As per @ofioliti's request, here are a few of the weird stuff we can find here in Tokyo for maintaining cars. I've taken those pics in a big auto superstore called "Autobacs" located in Tokyo Bay.
The staff was prompt to tell me not to take pictures with my DSLR, so I used the iPhone, hence the lousy quality...

You can find the usual suspects :




But here's the Japanese stuff :
"Polymer Cloth" (by looking at the contents description at the back, it is some sort of wax on a cloth ready to be used)


same kind of stuff but for glass :


Japanese polymer based sealant "Polymax". (their website)


Another product, more expensive, called "Crystal Shield". (their website)

Apparently it's "3 coats in one" with the upper layer being silicone based.

Here's the selection of "polishers" sold in that kind of store :


And not to be off-topic too much, here's proof that Japan loves the MINI :
(notice the little yellow icon on the right ?)

 

cool photos, thank you for sharing!

 

looks like the pep boys, auto zone, and oreily's stores over here.

 

Oh I'm actually pretty sure in Japan they modeled the stores after their American equivalents !
It was more about the showing the shiny packagings we have here than the store in itself though

 

nice pics thanks for sharing.

 

I like the asian letter style. very racey looking, even if it only says wax.

 

thats awesome. i would loooove to visit tokyo some day!

 

That brings back a lot of memories of my 4 years in Japan. Although I rarely shopped on the Japanese economy... $$$$... shopping at the Air Force/Army Exchange was a lot cheaper.

And hey... I bet you got some funny looks while taking photos of detailing supplies.

 

....ok, i take it back.

i'll stick to my Griot's and Prima artillery.

 

Thanks to all for your comments


Oh yeah I did ! but that made it all the more fun

Haha
Though that's the "over the counter" stuff, thus this is in no way representative of the products they use in workshops.
But as I said in the other thread, a supposedly "once a year" treatment costs a fortune and I'm not convinced it's in any way better than the premium stuff one can find in North America, like Prima, Zaino and the likes. Plus, that takes away all the fun of doing things yourself

 

i guess the challenge now is how you're going to keep the car clean come june (rain season).

 

Hydro ?

More seriously, yeah it's going to be a pain !
I only use the car on the week-end, otherwise it's garaged. Rain season last year lasted up until beginning of July. Oh well, i guess it means more frequent baths for the Mini haha !

 

I hate rain soooo much. which is one of the many reasons I moved to Az

 

Great post!

 

More than it soiling a clean car, the one thing I really hate about the rainy season is the fact that my dry cleaning bill for my suits triples for that period

 

Cool post and great pics! I've actually never seen that Meguiar's bug & tar stuff anywhere before...I wonder if it works. I once bought some really great tar & bug remover that basically looked like green Windex but just took EVERYTHING off with no trouble. Haven't been able to find it since. I found some other stuff that works as well but it smells like kerosene I'll have to keep an eye out for the Meguiar's.

 

hey, golf courses dont close just because of rain in Japan. neither should washing a car in the rain.


do you really use that stuff ML? the last bug and tar
crap i had didnt do all that well so switched to wizard's
BugRelease and things have been GREAT!

as for tar, i use RC car motor spray. takes
everything off including your paint. jk jk it safely
removes clearcoat. jk again.

you can find the can at your hobby store. it's a
must-have for detailing and for workshops imho cause it
dries clean and can be used even on electronics. i use it
to remove tar and stubborn stains, stubborn foam adhesives, etc.

 

Thanks for sharing, kurisu! It's fun to see what's available in Japan.

I'm impressed that they have Zymol's premium level products and right next to Zymol's junky products. It's rare to see the premium level products in a store to begin with, not to mention along with the rest!

Fun post!

Heather

 

Several years ago now, you could find gads of Bug & Tar Remover products on the market. Then California's VOC laws came along and wiped them out.

Most car care products have been able to compy with these regulations by just making some (for the most part) unnoticable changes in their raw ingredients. For most Bug & Tar Remover products, however, the necessary change in the raw ingredients meant a raw ingredient cost increase of anywhere from 300-900%! Manufacturers knew that people wouln't want to pay 300-900% more for Bug & Tar Remover so most of them just pulled the products and never replaced them.

Most products that will be hardcore will smell like kerosene or similar. Although Wizard's Bug Release isn't as hardcore as some products of the past it is VOC compliant and works quite well with bug removal.

We have been working on developing a Bug & Tar Remover but it's been difficult to make it work really well, comply with regulations, and be affordable all at the same time! We haven't given up though. It just may take time (plus we're busy working on a leather cleaner and a non-polymer shampoo too!).

-Heather

 

The polymer based ones do get the tangles out of my hair nicely though

Mark

 

yah in japan, just raise the price and people will think
it's the bestest.

Zymol top of the line $4999 a jar.
Prima Puriimium Kenchan Limited Edishion Hydro $5999 (same Hydro as the one I have in my garage but in a 10layer crystal bottle with carbon fiber spray head ).

then they say "aaaahhh, i must go for the PuriKen"

 

majide puriken chattari suru? yabeeyo kore yabeee. LOL

 

I like that the junky Zymol is locked up right with the better stuff

And yeah, I do use that bug stuff. The Wizards does work but I ran out at some point (or lost it, I forget which. Don't move cross-country, you just lose a lot off stuff, including your mind!) and I had a bunch of tar all over my front end and this stuff took it off...but the ease at which it came off made it clear I needed to immediately wash and re-wax

 

面白い！puriken tte saikou da ne

 

I've got a can of Turtle Wax Bug and Tar remover in the garage, but it doesn't work as well as it did years ago... they must have changed the formula as suggested above. It still does a decent job, but it isn't the same (and doesn't smell as solventy) as it used to be.