BMW brand paint care products or not?

[trek8000]

I am ready to give my 2013 X1 351 Alpine White it's first wax and wondering if anyone has used the BMW brand car polish and/or wax? I know I can get paint care products locally and by mail order just want to make sure I get the right stuff. I welcome any feedback. Thanks!

[Grovsnus]

BMWs wax is synthetic, and I much prefer the warmer carnuba shine myself.
Mother's Carnuba and elbow grease does the job. And it smells good too.

[NordicBMW]

Judging from other forums here, Zaino seems to have grown quite a reputation. Try zainoproducts.com, they also have some handy how-to descriptions posted. They are not exactly cheap but the Bmw products are not that either. And of course we want the best for our cars to keep them shining for a long time :-)

[Ex-One]

Originally Posted by trek8000

I am ready to give my 2013 X1 351 Alpine White it's first wax and wondering if anyone has used the BMW brand car polish and/or wax? I know I can get paint care products locally and by mail order just want to make sure I get the right stuff. I welcome any feedback. Thanks!

I have the BMW express wax. It works great and is a breeze to use.

I would recommend it.

[HotRodW]

I've tried quite a few brands over the years. I like Zaino, but I use Chemical Guys almost exclusively now. (https://www.chemicalguys.com/) Here is my freshly detailed Le Mans Blue M Sport protected with one coat of CG Jetseal 109 sealant and topped with Butter Wet Wax. The pics aren't great but the car really pops in direct sunlight.

[HBWT]

There are many great products available. I used to be a Zaino only guy but recently discovered Wolfgang. Best sealant available, IMO. Some in the know like Blackfire...have yet to try it.
I still prefer some Zaino products...car wash, leather care, plastic and glass polish, and PC(paint cleaner).

http://www.wolfgangcarcare.com/

[Grovsnus]

Originally Posted by HotRodW

I've tried quite a few brands over the years. I like Zaino, but I use Chemical Guys almost exclusively now. (https://www.chemicalguys.com/) Here is my freshly detailed Le Mans Blue M Sport protected with one coat of CG Jetseal 109 sealant and topped with Butter Wet Wax. The pics aren't great but the car really pops in direct sunlight.

Nice pics. Here is one of mine waxed with carnuba wax:

[Red Bread]

Synthetics walk all over carnauba for durability and actual protection, but a synthetic topped with a wax is near ideal.

I used to use Zaino, but switched to Blackfire and have been testing OptiCoat 2.0 recently too. Blackfire has been really durable, lasting about nine to ten months for me, but OptiCoat is supposed to last years.

For a wax, Dodo Juice is a good value and it lasts about as long as any carnauba I've tried, which is about three or four months in cold weather and a few weeks to a month or two in the summer depending on heat and exposure.

[Teutonic]

For polishing, I found that Meguiars have actualy great products. I also have a dual action polisher from them that works awesome without leaving swirls and stuff. They have a "Scratch X 2.0" product that actualy works well on scratches, you can use it by hand if you need to get rid of some singular scratches. I also use a german product for scratches with two tubes,I forgot the name now.
I wax my 3M film with Turtle Wax by hand and I use a film protectant liquid as well.
For wax I am using Zymol and Meguiars products and I am using every four months Wolfgang paint sealant.

For wheels I have Zymol and BMW genuine wheel cleaner.

For leather I am using BMW leather protection, Zymol and spray from Danier.
For engine bay, plastic and carpets I am using CarBrite products. These guys have absolutely amazing products.

I used many times BMW genuine products and I was satisfied with the products, some are as good as many good brands out there.

I have nor parts or specific tools in my garage, but I have four big boxes with car care products...

[Grovsnus]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Synthetics walk all over carnauba for durability and actual protection,

Undoubtedly, and most of the sealants are much easier to apply too, and depending on the product, it dries clear so you don't have to go over details like seams and emblems with a brush to get rid of surplus wax.

But. You don't get the same deep gloss, and don't get the satisfaction when finished.

As for protection, that goes both ways. Sealants bond to the paint, and do protect much better against scratches, pollen and bugs. But it also means that anything that sticks to the sealant is going to be just as hard to get off as if it was stuck to the paint.
With carnuba wax, the wax comes off with the dirt, which makes it easier to remove truly tough stuff like tree sap. Of course, the price is that you have to re-wax.

[HotRodW]

Originally Posted by Grovsnus

Nice pics. Here is one of mine waxed with carnuba wax:

Looking good. I expected to find more LM Blue owners here. I guess limiting the color to the M Sport trim has really limited its popularity.

[Grovsnus]

Originally Posted by HotRodW

Looking good. I expected to find more LM Blue owners here. I guess limiting the color to the M Sport trim has really limited its popularity.

