8 1/2 hours of Detailing 1st day!

[El_Jefe]

Hi.

I went kinda nuts detailing my car the first day i brought it home. It spent 8 1/2 hours straight doing the thing. I skipped one step in my plan however.

Washed with two bucket method from showcargarage.com - exactly except for Griot's car wash, same method, used grit guards, stroke techniques, real lambswool, etc.

While still wet: Griot's Paint Prep spray went over everything. Then I "massaged" it in with rubber chemical gloves. It is very slippery and I just barely pushed it upwards so it covered everything. I did this to remove all other products from trim and paint. Worked really well! I did this step instead of Dawn washing as I didnt like the idea of dawn drying out my trim even once.

After drying, I claybar/speedshined it in sections. This was really necessary. With only 25 miles on the car, after I did this, the paint was MUCH smoother. So, no question about it. You must claybar from day one! I didnt wash it after this. Griot's says it should be waxed right after I claybar it. I thought this was a good idea. The paint was super super clean now and the claybar appeared to be not sticking to anything at all.

Griot's carnauba paste wax... took long.... getting cold out and dark now....
Ate Dinner

Interior Sprayed the entire interior
Vinyl and Rubber treatment all trim, rubber, interior parts... took long time
Plexus on clear plastic in and out
Chrome Polished (griots here) Driving lamps, side mirrors, grill, etc
Then NXT window cleanered it.
303 wiper protectant swabbed the wipers

My hands and wrists locked up around 10:10 at night. It was 62 when I started and now as 43 degrees out. DOH! I had to borrow a neihbors mechanics lamp portable thing to keep going.

Car rox. this morning i speedshined it, re applied some trim protectant and drove it 23 miles!

I have to get a camera and take pics of it tomorrow.

How often can you speedshine? It is addictive. I have an extra small bottle and microfibre in my boot for doing it while I am bored and somewhere else. If I do it daily, will that strip off my wax sooner? I would think so but I do not know. Actually, I have no idea what removes wax. Doesnt it repell rain? Isnt a quick detailer a strengthener of wax or at least it isnt supposed to dissolve it?

Also, in a slightly harsh climate of Long Island, how often can I wax it? I will want to do it again when it is even colder out, but I will do it in a garage with a heater. I plan on hitting it again with wax in middle of november, a month away. I dont know what will happen in December. I have to figure out some way to wash it. I dont want to have to paint seal it, but maybe that is the best idea. If I do that I will have to strip off the wax again.

[kenchan]

^^ good job! thanks for reminding me to touch up my
wiper blades with some sauce. i forgot to do that on mine yesterday!

on my MCS, i dust and speedshine after each run. i only take the car out
once or twice a week at most. next time, get the Griot's boar hair paint
brush looking detailing bush so that you can dust your boot's jams before
using speedshine on the rear bumper. that way, you won't have to worry
too much about scratching the rear bumper with the ever-dropping dust
from the jam area. (open the hatch and dust off the dust in the jam).

with a wax like yours, unless you use some harsh car wash you can
probably make it last a good 3-4 months while reinforcing it with
SprayOn wax after each wash.

Best of Show has lasted my legacy since August and that's a car
parked out doors. been through over 20 washes and probably over
35 rain storms and daily morning dew. it still had great protection,
but i went over it again yesterday to give it another layer to make
it through winter. based on how well it has lasted so far, i honestly
think that the wax on the legacy can easily make it to middle to
end of January...maybe even longer.

btw, i did a 10hr job on mine only to remove it all and re-do it again.

[El_Jefe]

Hm, Interesting. Yes, I want to minimize scratching to say the least! I guess I could wash more often. Hm, to wash or speedshine is a complicated question at this point. I wonder when I should do one or the other.

[ma78]

Yeah, cocaine can make you do crazy things.

[MINIclo]

Congrats on your new baby, El Jefe! I am fascinated with the detailing afficionados. I am not one, but I totally admire all y'all. I wish one of you lived next door (I know, I mentioned that in another detail thread the other day, but it is true)!

[K4KAS]

You wouldnt be home long enough to take advantage of one living next door!

[mini_dreams]

el jefe... congrats on getting your new car... what happened to you in the PW38 Support thread?

looking forward to seeing pics, especially since you went crazy on the detailing.

my Mini is visiting NY today... then on to Baltimore and finally Charleston. So I still have a wait.

happy motoring!

[Motor On]

Originally Posted by El_Jefe

Also, in a slightly harsh climate of Long Island, how often can I wax it? I will want to do it again when it is even colder out, but I will do it in a garage with a heater. I plan on hitting it again with wax in middle of november, a month away. I dont know what will happen in December. I have to figure out some way to wash it. I dont want to have to paint seal it, but maybe that is the best idea. If I do that I will have to strip off the wax again.

