recommended polish
Moderator: martauto
- bimmerpimp
- E30 Zone Newbie

- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:00 pm
- Location: torbay south west
mer is pretty good if you want a deep shine you will have to prep your paint first get it machine polished to get that glass finish then use a wax not polish there two different things to seal the paint and give a gloss finish a wax with high carnuba content should do the job or if you cant be botherd with that turtle wax coloure magic as it has a good polyurothene content
colur magic is total spawn of lucifer
as said prep is the key .99% of the result is in the ptrep work
lot of comment on this section about products do a search
its a question like which beer is best
but if you want stunning results
prep and then use zaino
new product about to hit these shores by them called zaino AIO
all in one product supposed to be incredible
jon
as said prep is the key .99% of the result is in the ptrep work
lot of comment on this section about products do a search
its a question like which beer is best
but if you want stunning results
prep and then use zaino
new product about to hit these shores by them called zaino AIO
all in one product supposed to be incredible
jon


Yeah the zaino stuff is awesome, but what really gets me is how the suppliers over here feel the need to more than double the price
If only they did direct international shiping
The best stuff i've found easily available and resonable cost is the Zymol Cleaner wax, you can get it from halfrauds and last ages!
The car comes up really well and it smells good too

Meguires ALL the way
If you want the proper car show shine at reasonable cost get yourself a clay bar and a wax then polish from Meguires, also get some metal polysh (or spelt similarly) - infact they have a product for whatever u wanna do!!
I used mer for a while, then autoglym, turtle wax i hate, and a few others - meguires is decent, zymol and couple others better but can be pricey
If you want the proper car show shine at reasonable cost get yourself a clay bar and a wax then polish from Meguires, also get some metal polysh (or spelt similarly) - infact they have a product for whatever u wanna do!!
I used mer for a while, then autoglym, turtle wax i hate, and a few others - meguires is decent, zymol and couple others better but can be pricey
BMW 325i
- Estoril-5
- E30 Zone Newbie

- Posts: 216
- Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Birmingham
- Contact:
for best advice head over to Detailing World, do a google search dude.
edit, just click here
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/
edit, just click here
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/
nobody but nobody in this country doubles the price on anything in zaino range for profitDannyboyb wrote:Yeah the zaino stuff is awesome, but what really gets me is how the suppliers over here feel the need to more than double the price![]()
If only they did direct international shiping![]()
The best stuff i've found easily available and resonable cost is the Zymol Cleaner wax, you can get it from halfrauds and last ages!
The car comes up really well and it smells good too
i can tell you ...fact.... that you would not believe the costs involved getting the stuff over here and how its done
sal zaino will not entertain export period
he has one outlet in europe which is in germany which is run by a guy part time who is a surgeon by day
the two suppliers in this country then have to deal with him and after transport ,vat,import duty,charges for agent to handle product through customs the price has rocketed
profit wise on the products is less than 15%
and thats without the discount that the suppliers give to forum members etc so there are no massive profits being made by anybody
you also would not believe the months of negotiaitions it took to allow uk suppliers to exist
jon

Sorry i'm just going on what I see. Simple figures;
Zaino Ultimate Protection Show Kit - $116.95 / £60.61 from the Zaino Store
Zaino Ultimate Protection Show Kit - £169.95 / $327.88 from Uk supplier
I appreciate that shipping over here and taxes etc will add abit but come on thats nuts!
I used Zaino when i lived in the states and was so impressed with how good it is, came home and was horified at how much it was.
If Zaino can't see that becoming aswell known international as they are in the states would not be to their advantage they have been sniffing too much of their own products.
I'm not having a go at anyone in particular its just my opinion.
Zaino Ultimate Protection Show Kit - $116.95 / £60.61 from the Zaino Store
Zaino Ultimate Protection Show Kit - £169.95 / $327.88 from Uk supplier
I appreciate that shipping over here and taxes etc will add abit but come on thats nuts!
I used Zaino when i lived in the states and was so impressed with how good it is, came home and was horified at how much it was.
If Zaino can't see that becoming aswell known international as they are in the states would not be to their advantage they have been sniffing too much of their own products.
I'm not having a go at anyone in particular its just my opinion.

