To 'Mer' is human...

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FFX-DM
Posts: 111
Joined: 22 Oct 2002, 21:45
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To 'Mer' is human...

Post by FFX-DM »

I am fed up with getting mucky when I shoehorn my car into the garage (who do they make garages so small?!!) and then have to climb out of the sunroof to get out of the garage. Okay, I exaggerate, but I have only mm to spare.
After trying el cheapo nasty products, I now always use Autoglym. The ZX has not get been waxed by me since I got it (October) because every time I have had the opportunity it has been raining. Thus it gets grimy in about 2 seconds flat <img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>
However, a glimmer of light appears through the murky windows... I discovered that this 'Mer' stuff can be used on wet vehicles, so this weekend I will be polishing the car (assuming it's not 'persisting' it down). I have bought some, and all the extravangent claims on the bottle fill me with hope and dreams of nice shiny motors.
Okay, here is the question. I have search HJ's forums and discovered that Autoglym, Mer and Zymol all come pretty close in the popularity stakes. What I want to know is are Mer and Autoglym different types of finish, or in other words, can I Mer in the Winter and Autoglym when the sun shines (if I happen to be free that one weekend in the year - Oh, by the way, I know about not waxing in hot sunlight or on a hot bodypanel). Are the two products mutually exclusive?
Another question which occurs to me. Does anybody know, or can anybody tell me how to find out, if my 96 'Polar White' ZX is painted with a clear lacquer topcoat or if it's simply a flat coat of colour, polished up? I assume the latter, but I am not too sure.
Ta!
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Autoglym is mildly abrasive. Take a little and , using a black cotton cloth wipe it over the roof which is likely to be the most oxidised bit. If there is no paint on the cloth it is lacquered.
Jon

Post by Jon »

White ZX would'nt have a clearcoat over it as far as I know. I think that its just a normal 2 pack paint.
Would use Autoglym Paint Restorer if its flat ( T Cut is a bit hard), then a polish with Super Resin Polish. I then tend to seal it with Autoglym Paint Sealant ("the ultimate protection") which leaves a gloss for months and shrugs off dirt.
I have also found that if Autoglyms' own car wash stuff, not some cheapo stuff, is used every couple of weeks ( a couple of capfuls in bucket of warm water) then you get an instant gloss that looks like you've just spent hours waxing the thing.
I've also got some Mer polish in the garge, used to use on the Visa Diesel, the paint on that was so flat it was almost a matt finish, and I used T cut followed by Mer on that, it came up a treat.
Jon Wood
forum@andyspares.com
FFX-DM
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Post by FFX-DM »

I didn't get to Mer the car at the weekend as is was freezing and any water on the car would turn to ice. Jet washed the salt off it, but it's still all dull [:9]
I think Autoglym is good and when I spent a whole day doing my AX properly (as suggested by Jon above) it was well worth it, because a quick wash would restore the shine. It lasted for ages. My plan to use Mer this time round was that it can be used on a wet car, so in this weather no need to try to find a very dry day to polish the car. It's a lovely car cleaning day today, but I am stuck in the office <img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle>
By the way, I used TCut on the scratches behind the door handles, which were very bad. Evidently the previous owner of the car was Nosferatu, because I have never seen scratches like it, presumably fingernail scratches, before! I would not fancy TCutting the entire car.
shaunthesheep
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Post by shaunthesheep »

there is a product called perfect it compound made by 3M, which is the trade verison of t-cut, i've found it to be a lot better & goes alot further, you can also use it to removed stains from the paintwork as well.
i also use mer on my car bodywork normally, but with this cold britsh weather i've been a bit lacking <img src=icon_smile_blackeye.gif border=0 align=middle>, but i will be doing it again in the next couplde of weeks.
dom
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Best wax I ever came across was Autosmart Excel which at that time was used for hearses because it tended not to smear. These days I use Autoglym in the summer and Yellow Simoniz wax in the winter, rubbing the wax well into any panel gaps and not polishing it off the bottom half of the car until spring.
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