A Mothers Detail

Larry from www.autopolishine.com was very kind to send me some samples of Mothers products to try.
So two days ago I finally had the time to use it on my car. It is a metallic black Proton Saga BLM.

I've told the dealer not to touch it when it arrived at the showroom, so far has never seen any abrasive polish, just waxes and sealants. Unfortunately, it arrived with some buffer marks from the factory!

The car was wearing a 1 month old coat of Meguiar's #21 sealant and is starting to repel water very slowly thanks to our Malaysian weather.

Here are the before pictures of the car.

and dried polish residue on the interior window trim, they must have thought the chemical that shines paint, shines rubber trim as well, hehe.

Started by removing coil mats, shaking them down, sprayed with Osren Multi-Clean and rinsed off.

I thought I share something that I found for the detailing enthusiasts who read this.

you can now buy a Polished Bliss wheel back brush locally!

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/wheel-back-brush-wash.html

The DetailingWorld UK lurkers will know that Clark from Polished Bliss have been using these brushes for quite a long time. Initially they didn't look ideal for me but if Clark uses it, then it has got to be worth a try.

Pictures below are of Clark using the wheel back brush.

You can now buy these at your local ACE Hardware store for RM9.90, the brand is Melody and is made in Italy.

So I started by cleaning the wheel wells, wheel and tires with Osren Multi Clean and a variety of brushes

A clean wheel

Then all panel gaps, exterior trim, rubber seals and side underbody also cleaned with Osren Multi-Clean

For the body wash, a Mothers genuine lambs wool wash mitt was used with Meguiar’s Shampoo Plus. Cotton chenille wash mitt for the lower panels.

Here’s how to use the two-bucket method to washing a car.

Firstly, prepare two buckets of clean water, measure the desired amount of shampoo and pour it into one bucket, swirl it with your hand to mix the solution

Next, dip your wash media in the soap bucket, and wash a panel, flip to the back side of the wash mitt if it gets too dirty. Then dip and agitate the wash mitt with your fingers in the rinse water bucket to release the dirt and grit trapped in the pile of the mitt.

After washing the whole car, the rinse water bucket water should look dark from all the dirt.

By using the two buckets instead of one, you prevent the risk of transferring back the dirt onto the paint after a panel and scratching the finish. The water is poured out gently and you will see the dirt and grit at the bottom.

Then lower half panels of the car is sprayed with Osren Tar Remover, left to dwell and wiped off.

The car is rinsed and clayed using Perma Glass No.2 clay and diluted Meguiar’s Shampoo Plus as lubricant

The car is then rinsed, dried and half of the bonnet is taped up.

The paint has mostly car wash abrasions (thanks to Kok Yi for this term), and some random deep scratches.

Step to be used is Mothers PowerPolish with a Meguiar’s W-8006 polishing pad on the rotary.

After one pass on the rotary.

This removed about 80%-90% of the swirls leaving only the deeper ones on the hood.

Another spot is tried again with the same pad and polish but with a Random Orbital Machine (BOSCH GEX 270-AE)

This removed 60% of the swirls but watermarks were still there.

Then we stepped up to a wool pad, but found that it was gumming up with the PowerPolish and concluded that it wasn’t meant for wool. So stepped down to a 4” Lake Country Orange CCS pad, this gave a cut between the wool and w-8006 pad.

The rotary work is followed by Mothers PowerPolish/W-8006/ROB

After wiping down with IsoPropyl Alcohol (diluted 1:1), the car is moved under the sun to be inspected.

Left side of the picture is polished, right side is not.

Here Kok Yi is explaining how a deeper cut will give better gloss.

So we tested on a smaller section with Meguiar’s #85 Diamond Cut Compound/ Lake Country 4ply Wool/ Rotary.

Before:

After:

One pass of the wool and compound was sufficient to remove about 98% of the defects.

This is followed with Mothers PowerPolish/W-8006 Polishing Pad/RB.

This step required a few steps to properly get rid of the compounding marks.

Thankfully Kok Yi was there to help me assess the PowerPolish(Thanks dude!). The cut of the PowerPolish should be somewhere between Meguiar’s #83 Dual-Action Cleaner/Polish and Meguiar’s #82 Swirl Free Polish.

