The nice people at Mothers car care products were nice enough to let me review some of their products. I said that I'd compare them with my HUGE array of detailing products, and provide honest and objective feedback.

I recieved my care package a few days ago, and will be using the products asap. My goal here is to give some perspecitve into car care products in general, and not necessarily a total freebie plug for Mothers

Onward with the pics!
Cheers
Ryan

 

Ok, so here are the products the nice people at Mothers sent me:
California Gold Car Wash, Glass Cleaner, Reflections Polish/Wax, California Gold Showtime detailer, and California Gold Preserves protectant.



The reigning champs that currently hold my "Favorites" status:
Zymol Clear, Stoner Invisible Glass, Zymol Carbon, Wizards Mist-n-Shine, and 303 Aerospace protectant.


A quick financial comparison gives Mothers the advantage; Zymol, Wizards, and 303 products are quite expensive, upwards of $35 a container (for Zymol Carbon), whereas most of the Mothers products are between about $4 and $10 each, a significant difference in price!

Up next, The MINI-wash!
Cheers,
Ryan

 

So today I got home from work, and decided to start my comparison! After unloading the wash with fresh microfiber towels, I read the directions for the two products I tried today; the California Gold Car Wash and the California Gold Showtime detailer.

The weather: 65F and totally cloudy, humidity: 60%, elevation: it's Detroit (low)

The Car Wash said 1oz per gallon of water, so I squirted in a bunch of wash into my 5 gallon bucket, and suds away! The Car Wash smelled very nice (always a plus), and the sudsing action was impressive. Using my microfiber wash mit, I proceeded to wash the MINI (which was defintely Yukkie! )
The Car Wash lifted the dirt very well, thanks to the ample suds. I was impressed with it's ease of dirt removal compared to my Zymol Clear. The Mothers Car Wash also rinsed very clean looking, with excellent sheeting action. After completing my washing, I rinsed well, and used my California Water Blade to get rid of extra water. After that, my big waffle weave microfiber drying towel took care of the rest.

I noticed that the Mothers Car Wash seemed to leave more water spots than my Zymol Clear does. This may have been due to an extra-hard-water-day, so don't jump to any conclusions! Usually when I Water Blade, there are NO water spots, but with the Mothers, the water seemed to dry much quicker and stick to the paint, leaving little spots. Thumbs up for ease of dirt removal, Potential-thumbs down for weird water spotting.

All these water spots gave me a great test to check out the Showtime instant detailer. I also had a bottle of Meguires Quik Detailer sitting around, so I tried that too. The Mothers Showtime must be applied heavily, and buffed off wet. The Wizards works best sprayed light onto the microfiber and buffed out wet. The Meguires likes light spray and mostly dry buffing. Of the three, the Wizards got the water spots out with the least elbow grease. The Wizards also had the clearest optics, with no hazing whatsoever. The Meguires was the most dissapointing, very difficult to work with, and bad hazing (cloudy optics). The Mothers was an excellent value, costing a fraction of the Wizards, and only slightly hazy optics. The Mothers was the easiest to apply, and provided almost the same level of reflection (brightness) and clarity as the Wizards; for a readily available product, I was impressed.

Check out this pic of the front left quarter, after Mothers Showtime:


Cheers,
Ryan

_________________
Wisdom is not a function of age, but a function of experience.
*Keeper of the CWFAC list*

 

Wow, it's looking good!

 

After reading your posts on detailing Ryan, and seeing your GORGEOUS MINI in person, I think I may have to pick up some of the Mothers products. I have been looking for a regimen that is relatively easy and inexpensive, and it looks like you've found it!! Thanks for the great review, and I look forward to more coming!!

Erin

 

Hazy optics on the Meguiars? Hmmmm.... me thinks something wasn't done right. In order for the Quick Detailer to be effective, I spray to the paint, then wipe with one side of the cloth till you've rubbed in in mostly, then flip over the cloth and buff totally dry. I've used on my light blue Miata and my Dark Silver, both turn out beautifully. But if you try to rub in all with one side of the cloth, not using a dry side for the last bit, true..it can be hazy.

Don't be badmouthing my Meguiars!

R

 

Looks good! How'd you get the chance to test the products? I could always use some freebies and would be willing to report my findings

 

( schmooze away Andrew! , I've never had good experience with Meguires Quik Detailer; even when applied exactly as you described, it just doesn't cut it compared to many others. I'm not knocking Meguires products on the whole, they do have many great products, I just don't like this one of theirs.


Back to our regularly scheduled thread; I had a chance to try the Mothers California Gold Car Wash again! I'll always try to use a product a few times, just to rule out any fluke occurances which may occur due to odd weather, Mighty DavebretZ telepathic influence, or other strange phenomenon!
This time, my well-water was apparently having a better day, cuz the Car Wash worked awesome; I was actually impressed. The dirt lifted very easily, the suds were fun and plentiful, and water spotting was minimal, and easily removable. **Two thumbs up**

Also, a few days ago, I tried the Mothers Reflections polish/wax for the first time. It was a simple process. I applied it with a foam applicator, and the product went on smoothly and quickly, no drama. I waited until "hazing" per directions, and then buffed off with my microfiber towels, again with no drama. The shine was nice, with no hazing, and good transparancy. What I didn't notice however, was any extra reflection, or brightness to the paint. The Reflections didn't seem to add any brilliance or depth that I'm accustomed to with my Zymol Carbon. Since it's only been a few days, I haven't had a chance to test the protective nature of the Reflections, so that will come at a later time. A point to make is that if the Reflections maintains good protection, it is a definite thumbs up for WAY EASY to apply and remove!

I still have yet to fully check out the Glass Cleaner and the Preserves Protectant, so stay tuned!
Cheers,
Ryan

 

I use Mother's California Gold wax, and lemme tell you, the reflection is quite bright.. I usually wash my car in the driveway, and then bring it into the garage for the drying/baring/waxing, and you can really see the refection from the street in the darkness of my garage (no lighting, but hey, it's not mine..)

Rocketboy_X

 

I used Mother's showtime with a clay bar, and I'm impressed.
That's the way they package it. I waxed with Zymol after the Claybar treatment, and all I can say is WOW!!!

 

I personally have never tried Mother's products-went to a detailing session with the local BMW Club today & for the most part they trashed Mother's products. So I am a little hesitant to spend the money just to try it!!!! Most of the products they used were 3M & Zaino's. Most of my products are Mequires & I've been complimented on how nice my MINI looks. Sometimes I think it has a lot to do with technique & not the product. Just my own opinion. :smile: :smile: :smile:
Lois

_________________
Louie is home!!

 

For those of you that can't get enough of this stuff, check out this detailing site:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/index.html

Everything you ever wanted and didn't want to know about detailing, this site will give you a total and I mean total education about detailing.