Hello! My name is Connor and I wanted to introduce all of you Austin TX MINI owners out there to my detailing business,
Windsor Auto Detail. After picking up my MINI more than a year ago, I immediately caught the MINI “bug” that so many MINI owners out there get when picking up their new MINIs. Not only did I want to spend every second in my new MINI, but I also wanted to keep it looking as clean and sharp looking as possible. This passion for MINIs ultimately sparked an interest in detailing cars. I found myself cleaning my car atleast once a week, sometimes two or three. Sometime last year, I felt my detailing skills were up to par to start working on other people’s vehicles. A few months later, I built my website, and officially started my business,
Windsor Auto Detail.
Now that you know a little about me, let me tell you some more about the services I offer. Since I have been keeping pretty busy with my business, my own MINI has not been getting the attention it needs recently. However, this past weekend, I took a day off from working on other people's vehicles, and worked all day on my MINI getting it back into shape. This was the perfect opportunity for me to create a write up to post on this site showing what I have to offer for you guys, so that is exactly what I did. What follows is a detailed writeup of what comes with a detail from Windsor Auto Detail.
The first step in any detail, whether it is just a wash or a full detail, is cleaning the wheels. Depending on the type of wheels on the vehicle, I either use Meguiars Wheel Brightner to clean the wheels, or I use soap and water. Due to the chemicals in the Wheel Brigtner, it is not safe to use on all types of wheels.
The next step in the detailing process is to wash the rest of the car. The two bucket wash method is very important to use as it will prevent grit and dirt from getting caught in your wash mitt or sponge. This will help prevent one from scratching or instilling swirls in the paint.
It is also important to choose the correct type of wash mitt, as well as a proper car wash shampoo. In this case, I use a Lambswool mitt in combination with Meguiars Gold Class shampoo. Also note the grit guards that are installed in the bottom of each bucket.
After properly diluting your shampoo with water, I always rinse the body of the car down. I then clean one panel at a time, followed by a rinse. It is important to never leave soap on your car for too long, because doing so can cause damage to your paint.
After the whole vehicle has been cleaned, I rinse one more time with water. I then remove my nozzle from the hose and sheet as much water as possible off the surface of the car. Although this technique is most effective on a previously waxed vehicle, it can be effective on any vehicle when done correctly. Although this will not completely dry ones vehicle, it will remove the majority of the water from the vehicles surface. This prevents the need to continuously go over the vehicles surface with a drying towel, and also greatly reduces the possibility of water marks.
In order to dry the rest of the car, I use a Meguiars Water Magnet Microfiber Waffle Weave towel.
Now that the car is cleaned, and ready to be worked on, I inspect the finish to find problem areas that need to be addressed with a buffer. I also inspect for swirls and other defects.
A overhead light can also be used to detect swirls when sunlight is not available.
I then complete a test spot on the vehicle in order to discover the least aggressive method to properly rid the vehicle of the swirls and defects. A test spot is where you run a piece of painters tape down the side of the vehicle. This allows me to only hit one side of the vehicle with the polisher. So, once the tape is removed, it allows for a “before/after” effect that shows whether or not the polish and pad I am using will correctly fix the cars defects.
In the below picture, before is on the right, after on the left:
Once the test spot is complete, I move on to the next step which is the claybar step. A Claybar is used to remove surface containments that have not been removed from the wash step. These containments are also unlikely to be removed by the polish step which is to follow because of how they are bonded to the paint. In this process, I use a block of clay as well as Meguiars Final Inspection as a lubricant (ignore the bottle of Mother’s product in the picture. I just use that bottle filled with Final Inspection).
Once the entire car is clayed, I then move on to tape off the trim on that car. This step ensures that wax and polish will stay away from things that can be damaged or stained if wax or polish gets on the surface.
The next step is to polish the rest of the vehicle. In my case, I used Meguiars #83 polish, followed by Meguiars #80 polish.
After this, the vehicle is waxed (two layers) with whatever wax I feel is best suited for the paint. Usually, I use either Meguiars NXT Wax, or Meguiars #21 Sealant – both of which provide long last protection, as well as a deep, wet shine.
Of course, after I am finished with the paint, I do the final touches on the rest of the car. The windows are cleaned, the tires and trim are dressed, ect. ect.
The final result on my MINI is this:
Of course, I also detail the inside of the vehicle as well.
And upon request, can clean up the engine bay as well.
So, if you made it this far, and are interested in getting a detail done on your MINI, please feel free to contact me! As a MINI enthusiast myself, I offer special rates only available to MINI owners.
Thanks very much for reading this! I hope to hear from all of you soon!
Happy motoring!
Regards, Connor
www.windsorautodetail.com
(512)695-7904
connor@windsorautodetail.com
PM: skitelluride531
A few more pictures of my MINI! Wave to me if you see me around Austin!
