Hello all, I bought a bottle of Zymol's cleaner wax last night, washed my car @ a self-serve hand wash (minus the brush they have there), dried it, brought it home to a garage and finished up the drying and miscellaneous other detailing (wheels, trim, interior, etc).

When the car was done drying, I started applying the cleaner wax as I used to with Mother's wax, just going from panel to panel all the way round and then doing the roof. Well, I let it dry, not too long and mind you this was @ night, the car was cool, there was no wind (as this is the bottom floor of a basement style garage in an apartment complex) and obviously no direct sunlight. I buffed out all the wax and got to work this morning and lo and behold there's these strange swirl-esque marks on the bonnet and some of the panels. Now when I buff out my wax, regardless of brand, I buff the living $*** out of it, using various non-marring cloths... always with very good results. I'm also familiar with what I think are *traditional* swirl marks, the kind that look as though part of the car is now a vinyl record with grooves here and there. Though to the touch, there is no different feel in the paint/wax. This cooper is an 03' Cosmo Black... uh oh.

These swirls are different. They're definitely from waxing (or not waxing properly) and I'm scared as hell that I won't be able to get them out. They look kinda like the wax somehow *burned* in a bit, kind of, blurred the paint in the pattern that I applied the wax. They're also most prevalent on the bonnet, either because the engine heat brought them out or because I couldn't see in the light of the garage (which is very well lit, though not as good as daylight).

Of course I tried buffing again with a clean dry, soft cloth and got nowhere... they're still there and I can't think of what I can do or apply to get them out/off.


Please help!
Thank you!

 

You might try get a spray bottle and lightly mist the car and then buff it out with a soft cotton or micro fiber towel and do what they call "locking the wax".

 

My girlfriends MINI are also Cosmo Black and I used the Zaimo Bros which is the best...............:smile:


http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...ory_Code=Zaino

 

Not to be negative, but the product is not made by Zymol. It's made by TurtleWax and packaged under the Zymol name. I have a bottle here that I purchased for testing. I did not apply it to more than one panel beciase I thought the cleaner was WAY too heavy.

At this point, you will need to use a good swirl remover formula polish to restore the finish on your MINI.

db

 

Eagle 1 wetwax as U dry.....no more swirls ever!!!

 

OK, thanks guys I'll try that Zaino stuff and see how far I can get with it. I love the Cosmos Black but damn is it hard as heck to keep clean!

 

Oh sorry, and one more thing, which Zaino product(s) should I get? I was looking @ the Z5 stuff...

Thanks again,

orb

 

Z5 will help reduce the appearance of swirls, but it won't fix them. You may need to polish before applying Z2 or Z5.

db

 

I usually us the Z1 - Z2 and then Z5 on all our MINI's

 

So to get rid of them for good, would I:

use Z18 Claybar first
use Z7 Car Wash second
use Z2 Car Polish third
and then
Z5 last???

Thanks again!

 

Clay is a paint cleaner, not a polish. Clay will not repair paint surface damage, like swirls and scratches. The only way to repair paint finish micro marring (aka, swirls) is to polish using a clear coat safe polish.

 

...oh gotcha, so the claybar for this application would be pretty much useless then. I don't have any other nicks or scratches that warrant that kind of attention.

 

Try 3M Perfect-It swirl mark remover. It was recommended to me on this board and it works very well. As far as the Zaino, you always want your final coat of polish to be the Z2, so use the Z5 (for swirl marks/fine scratches) first, but finish with the regular polish.

And just FYI... the Zaino polishes are super easy to use. No need to buff the $--t out of it.

 

>>Try 3M Perfect-It swirl mark remover. It was recommended to me on this board and it works very well. As far as the Zaino, you always want your final coat of polish to be the Z2, so use the Z5 (for swirl marks/fine scratches) first, but finish with the regular polish.
>>
>>And just FYI... the Zaino polishes are super easy to use. No need to buff the $--t out of it.
>>
>>

yep, the 3M Perfect-it will get the job done. you'll have to dawn wash a couple of times to strip any remaining residue, claybar and apply the Z. good luck and post before and after pics.


_________________

 

Thanks guys, will do!

 

The product you used has quite a bit of oil in it which gives it the shine. It may be a case of streaking you're seeing from the oils.

You can try a couple of ideas:

1) an instant detailer and a microfiber towel
2) washing and drying the vehicle
3) applying more product to a small area and removing it while still damp

BTW, the aggressiveness of your buffing action may be the culprit. Applied properly, a wax should remove easily with very light pressure when using a proper towel for removal. And, the product you used isn't really designed to be left on the surface until dried, and then buffed off. It needs to be removed while still damp.

Give the above a try before investing in more/another product.

_________________
forrest@mothers.com

 

OK I'll try to re-apply that stuff while I wait for the Zaino to show up and see how it works.

Thanks for all the advice!

orb

 

I've been using the Zymol cleaner wax for about a year to very good results. No swirl marks on two dark blue cars, Indy Blue on the MCS. The keys are to make sure the car is totaly clean before application, not letting it dry hard on the car, and not getting too aggressive buffing it off. If you find it drying too quickly, misting it with water from a spray bottle will help.

If anyone is interested in Zymol products, Target stores had nice gift sets with multiple Zymol products on sale the day after Christmas for $17.50, it had been $35.00.


Tom