The rotary work is followed with Mothers PowerPolish/W-8006/ROB

Here the whole hood is done

It looks good, however I decided not to compound the whole car as my mentor Zey taught me. If in the future there were some deep defects, I still have the clearcoat to safely buff it away.

If I thin the clearcoat now, in the future it would be more risky to buff it away.

After all, I may be buffing it even though there are no swirls. haha

So the whole car is done with the following:

Mothers PowerPolish/ Meguiar’s W-8006 Polishing Pad/ Makita 9227c (RB)

Mothers PowerPolish/ Meguiar’s W-8006 Polishing Pad/ Bosch GEX 270-AE (ROB)

Boot before:

Boot after(RDS and deep watermarks remain):

Rear quarter before:

Rear quarter after:

Some finished shots after polishing, without wax.

The car is waxed with Mothers Reflections Advanced Wax using a Mother Applicator Pads.

It feels grabby initially but as the pad gets more primed with the product, spreading gets easier. It’s even easier with the second coat. Going over the same area twice ensures a thinner coat; this will ease buffing off later on.

Then the wheels and door shuts are also waxed with Mothers Reflections Advanced Wax.

On the next day, the car is wiped down and Mothers Reflections Top Coat is applied. A primed pad will only take a few drops for a large panel.

Exterior trim is then dressed. One side of the windshield trim is dressed with Mothers Back to Black and the other side with Meguiar’s Trim Detailer.

Door seals dressed with Mothers Back to Black

The interior is dressed with Mothers Protectant.

Here is how it looks after applying, left is untouched.

It managed to clean some slight dirt marks and was pulled to the microfiber applicator pad.

Pedals cleaned with Meguiar’s All Purpose Cleaner and a Mothers Detail Brush.

Then I went back to the interior with a damp microfiber cloth and buffed off the excess protectant.

This left a finish that looked darker than original, but not shiny. It wasn’t 100% dry to the touch but does not feel too oily or greasy at the same time. Here’s how the interior looks like. It also leaves a pleasant scent to the interior.

Below are pictures of the windscreen trim. Both sides were buffed off to remove excess with the clean part of the microfiber applicators.

As per the pictures above, the Meguiar’s Trim Detailer looks more greasy and oily where as Mothers Black to Black looks darker than original but not greasy.

Depending on your preference, if you like your trim to be shiny then the Meguiar’s Trim Detailer is for you.

If you prefer a darker finish than original but not shiny, Mothers Back to Black will do the job.

Wheel wells and tires is dressed with Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing (4:1)

Sorry as it has been cloudy the whole day and can’t take any sun shots. =(

Notes:

1) Mother Reflections Advanced Wax was superbly easy to use, it buffed off cleanly and extremely easily with 1 or 2 swipes with a microfiber cloth, without any haze, streaks, patches or unevenness. It looks fantastic, metallic flakes shine through. I have no complaints about it at the moment, just have to monitor the durability. This was used on a machine polished paint, so I can’t comment on how well it cleans or mask swirls.

2) Mothers Reflections Top Coat, is less viscous than Advanced Wax, spreads even easier and buffs off with ease.

3) Mothers Black to Black, it is not as thick/creamy than Meguiars Trim Detailer, hence, easier to spread. Not overly shiny.

4) Mothers Protectant, immediately after application feels slippery and glossy. After wiping off excess, not glossy and feels only slightly slippery. Depending on the user, gloss and feel and be adjusted.

5) Mothers Detail Brush, bristles are stiffer and longer than Meguiar’s Triple Duty Brush.

6) Mothers Applicator Pads, thin, can be folded to easily apply on smaller areas.

7) Mothers Lambs wool Wash Mitt. Traps and release dirt and grit effectively!

8) Mother PowerPolish, may feel a bit grabby initially but as the pad gets primed with product, it handles with ease. Cut is between Meguiars #83 DACP and Meguiars #82 SFP. Works great with a Random Orbital Buffer. Low dusting.

Thanks to Larry for the samples!! And to Kok Yi for helping me assess the PowerPolish.

Also to Johari and Azizi for dropping by.

Will update in a month’s time to comment on the wax, protectants and how well the wash mitt prevents swirls.

As always, thanks for looking! Feel free to comment.

“There’s No Shine Like Mothers”

=D

Mothers products can be purchased from www.autopolishine.com

Great service and fast shipping. My order arrived in 2-3 days.