Having dried, cracked, discolored leather can really take away from the interior of any vehicle.  Properly maintained leather should be soft, supple, and flexible.  Knowing the proper way to care for your leather is very important to having healthy leather for the life of your vehicle.   Jon Miller shares his leather care knowledge in these informative articles:

Leather types used (Automotive Leather)
Covered Leather (Uncovered)
Natural Leather
Unfinished Leather (Nubuck)

Detailed Image is proud to announce the release of our redesigned website at www.detailedimage.com . The new site was designed to improve your shopping experience with: more information about detailing, quicker checkout process, improved layout, new product pictures, detailing articles, professional recommendations for complementary products, help from our Detailing Guide, better specials, track your order from your My Account page as well as viewing your invoice instantly in PDF format and so much more. This new site was created exclusively in house by our team of programmers and is totally custom allowing us to develop many new and exciting features with no boundaries. In the coming months we plan on adding more features, more content, more tips and new products. Check our website periodically to see these new features in action.

September Specials:
Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket (FMJ) is 20% off this month. This is one of our top selling sealants that provides a durable coat of protection for 3 - 6 months, while enhancing the depth and gloss of your paint. The best feature of FMJ is how easy it is to apply and remove. It applies easily and removes even easier, making it the friendliest product I’ve used to date. 16 oz kit now $31.99 (normally $39.99, save $8!) and the 32 oz bottle is $39.99 (normally $49.99, save $10!).

Sick of constantly replacing wash mitts? Lake Country has recently released a paint safe wash mitt with excellent durability, the Ulti-Mit. The ultra soft foam material traps and pulls contamination away from the surface with it’s unique cube design, minimizing the possibility of adding imperfections. For stubborn contamination, wheel wells, and lower panels, try the Ulti-Mit Scrubber. Both on sale for $11.99, normally $16.99, save over 25%!

$5 Credit for Previous Customers
With the launch of the new site, we also made some changes in our customer database. All previously registered customers are eligible to instantly receive a $5 credit to their account simply by re-registering using this page. By registering via the activation page, it looks up your previous account from the email address you previously registered with. The $5 credit will automatically be used on your next purchase over $5 and has no expiration, so take advantage of the promotion soon and re-register your account before the end of 2007.

We greatly appreciate all of the support from e90post members and look forward to helping everyone get more out of their vehicles with every detail. If anyone needs a hand selecting a package that best fits their needs, please do not hesitate to contact us via PM, e-mail, etc. To take full advantage of our new site we recommend you read our brief site tutorial page. If you would like to tell us about your thoughts of the new site please contact us, we’d love to hear from you. We thank all of our visitors, customers, friends and family for inspiring us to create this awesome new website.

George & Greg
Detailed Image - Owners

To comment on the new site, please refer to this thread on the new Detailed Image site.

Detailing World Implements a Zymol Filter

Zymol Enterprises Inc, a privately held company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Killingworth, Connecticut, is a maker of detailing products that range from moderately priced items to a wax costing $7,100. On July 5, 2007, Detailing World, one of the world’s premier detailing forums which is based in the UK and has over 8,000 members, applied a “Zymol filter.” The Zymol filter has triggered a storm of controversy over recent actions taken by Zymol. What is the Zymol filter? What would motivate Detailing World to take this action?

The Zymol filter replaces certain words with asterisks on the Detailing World forum. The word “Zymol,” and references to “Zymol Royal Glaze” and “Zymol Vintage Glaze,” translated through the filter, read “*****,” “***** ****** Glaze” and “***** ****** Glaze.” An example of an actual post on the Detailing World forum, translated through the Zymol filter, reads: “I was quite surprised at how lumpy the ****** seemed compared to my ******* and other ***** waxes.”

The controversy apparently relates to Zymol’s policy of prohibiting use of its Royale, Vintage, and Solaris waxes by professional detailers who are not authorized Zymol detailers, and recent actions taken by Zymol to enforce that policy. A licensed Zymol detailer must pay a substantial annual fee to Zymol, and an additional fee to attend a mandatory Zymol “school.”

In February 2007, Zymol issued the following release:

“Please can you post ASAP on your websites the following statement:

Zymol Products will not be sold for professional use, unless they are purchased by a Zymol Licensed Detailer.

Please be sure to complete the Pre Registration forms when ordering Vintage, Royale and Solaris.”

More recently, Zymol reportedly has demanded of various persons in the UK who maintain websites, including members of the Detailing World forum, that they remove links to certain professional detailers who Zymol presumably claims are using its waxes without paying Zymol the substantial annual licensing fee. Detailing World’s implementation of the filter followed those demands. The only public explanation given by Detailing World so far regarding why it implemented the Zymol filter is that such action was taken for “legal reasons” to protect the forum and members of the forum.

Zymol has a history of engaging in litigation over intellectual property issues. In 2004, Zymol brought a trademark infringement, unfair competition, copyright and trade secret lawsuit against Anwander & Co. AG, then a manufacturer of Swissol detailing products in Switzerland. Zymol contended, among other things, that the name Swissol, and labels, product colors and scents used by Swissol, was confusingly similar to and infringed on Zymol’s copyrights and trademarks. A settlement was reached in which Anwander & Co. AG changed its trade name Swissol to Swissvax.

