Swissol Concorso on the M5 (no 56k)

[jrobbo]

Hey all,

Last week, I went over my car with the Menzerna FF on my RO, and then topped it off with a layer of Meguiars NXT Tech Wax. Today, I washed the car down, dried it, and then applied a coat of Swissol Concorso wax. This is pretty expensive stuff, I managed to get a slightly used tub at a good discount, so I thought i'd give it a go

This is the first time i've ever used a wax that had to be applied by hand, but I actually enjoyed it. It was very tactile rubbing my hands over my very smooth car. Rumours that I was sporting a chubby during this process may or may not be true, i'm not saying. ;) It took a little practice to get the the right amount of heat into the wax before applying, but it didn't take long to figure it out. The great part about applying it by hand is that you don't waste any wax, whenever I apply way using an applicator, I always feel that only half of it ends up on the car, the other half gets soaked by by the applicator.

The instructions say to leave it for 10 mins before removing. For me, that meant doing 1 third of the car, then going back and removing the wax and then the next third and so on. Removing it was difficult. I tried using the RO (Random Orbital) buffer with a hard pad and MF (micro fibre) bonnet, but the bonnet clogged up in no time at all. I often find this to be the case with Carnauba waxes, whereas it works like a dream with synthetic. So I ended up using 4 or 5 MF cloths to remove it. I didn't manage to get it all off, there is still a very slight amount of streaking. I should have gone over it with the RO and MF bonnet to finish it, but it's too late now, too much dust will have settled on it, that will have to wait till I wash it again next weekend.

Anyway, here's a few pics that I took after applying it.

http://www.jrobbo.com/M5/Concorso/images/image002.jpg

http://www.jrobbo.com/M5/Concorso/images/image005.jpg

http://www.jrobbo.com/M5/Concorso/images/image010.jpg

So, what do I think? Well, I like it! There's a clarity of colour that I find very hard to get, and that alone makes it worth it for me. My car (it's Macau Blue) changes colour so much in different lighting conditions, but it often looks black or brown, whereas it's true colour is a dark purple, and the concorso brings that out. It also has a wetness that i've never really achieved with other waxes, without the finish also looking plasticy. It didn't do anything for Orange Peel though, as is evidenced in the pictures, but whichever way you look at it, it still looks fantastic for a 16 year old car, driven daily, with 205,000kms on the clock, and with largely original paint. At least it does to my eyes anyway.

More pics at http://www.jrobbo.com/M5/Concorso/

Regards

John

[nizmainiac]

that looks nice, it gives a really deep shine, i use auto glym wax which is exellent and also quite expensive, but the results are well worth it, i did notice that you've used tyre conditioner which is something i would never use as the detergents in it will rot out the sidewalls of your tyres. I wish my car was as clean as that , but i'm in the south of the u.k. and it's always raining and there are 15 foot high solid earth hedges right next to the roads, at the moment my car looks like it has done a few stages on the rally GB

[Jehu]

Ripping!Was the RO cordless ? I was planning on getting a Porter-Cable for just this purpose but if even a plugged in orbiter can't finish the job maybe i'll save my money and just do it by hand..

[Macv]

Very pretty. Looks brand new.

[markus]

looks great. however can you make a list of the detail products you use? I want to get an RO next spring when its warm enough to use one again and remove the swirls in my paint. What kind of polish would you recomend? I have P21S paintwork cleanser and I use the carnuba wax. But Is the paintwork cleanser good to use with a buffer? I also use an autosol claybar. Byt my hood and trunk had a lot of swirls I want to remove.

[Alan_525i]

If the wax is hard to remove like that, you're likely leaving it on too long or using too much. Paste/"hard" (most things that come in a tub) waxes like Zymol and Swissol really are best used as sparingly as possible. I've had the same tub of S100 for over 3 years. (S100 is a wipe on, wipe off wax though so its a little different). Don't forget that by the time you get it on 1/3 of the car and start buffing the first of it off at 10 minutes, by the time you get to the end of that third you are at much more than 10 minutes. I usually do only one door/fender or a half hood/roof at a time.

While some waxes may be more difficult than others, you should NEVER have to fight it to get off.

Regardless, the car looks absolutely wonderful. Very nice work.

[BMWCCA1]

You may have used too much wax. Since Swissol is a rip-off of the Stateside zymöl brand of products, I feel I can speak with some authority. Your small tub of wax should be enough to do about 30 Cadillac-sized cars. Using it with that amount in mind makes it not so hard to get off. Also, spraying a mist of water over it after it's set up like yours had, might help in the removal and evening-out the wax. I'm assuming your wax came in the plastic tub with the o-ring seal? It's also best kept in the refrigerator to ensure it stays fresh since it's supposed to ba an all-natural product. Are you sure yours was fresh? I've had plenty of opportunity to try all types of zymöl waxes from Concours to Carbon. I find the more "normal" (still not cheap) blends are easier to work with and give the best results. You also may have introduced a problem not properly preparing the surface with the Swissol pre-wax cleaner (for zymöl that'd be HD Cleanse). The other surface treatment items you've used may not be compatible with the organic stuff. Proper cleaning is always the first step. YMMV

[Russell]

No staggered wheels? Were staggered wheels standard on e34 the M5?