As one of the two Approved Zaino Stockist in the UK I feel I should put my point of view across…
Rob may want to add his thoughts if he reads this forum but I'm sure if he did he would agree that I am talking for us both.
The first thing to say is that I, as Jon said, had to fight for literally months to be allowed to stock and sell this range, Originally I contacted Sal with a view to getting some samples sent for trial in the BMW laboratory that I work in with a view to using them in Final Finish for the Rolls-Royce Phantom family, Sal basically said, as flattered as he was, he had had his fingers burned with OEMs before and knowing this industry like I do, I am inclined to agree with him. OEMs assess EVERYTHING on two levels; Cost and Performance. If a product is a candidate for replacement, it must do one of two things. 1. Offer better performance for the same money. Or, 2.Offer equivalent performance for less money.
The business of OEM supply is fiercely competitive and it is not unusual for a product to be replaced after a very short time if a new one comes along. Sal knows this from experience, having been â€Ëastitched-up' in the past by certain US OEMs after having supplied samples etc.
The reason I have digressed to this extent is purely to underline the fact that Sal, understandably has no time for exporting his products. He has a distributor in Germany, one in Australia, and several in the US and Canada.
As I mentioned I had to fight/negotiate/blag for months to be allowed to sell this range, Sal told me it was because he could see, by how persistent I was, how much I wanted it. And I alledgedly impressed him.
Even then I was told I had to go through the European Distributor in Germany THERE WAS NO WAY TO AVOID THIS.
The German distributor has to recover the costs of getting it to Europe and obviously make his profit.
As for simply doubling the price, that is absolutely untrue: To buy something from the US several charges are added which include VAT, Shipping, Duty, Customs fees, Clearance fees, Forwarding fees, shipping agents fees. To give you all an idea of what these amount to, When I bought the DF Concours towels, as recommended by Sal, I bought about £420 worth. It cost me £378 MORE, TO GET THEM TO MY DOOR
The Duty payable on goods from the US varies depending on what class the products are in.
As Rob and I have to buy from Germany, we are subjected to German VAT, which in January this year was raised from 16% to 19%.
Zaino has to come by BOAT from the US as it will be ruined if it freezes in the hold of a cargo plane. This means Sal/Germany will not sell to me unless my order is $11,000 or more. But I still have to buy through Germany, so, once the German distributor has recovered the ~90% additional costs to get the products to him, I must then pay German VAT and shipping to myself. The prices I pay are based on the EURO prices NOT the US prices.
So, once I have the products here, I have paid the German distributors costs, his profit, German VAT, and delivery - £400 last time I ordered, due to temperature controlled transport costs being necessary in January.
So now I have the products with me, I must sell them. To do this I must pay for, A webmaster, A merchant bank account, a secure credit card handler, and then make a profit. My profit is nowhere near 100% In fact I would be delighted if it was a quarter of that.
This is not the first time I have felt it necessary to justify my position regarding Zaino in response to comments on the internet. Hopefully this post will go some way to explaining the reasons why it's so damn expensive to import from the US and why US products generally are very expensive here.
I can see that Zaino is expensive here, but I know all too well why. If you go to the States, bring some back for your own use, I would!!
To sum up, I am a car detailing fanatic who wanted to bring this outstanding range to the UK as part of what I sell. I have put over $12,000 of MY money where my mouth is to bring this stuff here as Sal WILL NOT ship outside the US. This money you'll appreciate is tied-up in stock of the whole range, which I must have, I am not allowed to cherry pick what I want, another rule. It is not earning 6% in a bank account, as it would otherwise be!
All the best —a Nick
www.pro-detailing.co.uk
Rob may want to add his thoughts if he reads this forum but I'm sure if he did he would agree that I am talking for us both.
