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Mothers 3 Step

stshy

New member
Have any of you used the mothers 3 step system? Should I use step one on my 2011? I've read that its only if the paint is bad but mine seems pretty good.
 

lilfleck

Go Kart Champion
You doing it by hand or machine? If machine, use something better/more professional like Menzerna/Optimum/Meguiars (pro line)/etc.
 

Burn

Newbie
I have been using those for years, great for off the shelf products. You can get spendy better products but at just a little higher price point.

Wash with a gentle soap, rinse, dry. Clay bar. Wash, rinse, dry. Stage 1, wash, rinse, dry. Stage 2, then Stage 3. I actually use the NXT 2.0 wax at Stage 3 instead. My car is smooth as glass for weeks. Then occasional waxes every now and then for the summer.

Clay the windows and all lenses, also.

YMMV.



B.
 

BP11

Banned
These products do so little for paint correction it's a waste of money. Man up and get a porter cable 7424xp with surbuf pads and megs 105 , megs 205 with a light cut foam pad, and then a nice wax. I like the dodo supernatural personally.
 

Burn

Newbie
He said his paint was fine and questioning even using Stage 1, and you suggest he buy a PC? Haha. That's $30 versus $300.

Ideal if you are into it. I've been waiting for a while... My GTI is brand new but as soon as the retail stuff runs out, time to step it up.

So many better options on the pro side.



B.
 

lilfleck

Go Kart Champion
Good is subjective. If he doesn't notice any swirls then a solid clay and wax/sealant is all he should do. Maybe the mothers system will be fine for him if the swirls aren't bad, Idk.

I would say though that our paint is very hard. Which makes it difficult to correct. I don't think Mothers is going to correct it by hand.

Btw, you don't have to wash after each one of those steps. Once you wipe off the polish, you can use a mix of rubbing alcohol and water to remove any residue left on the paint.

Tapped with my thumbs
 

BP11

Banned
If you aren't going to do it right and actually correct the paint, then don't try at all and just settle for a wash and wax.
 

Misanthropy

New member
So hello there, dude was a bit harsh..but i have to agree with him.

I just got my mk6 wagon in white, paint needed some loving and i had the 3-step + 10" crap simoniz polisher.... on my Jap paint (subaru) that 3-step worked WONDERS, paint reached levels of white never achieved before.
(i also worked in much better lighting, outside, during the summer when i did that)

yesterday, i dont know if it me, if its the lighting, or the colder temperatures (a lot slower to haze)... but it didn't impress me one bit.

Some very very light swirls were taken out but its still a mess.
And thats after
washing
drying
claying
3 steps process

don't get me wrong, from a good 10 feet the car looks great and shines beautifully and water slips off of it like a nuru massage therapist (don't look it up at work if you don't know), but in terms of actual correction, it's worthless IMO

Probably with a better polisher id get better results but i'm convinced that it's only very mildy abrasive and won't get the cutting results i'm looking for.

Now i'm wondering whether i should just get it done professionally with some coating (opti coat, clearfx, or the like) and not worry about it for the next year or so or just go ahead and get a polisher with m105 and m205 (since i already have the wax lol)
 

c72k

Go Kart Champion
Holy grave raider, batman.

Too cold for your polish to work effectively. Just either wait until warmer or get a warmer in the garage or something.
 

Misanthropy

New member
i know right, necrophilia 101 right here ;) just didn't feel like starting a new thread and since this is the only budget approved "mod" i can do to the car until spring, im taking advantage of it

i'm actually working from my semi-heated garage. Its warm enough to work in a light sweater and wet bare hands, even with -10 temperatures outside, so the polish does still work... but i just have a crappy DA polisher and products that aren't meant to do much cutting.

I actually found this chart below which explains A LOT.
http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-cut-chart-master.htm

Also jumping on a GG6 that i found for a pretty decent price for a kit on http://prodetailingsupplies.ca/
m105/m205/m21 combo is looking mighty appealing too

I have a few friends with crap cars so i figure i might practice on mine but also theirs since they don't care about paint anyways so i can probably just make it better than it already is but i won't bother with the remainder of my Mother's 3-step, except for the carnauba wax paste that i have left.
 
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