CL2

Just a quick "mid-term" report on my experience with Zymol Titanium on my Brilliant Black 98.5 Avant. I normally use One Grand Blitz but decided to try the Zymol Titanium on the recommendation of a friend.

Titanium is one of the hand-applied variety of Zymol (as in no applicator, just hands on the paint). It goes on easily, but it is hard to get the hang of making a consistent thin coat. Hard to buff off--leaves a greasy film. Probably the film is because I applied more than I should have.

After buffing, I step back and examine. HD-Cleanse and Titanium appears to roughly the same results as my prior combo of Meguiar's No. 7 and One Grand Blitz. Perhaps a little more depth, but not a "wow, what a difference" kind of look. Then again, the paint is in pretty good shape anyway.

Six weeks go by, car gets no washing due to busy work schedule. Finally get time to wash it yesterday. Water hits car and beads really well, better apparent beading than my experience with Blitz Wax. Bugs and other junk slide right off the paint, perhaps a little better than with Blitz. Post-dry shine is very good.

Bottom line: I'm happy with the overall performance, but I'm not whether it's enough of a difference to justify the extra price.

phred

Come on now, good wax is one thing, but :&gt

April

It seems that Zymol is good, but One Grand is really good bang for buck.

Carnuba has a naturally pyramidal ( sp ) structure. We flatten it when we polish. Heat ( sun ) causes the carnuba to reform into its original shape. What does this mean ? Higher shine but for a shorter time. Your choice.

I ran a small detail company for a while ( paperwork and staff- yech ) and used One Grand almost exclusively. The older British cars that were my main patients responded well to this treatment.

Tried Zymol, and found the small increase in performance not to be worth the effort. Unless a client asked for and paid for this special attention, we stayed away from it.

If your car is in good condition, use a good glaze a few times a year and use "Der Shiny Stuff" as the regular wax. The more you use der shiny stuff, the better it gets. It is not touchy about sun or humidity. Goes on thin and wipes off. Kind of like the Wax Shop "super glaze" ( really a wax ), but better.

Never wash a car that is so warm that you can't leave your hand on the paint. Never use high pressure water - drills grit into paint. Angle water along body surfaces to avoid drilling problem too. Wash and treat inside fender wells. Use dark ( lint doesn't show ) all cotton plush cut towels to dry. Wax wheels so dust washes off easier. Don't use Armor All or other junk - alcohol dries out plastic long term. Use Meguiars. Use a sponge to apply plastic protectant - more precise.

Planetman

I'll preface my remarks by saying that I am very biased--I am a huge fan of most Zymol products.

One reason you may not have gotten an impressive finish on your car (compared to the other products you've used) is based on your choice of glaze--Titanium is targeted at SUVs. It's meant to protect upscale SUVs, while doing harder driving (i.e. off-roading). It's not meant to give this amazing concours-grade finish. Depending on the weather and your driving, if you were after just a great finish, I personally would have chosen a different Zymol glaze....my personal fav for just an amazing finish is Destiny.

Also, depending on how you buy it, Zymol shouldn't cost much more than other good quality products. You should be buying glazes in kits, not in stand-alone jars (that's the most expensive way). And when you get the hang of not using very much....well, on a per-wax basis, the cost is pretty comparable.

Which brings me to technique...yes, Zymol does require a different technique. But it's just that--different. I personally do not find it any easier or harder, or faster or slower, than other products. But to get the results that you expect, you definitely need to use the right technique (which is pretty well described in their materials).

At the end of day, it's Zymol all the way for me (Clear for washing, HD Cleanse when needed, and any of their estate glazes other than Titanium).

(stepping down from my soapbox...)
Planetman

CL2

My goal was getting better protection than Blitz without any loss of depth/shine. Blitz had always been my favorite, but I had an experience with bird poop etching the clearcoat on a freshly waxed hood in 20 minutes--the time it took me to get home and wash it off. So I was wondering whether something else would give superior protection.

After hearing good things about Titanium from a couple of people, I decided to consult Zymol about whether Titanium would suit what I was looking for. Their support person told me via e-mail that Titanium will give superior protection to Carbon, also with superior shine. Based on that recommendation, I made the purchase. I haven't had the misfortune to get birdbombed with the new finish, so I don't yet know if the protection is any better.

Appearance-wise, Titanium didn't knock my socks off, but this isn't meant as a slam on their other products.

And yes, buying through kits saves you a whole lot of green!!!

Planetman

that the Zymol support person represented that Titanium would have a superior 'shine' factor to Carbon...I would have thought it would be on par with Carbon....that you would give up 'shine' for protection. Huh...shows what I know. And I appreciate now that your goal was two-fold, both shine and protection. The other estate glazes would (IMHO) give you better shine than Blitz, but better protection is not their strong suit (unless you're waxing religiously every month, or even more frequently).

Would be interested to hear your thoughts in a couple/few more weeks, on the longevity of the Titanium, and if it holds up better to something like a birdbomb in a superior fashion.