The first thing to say is that I, as Jon said, had to fight for literally months to be allowed to stock and sell this range, Originally I contacted Sal with a view to getting some samples sent for trial in the BMW laboratory that I work in with a view to using them in Final Finish for the Rolls-Royce Phantom family, Sal basically said, as flattered as he was, he had had his fingers burned with OEMs before and knowing this industry like I do, I am inclined to agree with him. OEMs assess EVERYTHING on two levels; Cost and Performance. If a product is a candidate for replacement, it must do one of two things. 1. Offer better performance for the same money. Or, 2.Offer equivalent performance for less money.
The business of OEM supply is fiercely competitive and it is not unusual for a product to be replaced after a very short time if a new one comes along. Sal knows this from experience, having been â€Ëastitched-up' in the past by certain US OEMs after having supplied samples etc.
The reason I have digressed to this extent is purely to underline the fact that Sal, understandably has no time for exporting his products. He has a distributor in Germany, one in Australia, and several in the US and Canada.
As I mentioned I had to fight/negotiate/blag for months to be allowed to sell this range, Sal told me it was because he could see, by how persistent I was, how much I wanted it. And I alledgedly impressed him.
Even then I was told I had to go through the European Distributor in Germany THERE WAS NO WAY TO AVOID THIS.
The German distributor has to recover the costs of getting it to Europe and obviously make his profit.
As for simply doubling the price, that is absolutely untrue: To buy something from the US several charges are added which include VAT, Shipping, Duty, Customs fees, Clearance fees, Forwarding fees, shipping agents fees. To give you all an idea of what these amount to, When I bought the DF Concours towels, as recommended by Sal, I bought about £420 worth. It cost me £378 MORE, TO GET THEM TO MY DOOR
The Duty payable on goods from the US varies depending on what class the products are in.
As Rob and I have to buy from Germany, we are subjected to German VAT, which in January this year was raised from 16% to 19%.
Zaino has to come by BOAT from the US as it will be ruined if it freezes in the hold of a cargo plane. This means Sal/Germany will not sell to me unless my order is $11,000 or more. But I still have to buy through Germany, so, once the German distributor has recovered the ~90% additional costs to get the products to him, I must then pay German VAT and shipping to myself. The prices I pay are based on the EURO prices NOT the US prices.
So, once I have the products here, I have paid the German distributors costs, his profit, German VAT, and delivery - £400 last time I ordered, due to temperature controlled transport costs being necessary in January.
So now I have the products with me, I must sell them. To do this I must pay for, A webmaster, A merchant bank account, a secure credit card handler, and then make a profit. My profit is nowhere near 100% In fact I would be delighted if it was a quarter of that.
This is not the first time I have felt it necessary to justify my position regarding Zaino in response to comments on the internet. Hopefully this post will go some way to explaining the reasons why it's so damn expensive to import from the US and why US products generally are very expensive here.
I can see that Zaino is expensive here, but I know all too well why. If you go to the States, bring some back for your own use, I would!!
To sum up, I am a car detailing fanatic who wanted to bring this outstanding range to the UK as part of what I sell. I have put over $12,000 of MY money where my mouth is to bring this stuff here as Sal WILL NOT ship outside the US. This money you'll appreciate is tied-up in stock of the whole range, which I must have, I am not allowed to cherry pick what I want, another rule. It is not earning 6% in a bank account, as it would otherwise be!
All the best —a Nick
www.pro-detailing.co.uk
Cheers for that Nick, i hope i hadn't upset anyone, i really didn't mean to.
Thanks for clearing that up, personally i would love to get the full works with the zaino stuff but i know that its really only a true investment for the high-end valeting guys. Like the Zymol waxes, if you can warrant spending the money the results speak for themselves.
Thanks for clearing that up, personally i would love to get the full works with the zaino stuff but i know that its really only a true investment for the high-end valeting guys. Like the Zymol waxes, if you can warrant spending the money the results speak for themselves.

