These days it doesn't matter if the subject is welding, photography, or doing income tax returns there's a steady influx of high-tech products entering the marketplace designed to relegate skills once regarded as the exclusive territory of seasoned professionals and put them into the hands of enthusiastic amateurs. The automotive field is no exception and the trend has moved into the arena of professional paint care. Two of the top brands in the premium car care field are Mothers and Meguiar's and they both offer complete systems right down to the power tools necessary. Both companies have gone to great lengths to provide the DIY crowd foolproof equipment, but of course there's still consequences if the job isn't handled right.
To help us walk CCT readers through the steps of maintaining a high-dollar paintjob without causing any unnecessary damage we asked our friend Andy Uphoff at Andy's Detail Service based out of Costa Mesa, California, to give us a hand. Andy rolled up to "Boss" Bob's Garage in his '63 Chevy C20 outfitted to handle mobile detailing and laid it all out. In addition to the '63 Chevy as a guinea pig Andy worked a little magic on "Boss" Bob's '56 F-100, featured on the August '07 cover of Custom Classic Trucks as well. Bob's '56 can fool you, it looks like it never leaves the garage, but as evidenced in CCT's coverage of La Verne, California's Cool Cruise the truck has been driven to shows where it has rained during the event.
On the day Andy showed up it was pouring rain, so the '63 Chevy had to have major mud washed off and, stored inside, the '56 only needed a minor bath. A former custom painter and auto detailer myself, I helped Andy wash the trucks. We used Meguiar's and Mothers car wash soap on both trucks to see how well they worked. Then we dried the pair off, and moved onto claying any areas that felt rough to the touch while we were drying. With the pickups clayed and ready, the toe-to-toe comparison moved on to testing the power tools. For those of you gun shy when it comes to using a machine on your paintjob, have no fear; neither devise is capable of doing any more damage than a complete flunkie can do by hand with a rag.
The best product to buy for someone that doesn't want to invest a lot of money to find out whether or not they are any good with a machine is Mothers Power Ball 4Paint. The folks at Mothers have developed an entire line of unique foam balls, plus a cone that turn any electric drill into a professional level polishing machine. Next in line for the guys who really want to step up their game is Meguiar's G110 dual-action polisher. The folks at Meguair's really did their homework when they designed the G110. It's the last polisher you'll have to buy, whether you're a pro or a private user.
The final word in detailing products and how to use them is all about personal preference. We're confident this guide will help you avoid the snake oil cures and know good products when you find them. Remember the most important thing to learn is how to train your eye to recognize flaws and teach yourself the skills to correct them-everything gets shinier from there!
Step one to any wash job is...
Step one to any wash job is to start with hosing-on water to get the dirt to dissolve without scratching the surface.
We believe a good wash mitt...
We believe a good wash mitt is superior to any sponge. Meguiar's offers the X3002 microfiber wash mitt, and our favorite is Mothers genuine lambswool wash mitt.
Unlike household dish soaps...
Unlike household dish soaps with detergents that will strip wax and potentially harm the paint, a good sudsy car wash like Mothers California Gold is pH balanced and safely dissolves dirt and grime.
A good value in car wash soap...
A good value in car wash soap can often be determined by how viscous (thick) it appears in the bottle. Moving slower than molasses in January is how to describe Meguiar's Ultimate car wash and wax. The yellow stuff you can't see through is liquid carnauba wax - we think we found a new favorite soap.
Our friends at LMC Truck in...
Our friends at LMC Truck in Lenexa, Kansas, just introduced its new large sized synthetic chamois made from PVA.
The beauty of LMC Truck's...
The beauty of LMC Truck's new synthetic chamois is after use it can be replaced into its container, and kept with the truck. If you run into a little rain at a show the chamois can be brought out and used.
Not quite as convenient as...
Not quite as convenient as a synthetic chamois, but definitely worth having is Mothers ultra-soft microfiber towel with a foam center that soaks up water better than conventional towels, not to mention it won't scratch paint.
This smaller sized version...
This smaller sized version is for getting into door jambs and soaking up water than can cause rust if undetected.
Nothing beats a super high...
Nothing beats a super high quality microfiber towel when it comes to touching expensive paint and not harming it. This deep split pile towel is from Mothers.
Ditto for compressed air nothing...
Ditto for compressed air nothing beats a rubber tipped blowgun like this one from Snap-on combined with a microfiber towel to force out trapped water that can cause water spots and ultimately rust.
In combination with a good...