BTW, I use a very low cost synthethic wax/polish here in the US. Duragloss Total Protection Polish 105 is avalable from NAPA autoparts or ordered direct for about $8.00 a bottle. Very good. Of course, proper prep is everything.

[jrobbo]

Thanks for the comments guys. I don't know that I used too much wax, but I probably left it on too long, so next time, i'll just do one panel at a time. i've used probably a donzen different sorts of wax over the past 2 years on my car, but the Swissol is the first one that really brings out the true colour of the car, but my second favorte wax is cheap old Meguiars NXT tech wax (synthetic), closely followed by P21S carnauba. But on my car at least, the Swissol is way out in front.

I've just bought some swissol medium cleaner fluid, so over the xmas break, i'll start over with the cleaner, and then top it off with a couple of layers of
swissol concorso (put on over a couple of days)

Have a good Christmas

John

PS My car has staggered (18x8 and 18x9) OEM wheels

[CharlesAFerg]

you lucky chump...
http://42.passwall.com/pics/portraincam.jpg

Keeping me from doing what I love!
I'm jealous of you Aussies! :D

[Qube]

Not only does the wax look good, most of the plastic trim is on right and lines up :)

[jbraswell]

Looks great. If you had trouble getting it off I'd say you put too much on or left it on too long like you said. Definitely keep the RO off of it, especially with a "hard pad," as that will do more harm then good. Has the car ever been painted? It looks to have some moderate peel going on, might want to think about cutting it harder next time or getting someone to cut it with a rotary. I've just started using menzerna, and its definitely very easy to use. IP + PO106FF has produced some good results for me. Beautiful car!

[Jon K]

i regularly use a paste wax (i don't like the S100 alan uses because it streaks real bad on dark cars... white is fine but dark is a pain in the ass to get off). I use mothers carnuba in paste and apply it with an applicator. I find that it's best to leave it on for about 10 - 15 mins and wipe off each panel with a clean rag. If the rag gets even the littlest bit clogged it will just smear. I have about 10 or so terry rags whenever I wax.

[jrobbo]

Looks great. If you had trouble getting it off I'd say you put too much on or left it on too long like you said. Definitely keep the RO off of it, especially with a "hard pad," as that will do more harm then good. Has the car ever been painted? It looks to have some moderate peel going on, might want to think about cutting it harder next time or getting someone to cut it with a rotary. I've just started using menzerna, and its definitely very easy to use. IP + PO106FF has produced some good results for me. Beautiful car!

I only use the hard pad when it is covered with a MF bonnet, just to give it some support. The softer pads don't work very well with the bonnets. I'd never use the hard pad directly on the paint.

The car is still on largely original paint, it's going to get resprayed though early in the new year.

Thanks!

John

[jrobbo]

you lucky chump...

Keeping me from doing what I love!
I'm jealous of you Aussies! :D

Don't be too jealous, things are getting pretty dire over here, we've had very little rain this year, and our water reserves are drying up fast. We've had pretty severe water restrictions for the past 6 months, and from 1st Jan, they get even worse. Everything is really dry over here, lawns and gardens are dead everywhere. We'd love some of that rain if you could organise it! :-)

John

[Digita1 Ecstasy]

uh yeah man it would do you well to listen to the two people saying you used too much wax. because it deffinetly looks/sounds like you did.


Dunno why everyone raves about Carnuba wax.

Has one of the lowest melting points of all wax. 70% of it can melt off leaving your dark car in the sun in the summer for even 5 hours. It does have one of the best "wet depth" shines of all waxes, but whats the point if it has no longevity.


your car looks hot though. whats the exact color again? marcaue blue or something

[Paul in NZ]

that looks great robbo esp for a 200 tho k daily.I thought my car lloked pretty good.I will work on it over xmas!I only do one pannael at a time too,otherwise it dries too much even over here in temperate NZ!

[CharlesAFerg]

uh yeah man it would do you well to listen to the two people saying you used too much wax. because it deffinetly looks/sounds like you did.


Dunno why everyone raves about Carnuba wax.

Has one of the lowest melting points of all wax. 70% of it can melt off leaving your dark car in the sun in the summer for even 5 hours. It does have one of the best "wet depth" shines of all waxes, but whats the point if it has no longevity.


your car looks hot though. whats the exact color again? marcaue blue or something

I agree, if it is a daily driver then it's a definately a no, depending on what the customer wants.

I've given my customers various options when it comes to my various compounds.

[Alexlind123]

Your car excites me.