Soft99 Meta-Clean: Initial Impressions

A few of my many flaws are that I am skeptical, critical and very stubborn. So when certain friends and detailers tell me about Soft99 Meta Clean, I just scoffed and thought to myself “Cheap things no good, good things no cheap”.

I bought a tin of Meta Clean recently and had the chance to use it today. Boy, was I in for a surprise. It cleaned of the embedded dirt with ease, and I was using it by hand. Certain areas which are particularly dirty (e.g. roof) required going over twice.



In areas where I was lazy and didn’t really work it into the paint, it was thicker than supposed to be, and yet it was removed easily with a few swipes of Hyperkleen’s microfibre cloth, buffed off to a slick clean finish.







One of it’s cons is that the tin is not the easiest to use, no matter how careful I try it will spill out of the spout.



Here you could see the parts where I missed, the embedded dirt is on the right side and the Meta-Cleaned side is on the left.



If however, you are diligent and thorough with working it into the paint, you will be awarded with clean paint.







It also doesn’t seem to have any ill-effects when used by hand via foam applicator pad (e.g. introducing it’s own light marring). This makes it suitable to be used by hand.





Best of all, is it’s price. I bought it for RM22 from a petrol station, but it could be purchased for RM16 from Mydin (Thanks Puden!).

And that is RM16 for 530ml
Autoglym Super Resin Polish costs RM55 for 325ml.



These however are just my initial impressions, I will be conducting a pre-wax cleaner test soon ( Soft99 Meta Clean, Dodo Juice Lime Prime, Autoglym Super Resin Polish ), specifically on how it affects the wax sitting on top of it (durability wise). That is when I find time to wash my poor filthy car that is parked under a mango tree.



To those who are wondering what light source did I use in the pictures above to show the paintwork.

It’s a pair of cheap China flashlight, taped together. They cost 26 Yuan each.













My homemade “brinkman” =D

Thanks for looking, and thanks to those who still visit this site and I apologise for the rare updates. Thanks again!

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Poorboys Wheel Sealant

Purchased from Autogeek.net



Comes in a tub and has a soft paste texture



After cleaning the wheels with wheel brightener, half of it is taped.





Three coats is applied, each coat right after buffing off the previous coat.









Fast forward about 2 and a half weeks.





The side with Poorboys Wheel Sealant was dirtier?



I then pressure washed with water only to see if one side will clean up better than the other.







Both sides were the same to me.

The wheel after cleaning with Meguiar's Super Degreaser



I've given some samples to my friends to try it out. And for now, won't conclude anything until further trial.

Thanks for looking! :)

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Dodo Juice Lime Prime

Fresh from the Dodo!

Costs S$37 for 250ml, not exactly cheap.

So on with the test, the boot after being washed.







The condition of the panel,





A small blob of product,













To check he cleaning ability of Lime Prime, I polished the panel again by hand with Autoglym Super Resin Polish. If dirt shows up, then the Lime Prime didn't fully clean the paint.





No dirt shown, looking good for Lime Prime so far.

So I proceeded with cleansing the whole boot panel with Lime Prime.



And the results, it did not leave it's own marring and created a smooth finish.





I'm loving this product now!

Then I used it on the bonnet and cleansed one half. It was quite difficult because the paint was very dirty and it kept grabbing the foam applicator pad, despite that, it is still quite workable. After finishing half of the bonnet with Lime Prime, I noticed it was streaking quite heavily, so I may have used too much.

But if I didn't then there is not enough to clean the paint.

On the other half of the bonnet, I used Autoglym Super Resin Polish and it was easier. When buffed off it didn't streak. The finish does not feel as smooth as Lime Prime though.

I applied Meguiar's #16 Professional Paste Wax on both sides.

Fast forward 2 weeks with many days of heavy rain in between, the car is washed and the water behaviour kind of surprised me.









The side with AG SRP+M16 sheeted of water faster than LP + M16, which was flat the whole time.

Firstly, I bought Lime Prime with the reason that wax will last better when it bonds directly to the paint, which is what Lime Prime does, cleans and glazes, but does not leave it's own protection, so M16 woul bond directly to the paint.

Autoglym Super Resin Polish however, leaves it's own protection and may interfere with the wax bonding to the paint.

But from the pictures, AG SRP + M16 seems to be the better side.

My personal opinion is, Lime Prime is great for cleaned and prepped surfaces, it will glaze and leave a fantastic finish, and cleaning off any polishing oils that might still be on the paint after a machine polishing process.

For very dirty paint, Lime Prime may not be that suitable as it will be more difficult to work with and more amount of product is needed.

Lime Prime has not won me over, the search continues for a paint cleaner worked by hand.
For now Autoglym Super Resin Polish remains as my favourite, it is easier to work with, and provides an ideal base for wax. Just don't get it on black trims!

Thanks for looking!

Anyone who has used Lime Prime please feel free to comment, I would like to know what I did wrong.

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