Have you reasearched synthetic wax? I'm a fan of a synthetic then canuba wax, synthetic for protection and canuba for the shine. When I'm good about keeping out of rain and dirt I went most of the summer with a few layers of syntheic topped off with a weekly canuba, then clayed for the first time in a year at the end of the summer, I was saddened by how much depth the paint lost until I had 2 coats of wax on it.

I use NXT and Turtle Tax.

And we need some pics!!!

[El_Jefe]

Yes, I wish I could go synthetic personally for the ease of use. However, the colour looks really like british racing green. I have to take a photo this week. I need a camera first. Yes, I do not own a digital camera so I have to wait for my friend to come over. I am going to wash it now. I have to retreat the interior again as well. The griot's absorbed into it like sponge. I figure one more layer to get the protection and make it easier to dust and clean down the road. There are so many nooks and cracks to clean, I think I need a better vacuum or make a custom head on it. Some of plastic I dont want to scratch so I am looking to make a felt wrapped tiny nozzle to get around trim inside. I havent bought a wet dry yet. I know though that I should get one that has more combo's of attachements.

I bought a torque wrench today and put on my m7 plates. I have to go give it a wash now

[MiniMaybee]

El Jefe, I'm assuming this is your first MINI? You just got the thing and you are already at 5th Gear? My god man I sure hope they have like an overdrive or 7th gear for you to reach.
Anyway, good work on the detailing front. Isn't it amazing how detailing your car can warp the space-time continuum and cause 8 hours to just disappear ?
I know you said in an other thread how you did not like the look of the synthetic waxes as far as shine goes, but you might try the Prima Epic since it has a lot more depth and a much wetter look than the Zaino I use to use. It might help you with the winter upkeep and keep you from freezing to death by not having to put on the weekly Carnauba.
Can't wait to see the photos

[snid]

So, in the first day you spend 8 1/2 hours detailing the car, and only put on less than 50 miles? Different priorities, I guess. The first day I had my MINI I had a 200 mile highway drive to get home, but took the back roads instead, making it closer to 300 miles.

Seriously though, more power to you. I don't have the patience to detail my car to that level.

[El_Jefe]

I did 1 1/2 hours of it today

I am trying to make a system and see how fast I can do certain parts. Like i realize that even though the paint is absolutely particle free when I wash it, I should MFibre dry it by blotting not lightly wiping. I think that takes off wax a lot. Blotting will save me an extra 2-3 weeks of not having to wax. I do enjoy waxing though. I just hate having to consider the cold weather comming up and what to do about it. It is cold enoguh now that the sun can be partly on the car and I can do whatever i want without worry about it messing up the wax or paint or whatever. Stuff just sits on the car and doesnt dry off at 50 degrees in a humid climate where I live.

yes, i hit 5th gear before I got my mini.

I have a business where I have to wait for a few minutes between transactions on the computer. When I have to wait I pop over to here and chit chat.... I learned SOOO much about the car its nuts. Detailing is my main interest now. The effect of doing it right vs wrong is enormous. Also, the little things like quick detail at night before I go to sleep keeps the dew from making mud. If i forget that, it cannot be qd'd and it must be washed if I want to shine it up. Thats something I got from Octaneguy today. Interesting stuff. Then the challenge has become how often can i mess with it without scratching the clearcoat or removing all the wax. I wish i live in California. I would wax it 2x a month, qd it 2x a day (it takes like 4-5 mins). Around here I have to check weather reports and consider the cold comming up. sux.


Yeah, I like the car as a show piece. I dont drive much but needed a new car that was safer. mini S was the coolest of them all, so thats what I got. 2-3x a week i have to actually go somewhere. however, i have no garage for storing it. I can go to my parents house and wax it in their garage in the winter though. I will need som extra heaters to keep it going.

I will re apply wax next week actually It was fun, and I think I can do it this time much faster. Key is to use fingers around the odd spots and arch areas first, like draw a line with the wax around them. It's the negative of taping. My own technique now using Griot's paste wax. it melts very well with body temperature it seems and spreads perfectly and lightly with hands better than foam applicator pads. I just worry about too much chemical exposure, I would do the whole thing without a sponge if I knew what was in it.

[Detailers Paradise]

Congratulations, El Jefe!! And, welcome to the obession. You've only had a taste of this crazed detailing "hobby"... as others have alluded, its like a drug addiction! This is just the beginning.

Enjoy the ride!

-Heather

[jwardell]

Congrats, you finally got it!

Did you forget the step of cleansing the paint pores with steel wool?

[El_Jefe]

whenever i go on late night, this site craps out and loses my post...

I have to take photo's of it. it is raining right now. I will give it a wash and speedshine tomorrow if i see some sun