In combination with a good microfiber towel, the action of a Snap-on blowgun is superior to a Chinese imitation and works great for blowing the water out of wheels, and off tires.
The next step to wheel care...
The next step to wheel care is a follow-up with Mothers products designed for use on chrome, steel, or alloy wheels. Make sure to control the speed when using on polished alloy wheels.
Another microfiber towel superior...
Another microfiber towel superior to anything found in general stores is Meguiar's Supreme Shine with its large 16x24-inch dimensions.
Be sure to remove any labels...
Be sure to remove any labels from microfiber towels as they might scratch the paint.
Proper storage of the clay...
Proper storage of the clay is made easy with a special plastic box Meguiar's includes with its smooth surface clay kit.
Stay away from pinkish-red...
Stay away from pinkish-red colored clay lubricants as they can dye palms and fingers pink. Mothers and Meguiar's clay lubricants are clear and will not dye hands.
Here's a look at Mothers clay...
Here's a look at Mothers clay still in its airtight sealed package.
A good healthy shot of Mothers...
A good healthy shot of Mothers Showtime combined with a few strokes of the clay bar removed surface irregularities invisible to the human eye.
A leaking roof left a deposit...
A leaking roof left a deposit of mysterious black goo dots on the surface of the '56's orange paint.
Mothers ammonia free glass...
Mothers ammonia free glass cleaner easily washed the black goo dots off. Do not use ammoniated household window cleaners on your truck, they can strip the paint off of interior knobs and soften plastic pieces.
Full gloss was returned to...
Full gloss was returned to the orange paint with Mothers Showtime instant detailer. Meguiar's Quik Detailer would have worked equally well.
Buffing dry with a microfiber...
Buffing dry with a microfiber towel finished the job.
Here we have made a selection...
Here we have made a selection from Mothers' lineup. Mothers and Meguiar's each offer numerous products that can be combined within their respective line to provide spectacular results. Naturally the two companies don't recommend mixing brands, but the fact is, many professional detailers experiment and "cocktail" products to get the results they prefer-you didn't read that here.
For our toe-to-toe comparison...
For our toe-to-toe comparison of the two machine-based systems this is the selection we chose to represent Mothers.
We poured a sufficient amount...
We poured a sufficient amount of step one Mothers pre-wax cleaner onto the crown of the Powerball 4Paint as recommended. It is also advised to work from the crown as much as possible.
Andy then tapped the drill...
Andy then tapped the drill trigger a few times while spreading the pre-wax cleaner evenly on the left fender's area he intended to work.
Once Andy was satisfied enough...
Once Andy was satisfied enough pre-wax cleaner was spread from the Powerball 4Paint to the fender he brought the drill up to a speed that he felt was right and let her rip. Andy said this was something beginners would have to develop a "touch" for.
Step one is great for using...
Step one is great for using the Powerball 4Paint to remove light oxidation, as well as initiate the polishing process. Step two using Mothers sealer & glaze filled and hid surface imperfections and helped to make swirl marks disappear.
The Powerball 4Paint was cleaned...
The Powerball 4Paint was cleaned up after use by washing with dish soap and wringing dry. If the Powerball 4Paint begins to show wear, it can be flipped over and used on the other side.
Step three was to apply Mothers...
Step three was to apply Mothers pure carnauba wax by hand with the applicator included in the can.
To ensure against creating...
To ensure against creating swirl marks Andy using a straight-line motion to apply the carnauba wax. The best results were obtained by allowing the pure carnauba to dry completely before hand buffing to a shine with Mothers microfiber towel.
Next Andy moved to the right...
Next Andy moved to the right fender and resumed the test, and applied Meguiar's cleaner wax to the face of the Meguiar's most aggressive yellow soft pad.
Andy used the speed control...
Andy used the speed control knob on the G110 to dial-in the speed he felt comfortable with. Next he moved the G110 front-to-rear while looking into the finish to detect flaws (minor scratches and dull areas).
For the final step Andy changed...
For the final step Andy changed the G110's yellow pad to the gray final finishing pad and applied Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Plus, and repeated the polishing steps described above. The Carnauba Plus was left on until it was completely dry and then polished to a high luster with a Meguiar's Supreme Shine microfiber towel.
After it was all done, interestingly...
After it was all done, interestingly we discovered Mothers Syn Wax and Meguiar's Tech Wax 2.0 each left the deepest shines of anything we tested. It's also funny to note Andy and I argued which of those two had the best shine