortunately the car has quite a few deeper scratches, cat marks etc. I have decided up until now to leave these, but may attack them at a later date with some wet and dry.

I started off with PO106FF on a Meguiars Polishing pad, using the Metabo to spread at 700, work at 1500 and finish at 900 rpm. Unfortunately this did absolutely nothing and was a horrible reminder as to just how tough this paint is. The paint thickness reading was completely unchanged after carrying out the polishing. The bonnet averaging around the 120 micron level.

I decided to break out the PO85RD3.02 and use this on a fresh Meguiars Polishing pad and use this as a finishing polish

I gave the car a once over with this polish, spreading at 700, working at 1500 and finishing at 900 rpm. I found this polish finished perfectly, with no need to follow up with the PO106FF.

I finished the day with a second wash of the car, to remove any slight dust and pollen that had built up in the day. I foamed and rinsed and then carried out a mitt wash with Duragloss 901, then rinsed with filtered water and left the car to naturally dry. (You should have seen the faces on my neighbours, somebody washing a perfectly clean car )

Just a few shots to finish the day.

Protect

Up early the next day to cleanse and wax. The car had a blanket of pollen on the car so the panels were QD'd using CG Synthetic detailer as I came to cleanse them.

I decided to use the Zymol HD Cleanse and Zymol Concours on the bonnet and roof of the A4 and use Swissvax Cleaner fluid and Swissvax Best of Show on the rest of the car.

I started with the bonnet, I used a microfiber applicator with the HD Cleanse and made sure this was thoroughly damp before applying the HD Cleanse. I used straight movements and buffed off the residue immediately. With the sun not yet on the car and the panels cool, this was fine. You have to be very quick with the HD Cleanse and absolutely not let it dry.

I then applied Zymol Concours with the palm of my hands, I just adore the smell of this product, cough candy written all over it.

As I applied the Concours I noted that it wasn't that easy to get it to spread on the panel. I had to keep warming my hands and it didn't seem to go very far, the residue wasn't that easy to remove either. I need to use pressure with the microfiber to get the residue off. What made this a pain was that you have to remove the residue pretty much immediately. If it starts to dry, it becomes even more difficult to remove.

When I completed the bonnet I took the photo, the finish was very nice, very slick and looked good.

I did the same to the roof and then moved on to the Swissvax Cleaner fluid and Best of Show.

I used the cleaner fluid on a fresh microfiber applicator and applied in a similar fashion to the HD Cleanse. I wasn't totally sure how to use this product, but the method I used seemed to work fine.

The finish achieved was nice, it was quite a fresh finish against the slightly deeper finish given by HD Cleanse. The cleaner fluid came off fine, it was slightly easier to remove than HD Cleanse and I got the feeling that I could leave the residue and not suffer like I would with the HD.

Onto the Best of Show and oh my word, this spreads so easily onto the panel, it was like a revelation compared to the Concours. The product seemed to just run and run, I could apply it so easily. The Best of Show was a joy to use, I could do the entire side of the car without worrying about removing sections at a time, a big benefit for me.

The finish of the Best of Show was perfect, to be honest I couldn't tell the difference between the Concours and BOS, both delivering the goods in the looks category.

After finishing the car, I took a photo of how much of the Best of Show was remaining. I really didn't use alot. Bear in mind I had waxed a bike and done some panels on a TVR with the pot before today.

Dressing

I finished the job by dressing the tyres with Poorboys Bold and Bright, I dressed the trim and arches with 303 aerospace protectant and QD'd the glass with Clearkote quickshine (I had Zymol HD Cleansed and Ital'd the glass a while back so just wanted to bring back the lustre).

Finish

Overall I like the Zymol Concours, HD Cleanse and the Swissvax Best of Show, Cleaner fluid combinations. Both deliver in the looks category equally well for me. I have to say that in terms of ease of use the Best of Show was quite a way ahead for me, I really like being able to do many panels at one go and them remove residue and not have to worry about the product drying and becoming difficult to remove.

Funilly enough on the subject of out-gassing, I had more hologram style marks from the Best of Show than I did from the Concours (this being immediately after application). A QD removed any marks and I did notice several hours later some out-gassing marks from the Zymol which were removed with QD and none from the Best of Show.

How does this finish compare with Zaino? In all honesty the finish is pretty much indistinguishable. The car looks slightly brighter at the moment,

but I put this down to the claying and renewal polishing which really helped bring back a bit more of the finish. This doesn't surprise me as all these products are quality LSP's. I really enjoyed the hand application and will enjoy waxing the car this summer.

