Cleaning and waxing with zylon applied

[dirmis]

Ignoring whether it was a good/bad decision to get xzilon applied to my new car in mid-2007, it's done and I want to make sure I'm taking care of it appropriately. It's garage kept and only driven in good weather, so far the surface washes off easily and seems to be holding up well with nothing done to it yet.

I've read differing views on whether a cleaner wax or polishing wax would remove the zylon, maybe I should just use a pure wax or maybe leave it alone completely for now.

Any advice from experts or past experience? Thanks in advance.

[Holden_Caulfield04]

Re: Cleaning and waxing with zylon applied

Did you mean Zymol? Or Zaino? Or Xzilon?

[dirmis]

Re: Cleaning and waxing with xzilon applied

I believe it was xzilon (I don't have the paperwork handy).

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Cleaning and waxing with zylon applied

Probably meant Xzilon. It is a warranty dealers sell, and I would know seeing that I work at one of those dealerships.

I just want to clear the air a bit with Xzilon as our dealership sells the stuff so I have had a bit of experience with it and what it REALLY is. Xzilon a warranty, PERIOD. Basically, they try to sell the dealership with how great this product is, and the salesmen get sold on that the several hundred dollars is going towards the product, not the fact that it is actually just a warranty to cover damage. What Xzilon really is looking for when a claim is filed is if the car has been neglected or not. Trust me, even our own people at our dealer mocks the product itself. However on the flip side, if you look at it from a warranty perspective on that you have a lease car, and something happened (car was egged, spilled and stained the carpet, ect), you don't have to worry about the dealer knocking you for it since it is covered under Xzilon. Two sides to the same coin.

Yes, they put on this stuff on your paint which is a wipe on, wipe off product (hey Mike, I know you have your opinion on this). Overall, the stuff does bead for a bit, but honestly I have found from personally testing it that it protects NO better than even Meguiar's Cleaner Wax, and in fact, I find that it provides '0' protection; let me say that again, 'it provides virtually NO protection'.

Your best bet is to simply go by Meguiar's 5 step process on maintaining a car, and believe me, your car will look much better for much longer. Not only that, but because Meguiar's way of taking care of a car is PROVEN and will keep your car in the best possible condition, when you ever do need to make a claim, believe me, you will have the upper hand compared to someone who just used a wash/wax soap (or even some who were told to JUST use water and rinse it down).

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Cleaning and waxing with zylon applied

it's done and I want to make sure I'm taking care of it appropriately.

If "it", that is the Xzilon coating is still on the car, then taking care of "it" means washing with soap and water and hope it doesn't come off.

A better or at least different approach would be to take care of the paint, not the microscopic coating that may or may not be on the car paint at this time.

To maintain the paint, simply,

Wash
Evaluate

First, evaluate the paint with your sense of touch. Feel the paint with your clean hand and feel for bonded contaminants, they'll feel like little bumps on the paint, if discovered ten clay the paint with detailing clay.


Second, evaluate the paint visually in good light, both bright sunlight and florescent will work, look for swirls, scratches, water spots, etc.

Clean - If the paint looks good in your yes and your evaluation did not reveal any problems than skip this step. If the condition of the paint doesn't meat your goals then let us know how you want to work, by hand or machine, and we can recommend a product for removing below surface defects.

Polish - Optional, if you want to maximize your gloss and clarity then you can choose to do this step.

Protect - Apply 1-2 coats of your favorite wax or paint sealant.

That's how you take care of the paint on your car. Taking care of a microscopic coating isn't really real-world. Nuff said.

What are you working on?

[dirmis]

Re: Cleaning and waxing with zylon applied

The car is a white 2007 Shelby GT that rarely sits outside and gets stored for the winter.

I guess I need to read the fine print on the xzilon treatment to see what maintenance is/isn't acceptable (claying, waxing, etc.) under their warranty then decide how long to stick with those limitations before taking matters into my own hands and writing off any potential warranty repairs from them (as unlikely as that is to actually get).

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Cleaning and waxing with zylon applied

The car is a white 2007 Shelby GT that rarely sits outside and gets stored for the winter.

I guess I need to read the fine print on the xzilon treatment to see what maintenance is/isn't acceptable (claying, waxing, etc.) under their warranty then decide how long to stick with those limitations before taking matters into my own hands and writing off any potential warranty repairs from them (as unlikely as that is to actually get).

Good plan as washing, claying and cleaning will remove any coating currently there. Yes, even washing can micro-abrade a coating off the surface.

Check with the dealership and ask them if and when they will re-apply follow-up coats of Xzilon as nothing lasts forever...

[CAShine]

Re: Cleaning and waxing with zylon applied

I have never heard of this Xzilon before, sounds like another dealer trick to make money. If it is what Wolf-Strong thinks it is, there is nothing on your paint. So you would use the 5 step system to maintain your paint. If it is something else that has been applied to your paint, you would have to go back to the dealer and ask them how to maintain it.