For some reason, colours have not been popular with US buyers the last few years. White became the new black, and now grey is the new white. And most of those going for colours appear to want conservative colours.
So here in the US, Valencia orange or M-Sport with LeMans blue are the only two choices for vibrant colours, and even then, the LeMans blue isn't all that saturated.
I was disappointed after the salesman told me I could get it in red, and then this turned out not to be the case.
BMW used to be more daring with the colour choices. I miss that.

[HotRodW]

Originally Posted by Grovsnus

For some reason, colours have not been popular with US buyers the last few years. White became the new black, and now grey is the new white. And most of those going for colours appear to want conservative colours.
So here in the US, Valencia orange or M-Sport with LeMans blue are the only two choices for vibrant colours, and even then, the LeMans blue isn't all that saturated.
I was disappointed after the salesman told me I could get it in red, and then this turned out not to be the case.
BMW used to be more daring with the colour choices. I miss that.

I likely would have opted for Vermillion red if it had been offered on the X1. We ran into the same problem when we ordered our Audi. Two blacks, two whites, three silver/grays, and a blue that looks more gray than blue in most light (Moonlight Blue). Talk about a limited palette. They finally added a more vibrant blue to the Q5 offerings and it appears to be selling well. Audi does offer custom color options, but it's not cheap. $1,500 will get you any color Audi currently offers on any model. I believe $5k will get you any custom color you want.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Grovsnus

Undoubtedly, and most of the sealants are much easier to apply too, and depending on the product, it dries clear so you don't have to go over details like seams and emblems with a brush to get rid of surplus wax.

But. You don't get the same deep gloss, and don't get the satisfaction when finished.

As for protection, that goes both ways. Sealants bond to the paint, and do protect much better against scratches, pollen and bugs. But it also means that anything that sticks to the sealant is going to be just as hard to get off as if it was stuck to the paint.
With carnuba wax, the wax comes off with the dirt, which makes it easier to remove truly tough stuff like tree sap. Of course, the price is that you have to re-wax.

My biggest issue with synthetic only protection is that organic stains, bird bombs and water spots, tend to etch the sealant (Zaino being the worst, Klasse and Blackfire being a little better) so having a sacrificial layer of carnauba on top really helps with all around protection and greatly reduces the frequency of maintenance polishing.

However, you live in a nice enough climate that you can probably get away with skipping the synthetics most of the year. I've seen summer temps and uv levels that will flash off carnauba just about instantly.

Both are fun, I love working with both and even though synthetics have made up a lot of the gap, I certainly agree that a quality carnauba still has a depth that can't be matched. I'm still trying to work out the best way to deal with the odd, slightly rough finish of OptiCoat 2 and what to best top it with to try to balance the protection with a little more natural shine.

[bmwx3805]

I use surfcity garage wax which is fantastic stuff. Around 21 dollars for a bottle. It really works great and wipes on and off really easily. Then i use mothers back to black for the plastic trim on the lower part

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by lynyrdskynyrd803

Then i use mothers back to black for the plastic trim on the lower part

Good stuff, you can even top it with 303 to provide a little longer protection.

[Grovsnus]

While there are better products than Mothers, they also cost a lot more - Mothers products are well above average, reasonably priced, and available at PepBoys/Autozone and other standard retailers.

Yeah, a $100 tin of wax or bottle off tire shine may be better than a $20 Mothers, but not five times better -- not even twice. Unless you're going to a show or want to sell your car, Mothers products are great.

[trek8000]

So I decided to try Zaino car car products for the first time since so many people have had good things to say about it. I bought the Total Protection System. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about using the clay bar after washing but what a difference it made. My car is only 7 months old and I did not think the clay bar would make a difference. Well after using, the car polish and enhancer spray I have to admit that the finish looks and feels so much better than the day I bought the car. I ended up using 2 coats of each. Now when I close the hatch my hand literally slips off the hatch when I reach up to close it. The paint is now very very slippery smooth and shiny!

[Twix]

What is everybody's feeling on using mink oil on the nevada leather? Bad idea, or will it be ok as it's good for "every" leather.

[zero-2-sixty]

I just washed, clayed, sealed and waxed last week with Griot's Garage products. I washed with Griot's car wash. Then I dried followed by debris and contaminant removal with clay bar. Next, I twice applied Griot's One Step sealant. The following day I waxed the vehicle twice with Griot's wax. We'll have to see how long it lasts, but the results were satisfactory to me. For those in the states, I bought everything from Advance Auto Parts and applied with my orbital buffer.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Twix

What is everybody's feeling on using mink oil on the nevada leather? Bad idea, or will it be ok as it's good for "every" leather.

You'll get various opinions on this, but my feeling on BMW's heavily waxed leather (not their Nappa, which is semi-aniline) is that you won't see any benefit from using leather products on it. I tend to clean ours with Leatherique cleaner, but don't use the oils on it, I just spray it down with 303 once I'm done.

[Twix]

Is there a way to remove the wax? Although, I suppose it's there to protect the leather