Two months ago I had the car waxed. It was two coats (I can't remember which product the dealer used, but I can find out if anyone wants to know). I didn't post back then, since I thought it wasn't a big deal.

However, as days got by, I realised the car is being protected very well from everything, like bird droppings and insects that slam on the front bumper at high speeds... It was also nice to find out that dust doesn't stay on the car, which means that it doesn't get dirty easily. Some friends of mine were really astonished too: we washed our (black) cars together, and a few days later, after going through dusty areas, their cars were a total mess, while mine was still shining!!

Last week I went back to Autoglym, and the dealer refushed to wax it again:o !! He said there was no need to, but I insisted. He waxed it with one coat of autoglym wax resin. Some pics showing the results. I am very pleased.

 

more pics...
in the last one you can see the bonnet reflects like a mirror

 

Nice looking car. Black is a challenge but your's looks really great.

 

Holy crap, you've gotta be kidding me. That's great gloss. I've never seen clouds reflected that clearly on a car before. I know you're in Greece, but how much does that stuff cost? I checked on Autopia and read Autoglym's impressive credentials. If it's not too pricey, I wonder how good it would look on lighter colors, like titanium gray...?

 

That is damn shiny man. Shinyest black 8 I've ever seen. Must research autoglym..

 

Definitely nice gloss. But the clarity is lacking. Something that Zaino does that nothing else can match is both gloss and clarity. Nevertheless, it looks very nice.

With you being in Greece, the Zaino route makes it kinda hard.

 

I'm not trying to be a smartass, but what do you mean by clarity? Can you post a Zaino pic for comparison?

 

Zaino is 99.99% optically perfect, which basically means that it doesn't do anything to "hide" the paint, or obscure it.

But I don't know that you can really say whether this car's finish lacks "clarity" just based on looking at this photograph on a computer screen. It looks pretty damn good. But to be honest, any picture posted via internet can look very good, even if it hasn't been waxed. Especially Black.

Anyway, Autoglym is suppose to be pretty good stuff!

 

Autoglm is nothing special. It's an entry level polish in Europe. And although I'm not doubting that it does an adequate job, I have used it and I can assure you that it is nothing special. I actually prefer Mer polish over the Autoglm polish, and that is nothing special either... Both are cheap tho.

 

Thanks guys!

markd: I'm not sure how its gonna look in other colors, but I guess its gonna be pretty good. I think a friend of mine with a titanium grey has gone the same way, maybe I can ask him to post some pics here if you want.

Rob Tomlin: from what you say, both products do the same thing. The ones I used don't "hide" the paint, or obscure it. They just add gloss and protection. Small scratches on the hood can be seen with naked eye, but are not visible in the shots.
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What I wanted to say is that these products have good value-for-money, not that they are the best in the world The price was great along with the service: the first time everything was done for me just for 60 Euros, in decent time, while the dealer wasn't lusting for my money (like I said, he refused the second time).
And yes, zaino is not available here... I've seen pics and it looks really good too. If any of you guys have any, post them here to compare

 

It's funny b/c even though Autoglym apparently isn't all that (according to the testimony here), it's endorsed or used by the British royal family, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, etc. Apparently they're doing something right!

 

Like I said I am not knocking the shine/gloss quality. I like it. When I am referrring to the clarity, I am taking about the reflection. The outlines of the house and the garage door on the house, in the door pic, are not very well defined like the pic I attached. I can't blame the camera because the actual car body lines are sharp. No I am not expecting the reflection to be like the actual car body lines.

Maybe we can chalk it up to the fact that the oem paint jobs on the 8's are not the greatest or even comparable to that of a Corvette, Beemer, Porsche, etc... Here's a pic of a hood on a Beemer that you can compare.

 

Sorry there--wasn't trying to sound argumentative. I'm not a professional detailer, however, so it's hard for me to see the difference in clarity. For instance, when I look at Rotor's pictures, I see a lot of clarity by way of the cloud detail. If there's any distortion, as you pointed out, it definitely shows the difference in paint quality between Mazda and higher end makes, like the BMW you have shown. AHHH, what I wouldn't do for an orange-peel-free paint job!

 

I'm sorry too if I sounded argumentative. I am not a pro detailer by any means. From the posts that I have made here in the show and shine area, I am only trying to help others out. Experience, comparisons, and the little bit of knowledge I have about Zaino, I hope that I help ppl out. There are those that are unfortunate of being able to get Zaino.

I will never push Zaino on anyone. Recommend it, yes. Say it's the best, yes. People are free to use whatever polish/wax that they like. I will defend Zaino though. Just like others on this board will.

 

Keep in mind that I degraded the quality of all pics, to a great extend, to fit within the 200k limit of this forum. Furthermore, when I was shooting the particular picture, I was of balance a bit:o Still the pic is good because the camera does a great job, its a Sony V1 5MP.

And, to tell the truth, the doors on my 8 always reflected objects this way. It definately has to do with the Mazda paint job. I totaly agree with you. Seriously, its the worst I've seen on a car. Even the Alfa 156 I was using before the 8, didn't have metallic paint, but it was much better quality...

 

Damn!! Back in a minute...I'm off to buy some Autoglym!! I've been using Meguiers Quick detail wax. I think the Autoglym has it licked.

- Irish

 

Irish-

There are many other great alternatives out there to Meguiar's. Autoglym is one of them, as are Zaino (z2), Ultimate Paint Protection (from Four Star), Klasse SG, etc.

All of these are polymers, and they will far outlast the Meguiars that you have been using.

 

BTW, I don't know about these "ho hum" reactions to Autoglym. Like I said earlier, it is suppose to be very good stuff....right up there with Zaino.

From what I understand, they also have an upper end "pro" line, which I am sure is what automakers like Rolls Royce and Ferrari recommend when they say they recommend Autoglym (according to Markd).

 

You won't regret it. And, if you don't care about the money, let the dealer do the whole job. These guys are real professionals.
I know I'm not experienced in waxing a car, so instead of doing it myself and easily scratching it, I paid them to do it, while I had a cup of coffee nearby with my gf

 

Nah, buy a porter cable buffer and do it yourself. You will save money in the long run. Plus you will get a great feeling of pride and accomplishment by doing it yourself!

Just do your research to make sure you do it right. Take your time and read the posts over at autopia.org or detailcity.com.

Just my opinion, but I personally love detailing my car myself.

 

Whatever...
It's nice to do it yourself, I agree, but to some time is money too...

 

And don't forget NXT Tech, still in the Meg's family. Not as durable as Zaino, but produces comparable shine (or so I've read on some threads). Using a quick wax should probably be used for maintenance anyway, not as your primary wax.

Dammit that marketing spin! After browsing through their website, I suspiciously noticed that Autoglym name drops a lot more than any other auto detailing company I've seen (they list almost 50 car makes as their "clients").

 

I've used NXT and I agree that it does provide a good shine. Like you said, not as durable as Zaino though.