I decided to start this thread to show how a bit of detailing, ok make that a LOT of detailing can transform a MINI in ragged condition to show car quality--especially when viewed from a few feet away.

Of course eventually there was painting involved, but still detailing and paying attention to the details is what makes this ongoing transformation so much fun.

My black MINI's began life in Wisconsin with it's former owner. 37,000 joyful miles turned to tears during a fateful journey across the US to the ports in Long Beach, California to be transported to Hawaii along with the owner.

But as luck would have it, the MINI broke down along the way and ended up in a storage yard about 15 minutes from where I live for 3 weeks awaiting a decision on whether it should be sold or fixed by the owner who was already in Hawaii.

I see the plea for help on NAM, and perfect timing for me because I had been thinking about selling my 2003 Cooper for months and was just waiting for the perfect MINI to come along. Yes indeed, it was almost exactly what I would have spec'd myself had I had the chance to custom order my MINI.

In a funny twist of fate, after I responded to the seller, I was able to actually meet him in person because I was headed to Hawaii the following week on a cruise. And that meeting was an even further test of how badly I wanted this car because he wasn't able to meet up with me until my last day in Hawaii. I waited at the airport, and he was hours late as he lost his wallet on his way to meet me and wasn't able to take the bus and literally had to walk until he couldn't walk due to a freeway separating him and me at the airport! Finally a kind stranger gave him some change to hop on a bus to get across the street to the airport. And finally we met and he gave me the keys so I could take this picture when I returned back home.




BUGs!!!!


Washed twice and it still didn't look very good!



Washed and polished along my 15" wheels installed




New Wheels and Strassentech Lip






At my body shop getting sanded and repainted due to an errant blown tire from a truck that hit my bonnet and to finally get rid of the bug impact marks from it's previous life.




Chrome Xenons and JCW Carbon Fiber Mirror Caps


Custom Painted Xenons with Black Matte Vinyl Trim Rings


One More Before Shot


Process Shot


Completed


Final Pictures with Ociari Scoops, Aero Kit Side Skirts and black tinted side markers






Specs are:
LSD
Cold Weather
Convenience
Premium
Sport
Heated Cloth Seats (Space Cloth)
Mods M7 16% pulley
Alta Intake
Alta Oil Catch Can
Detroit Tuned Bypass Valve
HSports springs changed to H&R Green with FSDs
Factory painted aerokit skirts
Invidia G300 Exhaust
22MM RSpeed Sway Bar
Jackson Racing Red plug wires (replaced corroded red plug wires)
Gauge pod including Boost and Oil pressure gauges (only Boost gauge is hooked up)

LOTF Engine Damper
Whalen Shift Machine ****
Hyundai Shift Boot
Custom rear mounted CCD VacuCam
Custom painted Xenons
Black Matte Xenon Trim Rings

MINI Fini Sport Link
Ian Cull Auto Up Circuit
Euro Shelf
20% tint
Garmin Nuvi 350 with custom cupholder mount
Valentine 1 with remote display

Exterior Details
Black Wow on trim
Prima Swirl shine
Prima Epic protection
Slick for daily gloss

Future
Painted Interior Pieces in Jet Black
Painted engine parts
Repaint of bonnet and rear quarter panel due to quality issues.

 

Damn, that's a beautiful MINI!

 

Hey Octane I hate to highjack your thread but have you ever taken stripes off a 2002? What am I looking at as far as fading, pealed paint, ect?

 

Wow OG - Congrats on the beautiful MINI!!!! Glad it all worked out so well for you...it was meant to happen

Happy Motoring!

 

That's a very nice MINI! Great detail work too. It's just what I would have expected your MINI to look like after seeing how you made all those MINIs shine at the Dragon.

 

I've never seen a MINI look so pathetic, and then look so gorgeous!! WTG, Richard!

 

OG, amazing. Just watched the video last night and can't wait to try it (the PC) on my "other" car. BTW, what wheels are they? Melikums!