Not bad for a car 6 years old this year

Thanks must go to Iain for the Swissvax Cleaner Fluid and Jon for the Zymol Concours, cheers lads :thumb:

[Ska]

6 year old! More like 6 day old Top stuff there m8

I hear you about the toughness of audi paint I think the only thing tougher are cats claws, damned critters

BTW you didn't feel the need to remove the previous wax with something? If you had to remove some wax from a car that was waxed only a month ago would you use Megs APC 10:1 or is there something else you would reccomend? Thanks

[NeilScarrott]

[ QUOTE ]

6 year old! More like 6 day old Top stuff there m8

I hear you about the toughness of audi paint I think the only thing tougher are cats claws, damned critters

BTW you didn't feel the need to remove the previous wax with something? If you had to remove some wax from a car that was waxed only a month ago would you use Megs APC 10:1 or is there something else you would reccomend? Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks mate

The Menzerna PO85RD3.02 would have dealt with the previous sealant I had on the car as I gave it a once over.

I then used Zymol HD Cleanse and Swissvax cleaner fluid which are suitable for cleansing paint of previous waxes.

If your not doing an abrasive polish then either of these cleansers are superb.

Zymol HD Cleanse can be hard to work, but using it in shade with a damp applicator, worked fairly quickly and then buff off isn't too much of a pain. You can top this with a nice wax and the finish is always good.

You don't have to use a Zymol wax, you could try something like Victoria Wax Concours.

APC 10:1 will probably degrade your wax but I doubt it would get it off.

[ahaydock]

Very nice, and excellent write up.

[steelwind101]

Looks nice, do you prefer it to Zanio (which does give a different a look)on your car??

Geoff

[NeilScarrott]

[ QUOTE ]

Looks nice, do you prefer it to Zanio (which does give a different a look)on your car??

Geoff

[/ QUOTE ]

I think firstly if I had to choose between Zymol Concours and Swissvax Best of Show, it would be the Best of Show due to the ease of use, finish is comparable.

The finish given is slightly deeper than Zaino, not by much, the car does look a little darker though.

In all honesty I very much like both finishes, the Zaino is very special indeed and the wax is also special but in a slightly different way.

[Ska]

Neil I've noticed that the weather is relatively sunny with some cloud cover when you carried this detailing session out the same with your earlier mega detailing session. Was the paint not a little warm to polish and wax? Every time I make a plan to do mine its either raining or the sun feels too strong so I run back inside. Having said that my dads black e class is untouchable in the sun whereas the Audi's paint is lukewarm in comparison, what sort temp is the absolute max to polish/wax in?

[CarMad]

The big thing on the Zaino for me is how long it lasts. For this its just stunning IMO, nothing I've used has come close.

I sometimes put NXT on top that is pretty rubbish in respect to how long it lasts but does a cracking job at creating a sparkly finish.

[steelwind101]

Hi,

Yes Zanio is special and looks great for a long time. In away with your colour i wasnt sure what you thought moving away from Zanio that would probably have been my choice!!

Also the wheels look great....i hope they are sealed!!

Geoff

[NeilScarrott]

[ QUOTE ]

Neil I've noticed that the weather is relatively sunny with some cloud cover when you carried this detailing session out the same with your earlier mega detailing session. Was the paint not a little warm to polish and wax? Every time I make a plan to do mine its either raining or the sun feels too strong so I run back inside. Having said that my dads black e class is untouchable in the sun whereas the Audi's paint is lukewarm in comparison, what sort temp is the absolute max to polish/wax in?

[/ QUOTE ]

It was too warm to polish and wax in.

I managed to polish the bonnet, roof and bootlid in shade earlier in the day. I then polished the sides of the car in shade, turning the car around half way through. You really don't want to polish warm panels IMHO.

As for the wax, Zymol HD Cleanse does not like warm panels, absolutely never let this product dry, on and off and it wasn't a problem on cool panels. Swissvax cleaner fluid felt like I didn't have time constraints on removing the residue, but I did work this in the shade to be careful.

As for the waxes, Zymol Concours is a remove as soon as you apply product which makes it a pain in the bum, because you need to do one section and then immediately remove. I split the bonnet into 6 parts and even removing immediately it wasn't terribly easy to remove, this on a cool panel.

The Best of Show was far easier, I could apply to the whole side of the car and then remove with ease. I had the feeling that I could wax in direct sunlight and not suffer with this product. The instructions say leave for 10 minutes, but I felt I could leave it alot longer.

Infact one of the Swissvax approved chaps says you can go for lunch and not have problems removing Best of Show after.

[NeilScarrott]

[ QUOTE ]

Hi,

Yes Zanio is special and looks great for a long time. In away with your colour i wasnt sure what you thought moving away from Zanio that would probably have been my choice!!

Also the wheels look great....i hope they are sealed!!

Geoff

[/ QUOTE ]

I have two coats of Z2 Pro with ZFX on the wheels and my god this is the best product I have ever used on wheels and I have tried most: Poorboys Wheel Sealant, Chemical Guys Wheel Guard, Carlack AIO + SG.

The slickness is out of this world, they wash so so easily and I am expecting excellent durability.

I intend to top up protection with Zaino Clear seal when it is released.

As for Zaino durability, 6 months through winter absolutely no problems at all, it is a seriously good product.

[johnss8]

Neil got to agree mate the BOS is so easy to work with but i've never really had that many probs with concours either

[J_C]

Excellent pictures and write up Neil, very impressive.