Date:         Sat, 16 Mar 1996 17:31:20 +0000
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Harry Yates" <hyates@bcit.bc.ca>
Subject:      Zymol Wax....your van with love it! (long)

Hi Everyone.  Well, I finally got to apply this wonderful product to 
the van today, and thought I would report this to the list.

For Christmas I got a Zymol "starter kit" which included HD-Cleanse, 
Vinyl, Clear Bathe, wax, and a towel.  The HD-Cleanse is a cleaner 
which is used prior to applying the wax, the Clear Bathe is a special 
soap for washing, the Vinyl is for the interior.  All Zymol products 
are free of petroleum distillates, non-toxic, and natural.  I 
upgraded the standard wax to the Zymol Fantasy Acrylic.  Our van is 
white, and this wax has 35% carnuba content.

I had a "paint sealant" applied to the van when we bought it, 6 years 
ago.  I thought at the time this was a smart move.  Well, with white, 
the paint gets dirty, and it needs to be cleaned anyway, so might as 
well do it right.  The paint treatment didn't let the paint oxidize, 
but there is very little you can do to maintain the paint without the 
special chemicals which they WON'T sell you.  Also, the paint, 
eventhough shiney, wasn't smooth and soft.  This is probably why the 
dirt was "sticking" to the paint.

Well, I was able to remove the previous sealant with the HD-Cleanse.  
This is non-abrasive and it does the work with apricot extracts, and 
other plants.  It also works *very* well.  This product is a liquid.
You put it on the paint and rub it with medium/hard pressure in 
straight lines.  When it turns "gummy" you buff it off.  This product 
will also remove the hairline polishing marks, etc.  I gave the van 
two coats of this stuff to make sure the paint was properly cleaned.  
When you are buffing the product off, the paint will "squeak" 
indicating that it's  clean.  This was fairly hard work... not 
removing/buffing, but actually working this stuff into the paint to 
clean it.  The van looked *very* clean after doing this.  I paid 
special attention to all the body seams, etc using an old toothbrush.

Then I applied the wax.  WOW!!  You use very little wax.  It is a 
paste, and is put on with a sponge (supplied).  You put on such a 
small amount, and then lightly buff it off.  As the paint starts to 
shine, you buff harder to an unbelievable gloss.  You must remove the 
wax before it dries.. ie/  in about 30 seconds after applying it.  
There is NO residue from this stuff.. even with the HD-Cleanse.  You 
can put it on rubber and it won't turn it white like conventional 
products.  I gave the van 2 coats of wax.  

I now have to wash it to "set" the wax.  This step isn't really 
necessary, but it hardens the wax and increases the shine.  I'll do 
that tomorrow. 

The Zymol products aren't cheap initially, but they work out to a few 
cents per application.  You can barely tell that I've waxed the van 
twice by looking at the container.  There is just a slight depression 
in the wax.  This kit cost me $120 CDN (with upgraded wax, and a 
bigger HD-Cleanse), but the cost per application is very reasonable 
as you use very little.... even with a big van.  I purchased this 
through an outfit in Victoria, BC, but there are other locations 
in the US.  Do a search on Zymol through Infoseek, etc.  BTW, you can 
buy a liquid Zymol wax at Canadian Tire, etc for about $24 CDN.  This 
has less than 8% carnuba content, and is a liquid.

I am very happy with the results from this product.  I've used many 
different waxes over the years, and this product is very impressive.  
The van has *never* looked this good!!

Waxed out, and pooped !

Harry.



-----------------------------------------------------------
Harry Yates, Burnaby, BC, Canada
'90 Syncro Westfalia  email:hyates@bcit.bc.ca
'87 Golf Diesel         WWW:http://www.bcit.bc.ca/~hyates