Polish

[Flip]

I have just picked up "something for the weekend" - A black Range Rover - and would appreciate any suggestions for decent polish / wax to use on such a large, slabsided "drug-dealin'-pimp-mobile" (to quote Missus Flip).

I currently use "CraftPol" - (only available to the trade) and Craft "TradeCar" Polish.

Are any of the "treatments" worth investing in? I am looking for a high-gloss finish (obviously).

Thankyouverymuchforyourhelp

:bannana:

 

[GrahamC230K]

Search!! Many existing threads on polish.

 

[jimmy]

I highly recommend Farecla 'Black Top' glaze (Trade only!) followed by Diamondbrite to seal it in, makes a black car look like new. The glaze does seem to feed and fill the fine swirl marks and makes them dissappear.

 

[sym]

Oops - moving to Bodywork section

S.

 

[simonl]

I just treated myself to some Zymol Concours wax. never used it before but very very good apparently. anyway, it's £140 over here (from http://www.zymol.co.uk). However, I got it through http://www.zymol.com in the US for $133 (~£75). (A friend out there is bringing my "gift" back .) At nearly half price I couldn't resist.

Maybe see how much delivery at import taxes would cost. You may still make a considerable saving.

Alternatively, I think Mercman can still get hold of DiamondBrite kits. PM him if you're interested.

 

[saorbust]

I use Concours Wax from Zymol. Didn't know the US import trick !!

Its fantastic stuff - lasts for ages.

Clarky.

 

[Flyer]

Zymol'd (Creame wax) mine and my g/f's Astra Cab at the weekend - two days of hard work produced some stunning results. Applying the wax is the easy bit; it's the HD-Cleanse beforehand that's the hard work. I used Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover first to remove the stubborn tar marks and then HD-Cleanse.

I'll wash them again this weekend and apply another layer of wax. The beading in the rain is amazing

Simon/Clarky, that Concours Glaze must be something special for it to have such a premium over the other Zymol waxes? (Although I did note the £5,570 tub of Royale Glaze )

(Accidentally dropped the container and cracked it . I've put cling film around it, so hopefully it won't dry out. Could have kicked myself )

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Satch]

US based workmate has a huge, bastard black SUV which he used to be forever polishing. Now swears by product called "Five Star Shine" (or something like that) which is a PTFE based product rather than a wax.

Certainly looked good to me and helped keep the dust & general road grot off, so many times a quick blast with water only and a dry off was enough. That may upset the wax purists amongst us and I am sure there are downsides, but in practical terms is pretty much where you want to be with a black car rather than have it look amazing on the drive pending 5 minutes on the road.

Not sure where you can get it in UK

 

[simonl]

Simon/Clarky, that Concours Glaze must be something special for it to have such a premium over the other Zymol waxes? (Although I did note the £5,570 tub of Royale Glaze )

(Accidentally dropped the container and cracked it . I've put cling film around it, so hopefully it won't dry out. Could have kicked myself )

i normally use titanium so i figured for an extra £15 i may aswell push the boat out.

i could've got some more titanium from the US and saved cash but i decided to exercise a little bit of women's shopping logic and spend more in order to save more <ducks>

 

[nickmann]

US based workmate has a huge, bastard black SUV which he used to be forever polishing. Now swears by product called "Five Star Shine" (or something like that) which is a PTFE based product...

Didn't DuPont get really fed up with pointing out that PTFE only works if you bake it on at about 3 gazillion degrees?

 

[Aletank]

Farecla 'Black Top' glaze (Trade only!)

"CraftPol" - (only available to the trade) and Craft "TradeCar" Polish.

Why do these companies have "Trade Only" polishes ? whats so special that the general public can't buy them ?
Think i read somewhere that the Autoglym the "Trade" use is far better than the shop bought stuff to

 

[jimmy]

Why do these companies have "Trade Only" polishes ? whats so special that the general public can't buy them ?
Think i read somewhere that the Autoglym the "Trade* use is far better than the shop bought stuff to

Have a look at the Farecla website, they do some really good products but they only sell to proper bodyshops. I can't buy direct but I can get hold of them.

I used the G10 extra fine compound followed by the Black Top hand glaze and then the Diamondbrite kit I already had.

I also have some G3 compound that I am saving for the poor Mondeo and the tractor one day.

I don't think they sell it to the public because you could probably do some serious damage with the compounds if used wrong.

 

[Flyer]

i normally use titanium so i figured for an extra £15 i may aswell push the boat out.

i could've got some more titanium from the US and saved cash but i decided to exercise a little bit of women's shopping logic and spend more in order to save more <ducks>

Works for me! "Yes, I know I can buy a £20 bottle of polish from Halfords but that will be gone in a couple of months, whereas if I buy a £100 tub of Zymol it will last *ages* longer, so in reality, I'm saving money" ..... "Oh yeah"

<gotcha!>

 

[lookskyward1]

The finish is mostly to do with good old elbow grease.

On a newer car Auto Glym 'red' polish gives a high quality deep shine. Follow this with a coat of Auto Glym 'gold' polish to seal it all in. Gives a really deep long lasting shine.

The best polish for an older car which is very easy to use is Colourmagic, this in itself gives a long lasting deep shine It covers minor blemishes and scratches.

 

[guydewdney]

anyone wanna come round and polish mine for me?

 

[Mambo]

For any of the Mancs on here you can get the Farecla stuff from the car spares place on Slade Lane, Westpoint/Longsight. Think its called SA Motor Spares (Don't quote me on that!)

 

[Flip]

Why do these companies have "Trade Only" polishes ? whats so special that the general public can't buy them ?
Think i read somewhere that the Autoglym the "Trade" use is far better than the shop bought stuff to

Craft was Trade-only because of the size of the containers - there was apparently a limited market for 10 litres cans of Polish (which goes off if not used within 18 months).

Retail is a pain in the @rse to get going, so they stuck with trade sales only.


:bannana:

 

[pwhite8314]

I spent yesterday giving my car its 'spring clean' using Swissol products; I think they're the same sort of stuff as Zymol, and are by far the best you can get; ignore the 'miracle' waxes you see on 24hr shopping channels, and anything you can buy in Halfords (though they're fine for an average wax finish, it's only worth spending 15x the price if you want a really good finish). I used to own a car veleting company, so got to try all the latest and greatest products, but most of them really are just the same thing, repackaged.

I first washed the car down with the Swissol shampoo, then used a clay stick to remove all the stuck on crud (IMHO much better that the solvent-based removers, and kinder to your hands!). Then used the cleanser to take any remains of crud or polish off the paintwork, and finally used the wax (about £110 a pot, but v v v v good!) to finish off. Leave the car in the sun for a few hours, give it a final rub down with a clean, cotton towel, and job done! Only problem is it's a silver car, so far less satisfying than doing the same on a balck car!

BTW, the trade Autoglym is no different to retail, other than it's a lot cheaper, but you have to buy it by the tin. I've got tins of red and gold in the garage, both going to waste (though I use the gold to put a layer of protection on my alloys).