Leather Care Kit (Swissvax)

I did try out the "Swissvax Leather Care Kit" and it ended up to be a fantastic product!
its well worth the price. i highly suggest this product.
in my case i could clearly see the difference compared to "two in one" products (cleaner/conditioner).


The Swissvax Leather Care kit includes in a bag following:
- Leather Cleaner
- Leather Brush
- Leather Milk
- "Elephant Leather Fat" (100% Synthetic)
- Towel (After Cleaner) and Pad (for Milk)

important: only for nappa leather NOT daim leather etc.

Application

1) vacuum-clean

2) try on a spot (iE door-trim) if the cleaner will take off color.

3) use the cleaner (a spray) and if eligible (iE center of the seat) use the brush (mild pressure!) and wipe it off.

4) use the leather milk and let it dry overnight. NOTE:

- do NOT use too much of this product because it wont work if too much product is on the leather

- Tip: if you are not sure if the product is on the leather or not, just smell on the spot in question.

re-appling is suggested based on my research i did between 6 - 12 month.

Results

the leather is a lot smoother and it absorbs the sunlight a lot better now than before.
the products are very easy to use, did not leave any white marks etc.

temporary paint protection: a review

Summary
there are a few products which should allow the user a temporary paint-protection. such as on track-days, longer highway trips.

i decided to go with a transparent tape "Trakk Tape" which is designed for this purpose.
usually the thickness of tapes is measured in mil-inch (1/1000 inch). Trakk Tape is 5 mil thick.

the first initial test (cutting onto tape) shows that "Trakk Tape" is much stronger than blue paint tape.

 conclusion: the bad

1) if it rains Trakk Tape will get loose and you have to stop and take it off.

this the main concern of this product because not everyone lives in a sunny climate.

think about the scenario when it starts to rain during driving: you have to stop and remove the tape.
since you are most likely traveling its not realistic you will wash the car and re-apply the tape again.


2) it takes a long time to apply large areas = in my case 2hrs (hood, bumper, front fender)
its more of a product to protect only the most exposed parts (front bumper, upper hood) = 15min.



conclusion: the good

invisible in pictures
it works when there is no rain
it won't remove sealant and is easy to remove
cost vs return is OK.
only takes arnd 15mins to apply on the most exposed parts.


alternative products?
plastidip would might be good aswell, however it takes longer to apply (multiple layer, removing) and might not as cost effective as a tape.




pictures: 500km drive (mostly german autobahn)

after 300km

after 500km, tape starts to gets loose on some spots 

before removing

after removing

fully detailed: paint and interior & long term review

1. products used
2. maxolen pm4 perfect perl, video
3. interior
4. long term review



Paint: products used

Meg Goldclass Shampoo
Meg UCQ and Clay
Meg Ultimate Compound (roof)
Meg Ultimate Polish (rest)
Maxolen PM4 Perfect Perl (sealant)
BMW OEM for Leather, Cockpit

total effort: 8h or 2 days.

was polishing needed?

No, it did add a nice gloss but so does the PM4.
However, the roof had a lot of swirls on it, UC did a great job here getting rid of these.

left before polish, right after.

before polish

after Polish (UP)

Maxolen PM4 Perfect Perl (sealant)

very easy to apply, paint after applied smooth as glas, extremely nice "blue-ish" shine.
i did not get the "blue-ish" shine with Meguiars M16 Mirror Glaze.

my opinion is PM4 fits better for this (mineral white) metallic paint sine "blue-ish" shine w/ PM4.

before detailing

after

before

after

before

after

the roof with UC and PM4

the metallic pearlescent effect
looks now a lot better than before

on the way home.

interior

Products used: BMW OEM

CF structure leather trim

long term review (maxolen pm4 perfect perl)

after 73 days the beading still looks good

after 73 days

after 73 days

quarter panel still ok

front panel ok

after 92 days the beading is still ok, still does its job however the paint is starting to get rough.
as suggested i applied first time Maxolen PM5 over PM4.

front panel, beading OK 

hood, sheeting starting to be slow 

front bumper - beading ok

(sealant still doing its job, watch in fullscreen)

a kinda "spray sealant" 

after applying it

After applying PM5 the paint went smoother, however not as fresh applied PM4 but still OK.

after 101 days (19 december) decided to take off the sealant to see if it still did seal the paint.

after removing the sealant (washed the car with dish soap) the paint was very smooth once again.

after claying it did show good results: no major contaminant in the paint,  also no tar spots on the paint etc.

so yes: the product does work. a great product. i re-applied after 4months again with the same result, the sealant did not let trough any dirt.

after 101 days

after 101 days

right quarter panel after claying

left quarter panel after claying

Maxolen PM5 Star Max

today, after car wash i applied "Maxolen PM5 Star Max" which is a kinda "spray-on-wipe off" sealant onto the carbon roof and hood only.


conclusion:
it did not made any significant difference, since the paint is already waxed.
i can see the sense of this product to renew the sealant on the more exposed parts only.
until you add once again a poper wax or sealant layer.

i can see the sense on below parts since more exposed to water / tear / insects:
- plastic rear, front bumper
- plastic side skirt

i only sugguest to use "spray on procuts" after car-wash and only on plastic body parts.



in short:

- noticable difference in beading
- carbon fibre structure can be seen now better.
- i think a bit more of a gloss
- seems the color in the reflection just went a bit "clearer" (darker), could be an ilussion.

• Before = Meg M1611 & Gold Class Shampoo
• After  = Maxolen PM5 Star Max Spray Selant

Before

After

Before

After

the carbon fibre roof came out really well, the carbon fibre structure really pops out:

 and some nice shots of the mineralwhite metallic paint, what a stunning color!

in fact, the metallic effect of mineralwhite was so extrem this day, stunning, that i was unable to catch it with my iphone.

also removed tar spots with a clay