The world’s detailing community is waiting on how this story will unfold.

For further reading and to comment on this, please view “Zymol has lost the plot” and “***** and Other Expensive Waxes“

Robert Jacobvitz
Detail University Moderator

Not sure what clothes to pick out when detailing?  Well we created some apparel that you will enjoy wearing when detailing your vehicle.  Like a design?  It comes in a wide variety of sizes, styles, and colors.  Just click an image to see what is available and your selection is custom made to order.  CafePress is a reputable direct to print company and is one of the best in the industry.

Look for money saving coupons on the left side bar!

Look for our upcoming t-shirt design contest where you can win free apparel that YOU create!

Thread created by Kevin Hamill from GTA in Detail in Toronto, Canada.

Hey guys; I was speaking with George today and I mentioned how my process has evolved over the past two years when doing compounding work. I thought I’d mention some times saving steps that I find also increase the quality of my work.

First, and probably most importantly, I’ve started using silicone remover type wash products. The one I’m using in particular is called Hi Temp Prep Wash: Silicone Remover . I will touch on this more in a second, but I’ve started using this as my initial wash product. I find this does two things; removes any wax/sealant on the car and also helps reduce the time it takes to clay the car, since the clay doesn’t pick up as much crud (it’s removed during washing).

For claying I use Poorboys Spray & Wipe as a lubricant, but I’ve also started mixing one ounce of Bug Squash into it. Seems weird, I know, but it helps remove bug stains (and this time of year there are a lot of them).

I never re-washed before polishing, however I now go one step further and tend to only wipe away polish residue when I want to check progress. This means my initial cutting steps I will remove it. If I have any trouble I mix an ounce of prep wash in a bottle with water; you’ll laugh how easily it takes off caked on residue. When I am 106′ing (or any finishing polish), I’ve almost stopped wiping off residue. Why? Instead of ISA:water I now re-wash the car with prep wash; it removes all traces of the polish and cleans up any residue on moldings, cleans dust and residue out of seams etc…

Speaking of compounding, George once asked me why I keep buying orange pads from him. I think I’ve ordered close to (or more than) 50 in the last 2 months. Why? I use a new pad each panel. Sounds nuts, right? I find polishes, particularly levelers and heavy compounds work better on a clean pad. They cut better, finish better, and are more easily removed… so I swap pads between each panel. The time savings is noticeable.

Here’s another one; after you clean the wheels during a wash you can leave them alone; I found out Poorboy’s Wheel Sealant will remove light brake dust and dirt. I’ve started using it as both a cleaner and a wheel wax. It won’t remove tough brake dust, but it will remove light dust, water spots, etc. It works on exhaust pipes too.

I’ll think of more; I just wanted to write these down quickly since they were on my mind, particularly the silicone-rewash. If you’ve got some tips to add, maybe even some that vary from conventional wisdom, I’d love to hear them.

For more conversation on the evolution of high end professionals detailing process follow this thread.

Microfiber towels have quickly become the industry standard for automotive detailing because of their exceptional performance compared to regular cotton towels, paper towels, etc. In this article we’ll look at what microfiber towels are, how they work and what applications maximize the benefits of microfiber towels.

4 of our General Purpose Microfiber Towels in a gallon Ziploc bag courtesy of Derek.

Read the rest of this entry »

Was there a major event that turned you on to learning more about automotive detailing?  What made you want to invest in the time, effort and money needed to properly care for your vehicle?

Here is my story…  Upon graduating from my alma mater, RPI, I worked for a small but successful internet company, www.racquetworld.com, and during my time there I decided to purchase a 2001.5 Audi S4.   Shortly after purchasing the Audi, I realized I wanted to take my detailing level up a notch after seeing how people were getting these great results I’ve been reading about on car forums.  I did my research, spent over $800 in products, and was on my way.  Soon after that I was detailing cars for close friends and family on the side, and not too long after that, detailing became my career with the formation of Detailed Image.  To this day, I enjoy learning new things and sharing my knowledge with others.  It’s an ongoing learning process which was why we choose the school theme for Detail University.

Share your experiences…

Many detailers often neglect the care of their engine bay, whether they are afraid to tackle an engine detail or never thought to detail their engine.  Once you learn the do’s and don’ts of engine detailing, it is a pretty straight forward process.  This is a step I highly encourage car owners to take when they are in the process of selling their vehicle.  Having a clean engine bay often gives the impression that the vehicle has been taken care of and can result in a higher resale value.

Lets hear about some products and techniques you use when detailing your engine bay.

A common question asked is what are the ideal conditions to detail in? Let’s hear about your favorite and optimal conditions to detail your vehicle (or a customers vehicle) in.

Often when enthusiasts are detailing they will get comments from neighbors or passer-by’s, some being quite funny.  Let’s hear about some of your comments you have received while you were detailing.