exterior & interior protection on new baby!!

[scoobysi]

Hi all

just got my replacement to the long term M3 - a Z4 M coupe (I'll upload a photo after it's inaugrual trip to the dales tomorrow) and while it looks absolutley stunning now I want to keep it that way!!

It's probably got (what I think) is the best colour combination but the worst for showing wear & tear - midnight metallic blue (so the stone chips show) and cream leather (so any marks show).

The M3 had a fair collection of chips on the front, the carbon black finish really offset the chips so well and the leather driver's seat got a fair bit of creasing in the lower side over the 40k miles I did in it - and I want to minimise these on the ZM

can people suggest or help me with:

- the best way of protecting against chips
- the best exterior wax/polish (I have autoglym stuff, but read about these 'wax once and you'll never have to do it again' products
- is Zymol any better?
- best way of keeping leather looking good - removing stains if they occur and keeping creasing at bay
- do any waxes etc protect (in some way at least) against stones, or is it film only that will help me here?
- any good dealers/fitters in Leeds area that can do any of above (thinking more protection film/venturesheild here, I'm not adverse to applying a good bit of TLC on my cars

cheers for your advice on this!!

Simon

[Ravell]

Personaly I find liquid waxes pretty useless for protection and prefer to use hard carnauba based waxes. Pretty impressed with Zymol's cleaner wax. It's not a hard wax so I simply use it as a top up every month or so, but it has this lovely coconut smell that really encourages you to use it and the finish is great.

Any wax with a high Carnauba content will create a hard film over the paintwork, especialy when applied repeatedly. Although not a bulletproof shield, it does provide some protection from stone chips.

[Mark V8]

scoobysi said:

Hi all

just got my replacement to the long term M3 - a Z4 M coupe (I'll upload a photo after it's inaugrual trip to the dales tomorrow) and while it looks absolutley stunning now I want to keep it that way!!

It's probably got (what I think) is the best colour combination but the worst for showing wear & tear - midnight metallic blue (so the stone chips show) and cream leather (so any marks show).

The M3 had a fair collection of chips on the front, the carbon black finish really offset the chips so well and the leather driver's seat got a fair bit of creasing in the lower side over the 40k miles I did in it - and I want to minimise these on the ZM

can people suggest or help me with:

- the best way of protecting against chips
- the best exterior wax/polish (I have autoglym stuff, but read about these 'wax once and you'll never have to do it again' products
- is Zymol any better?
- best way of keeping leather looking good - removing stains if they occur and keeping creasing at bay
- do any waxes etc protect (in some way at least) against stones, or is it film only that will help me here?
- any good dealers/fitters in Leeds area that can do any of above (thinking more protection film/venturesheild here, I'm not adverse to applying a good bit of TLC on my cars

cheers for your advice on this!!

Simon

I've the same colour combo in my BMW. Nice choice first of all.
- Protecting against chips ? Keep your distance or fit a clear film kit, pricey though....
- Buy a tub of Poorboys Nattys Blue. Easy on Easy off with no dusting, good starter wax if your on the road to detailing perfection...
- Zymol is better of course, but not by a quality vs. price ratio with the top formulations (Vintage for example) Try their Carbon at £46.00 a tub though.
- To feed the hide use Gliptones Cleaner and separate Conditioner...great performance and the best leather smell.
- Waxes will, if correctly layered prevent some low velocity small stones from chipping your paint, but its marginal. Get the film fitted if you are really concerned, but remember that the waxed finish on the protected areas will never match the quality of the well prepped and glazed paintwork.
- For TLC tips, how to's, advice, professionals in your area and general cleaning geekiness have a look on
www.detailingworld.co.uk
Good Luck.

[scoobysi]

thanks for the info guys, I'll be having a look closer at Zymol in that case for sure - I already saw the carbon wax as an option so at least I'm in the right area by sounds of things....

I know that applying film on the front and then the appearance between that and a waxed front end won't be the same, so I'll try to keep a little more distance than I do already from the car in front - usually a toyota traveling slow and driven badly

problem is is dosen't take long to end up behind another car!!!

cheers

si

[Mark V8]

Making other road users aware of your presence without using the horn ? Stone-chip city, dude....
A friend of mine picked up his new Montego Blue Alpina D3 in May and was in to me for 18 individual stone chip repairs just three weeks later....ouch.