Zymol Glasur & Swissvax Autobahn - my initial thoughts

**imported_Dave KG** · 03-30-2007, 01:56 PM

Bryan and I decided to give my car a quick tidy up today and try out a new (to us) wax... Zymol Glasur. (Yes, I know, they say its for Porsche paint, but I`ve never believed in this marque specific wax stuff, and have already seen Glasur perform well on cars that aren`t Porsche)

Now I know that silver metallic paint isn`t in many people`s eyes the best colour to try out a heavy yellow carnauba paste wax (indeed many prefer the syntheic only look on silvers), but my tastes as far as finishes goes is to strive after warmth, gloss and depth rather than shiny and reflective and for this reason synthetic sealents have never suited me looks wise... The closest I came to liking a sealent finish was Menzerna FMJ and that lasted three weeks before I topped it with a wax!

Most recently I have been hugely impressed with the Victoria waxes - Concours and Collectors - for the beautiful depth they give to paintwork and they way they well and truly punch above their weight price wise. On all colours I have tried them on to date, both lights and darks, they have never failed to impress and their durability is good too.

But I cant resist trying out new products, espeically waxes!

So, the car was foamed with Autoglym PowerMax3 and then washed. Then, the traditional Zymol application of HD Cleanse, followed by the Glasur glaze applied directly by hand. The wheels were looking rather sorry for themselves after I had to drive through an oil slick, they got covered in a coat of oil which mixed with the brake dust and looked really awful... And the grime stuck fast as well, we resorted to Megs Wheel Brightener cut 4:1 to shift it, then the wheels got another new-to-me product: Swissol Autobahn, following the Swissol Cleaner Fluid.

First of all, the pics:

Now, my thoughts. The result of the Zymol Glasur in my eyes was to deliver to the silver a deep liquid gloss look, which in my eyes was the same style of finish the Victoria waxes were giving. The finish certainly isn`t reflective in a sharp way, its more of a mellow warm gloss and this is exactly what I strive to achieve from my finishes. The Glasur had its work well and truly cut out if it was to come close to the Victoria Concours wax and its risen to the challenge admirably. I would say that that Glasur has mathced the Concours in terms of depth and warmth to the finish, indeed both of these waxes delivering very similar results on the silver. Naturally further testing on other colours would be needed to see how they all compare in other respects. I will be layering and experimenting with the Glasur over the coming weeks (if I keep the car, but thats another story

) as I am very impressed with the finish and saying that it matches the Victoria Concours in terms of depth is a serious compliment to a wax as this is the Concours` strong suit.

The Glasur is a very quiet wax in the Zymol range as well, and is heavy in yellow carnauba which is clearly contributing to the warm and deep finish it delivers. I actually think that this wax is a bit of a sleeper in the Zymol range, very rarely talked about but a supberb wax that delivers excellent results, and as far as Zymol goes its also reasonably priced, falling below Ã‚£100. Indeed, the only niggle for me with this wax is the fact the Victoria Concours performs (IMVHO) very nearly up to the same level as the Glasur (Glasur delivering a slightly wetter finish but still having the same excellent depth) and is significantly less expensive. The Glasur is an excellent wax however and would be sure to impress. It has impressed me, and would have impressed me even more if I had never tried out the Victoria Concours!!

(Obviously, durability of the Glasur is yet to be seen, and will keep you posted if I keep the car).

Oh, and the Swissol Autobahn: the CF did an excellent job of prepping the wheels for the wax, removing any traces of residue from the aggressive washig stage that the wheels recieved. The Autobahn was easy to apply and remove, and in the jar its a pretty hard wax so I used very very little to do all four wheels. The finish allowed lovely flake popping and feels very slick. Just need to see the durability now...

Anyway, thats my thoughts on a couple of new-to-me products, just thought I`d share.

**imported_Steelth** · 03-30-2007, 02:32 PM

Thanks for the Input I always enjoy reading your reviews on the carnubas.

**porscheC4S** · 03-30-2007, 03:18 PM

Excellent. I can`t wait to get my jar. Dave, quick question. How do you think it compares to Zymol`s Concours wax? If it is better, is it $70 better (the price difference between the two)? Also, do you think it will match well with my Speed Yellow?

**imported_Dave KG** · 03-30-2007, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by porscheC4S

Excellent. I can`t wait to get my jar. Dave, quick question. How do you think it compares to Zymol`s Concours wax? If it is better, is it $70 better (the price difference between the two)? Also, do you think it will match well with my Speed Yellow?

The Zymol Concours wax (in the UK at least) is the more expensive one, the Glasur being the cheaper one...

At the monent, in my honest opinion, I would say that the two waxes (Zymol Glasur and Zymol Concours) are quite similar, the Concours giving a slightly wetter look to the paint yet with the same depth to the finish...

One thing though is the Victoria Concours wax, and IMVHO this performs at a level which is comparable to the Glasur, certianly in terms of the depth of gloss it provides and it is considerably cheaper and for this reason, with durbaility not taken ito consideration as I`ve just started using the Glasur, the Victoria Concours would be my choice simply from the value for money point of view... The Glasur may have a very very slight edge looks wise, but the Vic Concours runs it so very very close and is considerably less expensive to buy.

Returnig to the Glasur, its heavy in yellow carnuaba and this is ideal for solid colour cars so I would say it will certianly work a treat on your solid yellow paint. :up