NicoG wrote:As one of the two Approved Zaino Stockist in the UK I feel I should put my point of view across…
Rob may want to add his thoughts if he reads this forum but I'm sure if he did he would agree that I am talking for us both.
The first thing to say is that I, as Jon said, had to fight for literally months to be allowed to stock and sell this range, Originally I contacted Sal with a view to getting some samples sent for trial in the BMW laboratory that I work in with a view to using them in Final Finish for the Rolls-Royce Phantom family, Sal basically said, as flattered as he was, he had had his fingers burned with OEMs before and knowing this industry like I do, I am inclined to agree with him. OEMs assess EVERYTHING on two levels; Cost and Performance. If a product is a candidate for replacement, it must do one of two things. 1. Offer better performance for the same money. Or, 2.Offer equivalent performance for less money.
The business of OEM supply is fiercely competitive and it is not unusual for a product to be replaced after a very short time if a new one comes along. Sal knows this from experience, having been â€Ëastitched-up' in the past by certain US OEMs after having supplied samples etc.
The reason I have digressed to this extent is purely to underline the fact that Sal, understandably has no time for exporting his products. He has a distributor in Germany, one in Australia, and several in the US and Canada.
As I mentioned I had to fight/negotiate/blag for months to be allowed to sell this range, Sal told me it was because he could see, by how persistent I was, how much I wanted it. And I alledgedly impressed him.
Even then I was told I had to go through the European Distributor in Germany THERE WAS NO WAY TO AVOID THIS.
The German distributor has to recover the costs of getting it to Europe and obviously make his profit.
As for simply doubling the price, that is absolutely untrue: To buy something from the US several charges are added which include VAT, Shipping, Duty, Customs fees, Clearance fees, Forwarding fees, shipping agents fees. To give you all an idea of what these amount to, When I bought the DF Concours towels, as recommended by Sal, I bought about £420 worth. It cost me £378 MORE, TO GET THEM TO MY DOOR
The Duty payable on goods from the US varies depending on what class the products are in.
As Rob and I have to buy from Germany, we are subjected to German VAT, which in January this year was raised from 16% to 19%.
Zaino has to come by BOAT from the US as it will be ruined if it freezes in the hold of a cargo plane. This means Sal/Germany will not sell to me unless my order is $11,000 or more. But I still have to buy through Germany, so, once the German distributor has recovered the ~90% additional costs to get the products to him, I must then pay German VAT and shipping to myself. The prices I pay are based on the EURO prices NOT the US prices.
So, once I have the products here, I have paid the German distributors costs, his profit, German VAT, and delivery - £400 last time I ordered, due to temperature controlled transport costs being necessary in January.
So now I have the products with me, I must sell them. To do this I must pay for, A webmaster, A merchant bank account, a secure credit card handler, and then make a profit. My profit is nowhere near 100% In fact I would be delighted if it was a quarter of that.
This is not the first time I have felt it necessary to justify my position regarding Zaino in response to comments on the internet. Hopefully this post will go some way to explaining the reasons why it's so damn expensive to import from the US and why US products generally are very expensive here.
I can see that Zaino is expensive here, but I know all too well why. If you go to the States, bring some back for your own use, I would!!
To sum up, I am a car detailing fanatic who wanted to bring this outstanding range to the UK as part of what I sell. I have put over $12,000 of MY money where my mouth is to bring this stuff here as Sal WILL NOT ship outside the US. This money you'll appreciate is tied-up in stock of the whole range, which I must have, I am not allowed to cherry pick what I want, another rule. It is not earning 6% in a bank account, as it would otherwise be!
All the best —a Nick
www.pro-detailing.co.uk
What ?! Drive straight officer......It's an E30 !
It's the Ultimate Drifting Machine.
It's the Ultimate Drifting Machine.
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Turbo-Brown
- Boost Junkie
- Posts: 4705
- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Aldershot, Hants
- Contact:
Is it Carnuba wax that helps prevent paint going dusty in the sun?
I polished up a little area of my red (pinky white) bonnet on Saturday and it came up lovely. However I didn't wax it and it's gone pink again!
I polished up a little area of my red (pinky white) bonnet on Saturday and it came up lovely. However I didn't wax it and it's gone pink again!
Carnauba wax does very little to protect from UV damage, which is what causes the hazing of paintwork you are referring to.
Zaino has real UV protection built in and 303 aerospace protectant is designed purely for UV protection.
Carnauba waxes look lovely but don't last. However 303 followed by your favourite wax costs little more..
Zaino has real UV protection built in and 303 aerospace protectant is designed purely for UV protection.
Carnauba waxes look lovely but don't last. However 303 followed by your favourite wax costs little more..
Dannyboyb wrote:Cheers for that Nick, i hope i hadn't upset anyone, i really didn't mean to.
Thanks for clearing that up, personally i would love to get the full works with the zaino stuff but i know that its really only a true investment for the high-end valeting guys. Like the Zymol waxes, if you can warrant spending the money the results speak for themselves.
No worries. As I said looking at purely a rrp comparison between US and UK it does look outrageously expensive.
My post was not written angrilly at all - I just sought to explain the large cost disparity which is immediately apparent... And to underline that the costs here are set out of neccesity NOT greed!
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baboon5151
- E30 Zone Regular

- Posts: 319
- Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: county durham
iv.e used a few different makes of car polish & wax you get what you pay for imo ziano way out front.last for ages,great results.




