Review: Zymol Carbon Vinyl Smart Kit

[Zelfiris]

I received a Zymol Carbon Vinyl Smart Kit as a prize from Left Lane Giveaway #1 and I have been very excited to review it. It has been a string of rainy days since I received the kit pushing my review later and later.
Today overcast lasted all the way to 6pm but I decided no more. Luckily for me, the skies cleared after I set everything up.

OK, onto the review.

Packaging:
The kit box is white gloss with a green `carbon` sticker on it and I think it looks very nice, especially if this is a gift to a friend.

Price:
From Autopia`s store, the Zymol Carbon Vinyl Smart Kit has a MSRP at $139.99 (on Sale for $119.99)


What`s included in the kit?
1 x 8.5 oz. Clear Auto Bathe
1 x 8.5 oz. HD-Cleanse
1 x 8 oz. Carbon Wax
1 x 8 oz. Vinyl Conditioner
2 x Wax Applicators
1 x Microwipe
2 x Microfiber Applicator


The description on Autopia does not mention about the 2 x microfiber applicators but you can see below, they came with the kit.

The test subject - 2014 Hyundai Sonata SE

Not too dirty. The vehicle received a touchless wash the day before. Some light pollen and water spots.

First up, the Clear Auto Bathe. Individual MSRP - $29.99
This product says it is a gentle car soap that will not remove LSP.
It also mentions a great selection for maintenance washes. I`m not sure what to make of the latter yet but let`s see.

Instructions says to use two squirts into a bucket.

What surprised me here is.. the soap was a transparent gel. It was not runny at all. Foamed up.

Two bucket wash with foam shmitts.

Part 2 below..

 

[Zelfiris]

Shots of the Clear Auto Bathe on the vehicle

Do you see what I see? Or not see in this case? There is little to nothing for suds. What was left is a wet residual closer to just water. Kind of reminds me of.. rineseless products I have been using. Maybe that`s why it says its a great option for maintenance washes?
Next time I can try one bucket solution with a wash media

Before continuing, I decided to clay the car with car soap but I knew the Auto Bathe solution did not have enough lubrication. I decided to use Nanoskin towel with Four Star Car Soap.

A photo of suds from Four Star

Next - Zymol`s HD-Cleanse. Individual MSRP - $29.99
After the initial wash, this product will help deep clean the painted surfaces of the vehicle in preparation for the Carbon Wax.
Instructions are to work in a clean, dry and cool surface area (out of the direct Sunlight).
The HD-Cleanse is to be used with the supplied Microfiber applicators, applying medium to heavy pressure.

Thought: Will this cause swirls if I have embedded grime on the paint? Since I just clayed the bar, I`m not as worried. As of the kit`s process, this should help the carbon wax bond to the surface paint more `effectively`.

Working it in

I gave it a quick wipe down after each section and the residue removed easily.

Thoughts on HD-Cleanse
- I really enjoyed the smell of it. It smelled like chocolate and I just kept using it.
- Maybe because I clayed the vehicle, but I did not see much embedded grime removed from the paint.
- The microfiber applicator was turned completely brown (from white) after using it. I`ll see what my APC can do to clean it.


And finally, what I have been waiting for, Zymol`s Carbon Wax. MSRP at $54.99
Carbon wax is for dark colour vehicles containing 37% carnauba and comes in a very nice looking container.
I have to be honest here, I have not used paste wax since 2010 and this feels like a great refresher of my early detailing days.

Yeah that is right. I used my hair dryer around the edges and I removed it from the container. Next I put it in saran wrap to keep debris out.

Instead of applying wax by hand (which I really hate doing before), I will be using my Flex 3401 polisher!

 

[Zelfiris]

I leanred this trick from Mike Philips -> remove wax from jar and apply directly onto the pad. A nice and thin layer goes a long way.

I ran at a speed 2 then moved up to 3 with a white hybrid polishing pad. Ideally I would use black foam pad but I have been disorganise since I moved into my new place

The instructions did not say how long to leave the wax on. I left it for 2 minutes to see if it was about to dry.
This helped me dictate if I can do the whole car first or I need to do sections by section.

This took about 20 minutes to cover the whole car, section by section with a helper doing the wipe down right behind me.
I did not use the supplied Microwipe from the kit, instead I opted for a polishing towel I purchased for paint correction.

And the finished results!

The kit also include a Vinyl Conditioner but I did not had enough time so I will saving the review for a later date.

 

[Zelfiris]

You can see barely any wax was used. This jar will be going a long way for me.

It has gone into a zip lock bag in my fridge until next application.

After thoughts
1. I noticed Autogeek does not carry the Zymol brand. Maybe they are being phased out or not as popular. Amazon and Autoanything seems to carry the product line however.
2. Initially I wanted to use my new foam pressure sprayer with the Clear Auto Bathe but I did not because a) the product is a gel and b) the bottle is 8.5oz and it did not felt economical to throw 2-3 ounces for a test.
3. The HD Cleanse worked really well by hand. I used medium pressure most of the panels. But maybe next time I should use a foam polishing pad + polisher instead to speed up the process.
4. I noticed Zymol carries 3 other waxes for different applications:

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Zymol Creme Wax (33% carnauba for lighter colors) $54.99

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Zymol Japon Wax (37% carnauba for japanese paint) $54.99

​

Zymol Titanium Glaze (51% carnauba for high performance cars and its more resistant to elements) $99.99

​

My original test vehicle was a white Mazda 3 and I think testing with Zymol`s carbon wax would have my head scratching. Would I be using the Creme Wax or Japon Wax? The Mazda is a light coloured car but its also Japanese car. Hmm..
5. Although I did not used the supplied towel and wax applicators, I feel the kit is really well put together. Not everyone has extra towels and a machine to wax with. It has enough items to do the 3 steps (wash/prep/wax).
6. I`m really impressed with the carbon wax. It did not stain any trims when I applying with the flex. Any residues were wipe off with ease. The results also looks stunning. I just wish I had the sun up for appropriate after photos.
7. Until I review the vinyl conditioner, I do not want to comment on the value of the kit. However, the carbon wax definite holds its worth as I`m very impressed.
8. I think this kit is a great gift to someone who does car care.

That`s all I have to share for now. I hope you enjoyed my review!

 

[Zelfiris]

Reserved for sun photos

 

[rlmccarty2000]

Car looked mighty nice! Great review.

 

[Zelfiris]

Car looked mighty nice! Great review.

Thank you rlmccarty2000!

 

[RaysWay]

Loving the shine and reflection shots! I love the idea of this kit since it gives you everything you need and all products are formulated to work together. Great job! Looking forward to those sun shots!

 

[mjlinane]

Excellent write-up!

 

[Zelfiris]

Sun photos taken by the vehicle owner with his phone ^_^