 

I don't see much of a difference . You work wonders on cars paint, I hope one day I can do half of what you can do!

 

We clearly are buying too much Black WOW!

Hee, just kidding. Looks awesome! You guys know how I love my chrome so it's obviously not a route I'd take, but it looks hot. I LOVE the cowl scoops! And those wheels are awesome.

Poor MINI...glad it got some love

 

Looks awesome!!

 

it's an eye popping improvement just from detailing... then the wheels,
then the wet sand, etc. wow.

 

First off, thanks to everyone for their really nice comments.

Pealed paint?? Naw, the paint should be fine. I haven't taken stripes off an '02 but I have of '03s and '05s including MINIClo's '03, though the stripes weren't on for that long. Metallics due tend to show more light/dark variations though when vinyl is removed. Try claying the surface and polishing it out with a PC to see if you can "merge" the areas.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=2003+mcs

They are the now discontinued Edgeracing 17" Flik Bullets (17 pounds) with my custom center caps.




Thanks! You will Jeremy! Just keep practicing!
Hey atleast I'm putting your hard earned money to good use! I used to be a chrome lover, but things kinda turned when I got the Jet Black.

My MINI is a rolling example of good luck, from the story of how I lucked out on finding it, to taking advantage of an Edgeracing sale and getting the wheels for $75 each and making my own center caps out of vinyl, to being able to have my MINI painted for pretty much the cost of the paint, to doing most of my own mod installs--except when I messed up or tackled something too complicated and my good friend Scott Macintyre from CCC bailed me, to just having great friends like Bar10Girl and her bf spend many days with me customizing my MINI just out of friendship.

The cowl scoops were an interesting addition. I saw them on sale here on NAM through a vendor announcement. I purchased a set, and the painter painted them when the bonnet was painted, and he pointed out that the scoops were warped! I was kind of PO'd, because up until then, I had only taken out one of the scoops to admire, and it was the good one!

Anyhow, during the install, I found out the mesh grill also acts as a backbone and straightens out the warpage, so all is well.

Richard

 

and funny thing is, i see this car nearly everyday hahaha. it's such a beauty oh man. you guys should hear the new exhaust :D

 

Haha thanks Jay. Actually, I'm kinda having second thoughts on the Invidia. Not sure if I'm going to be able to live with it. It's a nice exhaust but at freeway speeds, in 6th it has an annoying drone. Shifting to 5th helps a bit because the tone is higher, but unless I do a lot of coasting, I think it's a bit too loud. My old Remus on my Cooper didn't do that, but then again, it also didn't do much for the performance either.

 

OG- I was reading on autopia that some synthetic waxes (like Epic, right?) make black cars look "silvery or sterile". Is this the case? I have a black MINI and I have yet to try Epic- do I have anything to worry about?

 

Really beautiful Richard, especially in comparison to the 'before' MINI!

I too am a huge fan of chrome, but must admit I think your JB looks better with the matte black Xenon rings. And LOVE the Ociari scoops!!

Of course now you've got me worried with your comments about the Invidia... I'm having a Larini exhaust installed Monday and won't be as happy if there's a lot of drone at highway speeds, since most of my driving is on the highway. I'll just have to see how it goes, as it stands right now I'm super excited to get the work done (also a 15% pulley and Dinan CAI).

CONGRATULATIONS to you, and isn't your MINI lucky to have found such a good home!

 

Thank you! Most of my driving are highway miles now--about 700 miles a week and so hearing the drone, which others said that it didn't have, is bothersome. Of course at lower speeds--starting off, city traffic, going through tunnels, it's wonderfully loud and aggressive. No issues about that--it's just that I don't like hearing the same tone at freeway speeds--especially when it seems louder than any wind noise. Good luck with the Larini--I might be looking for another one--so I'd love to hear your feedback.

Some people say a carnauba exudes a golden glow while synthetics are hard and shiny. Personally I like synthetics for their ease of application, durability, and extreme wet look. If you you can't tell the difference between carnauba and synthetics, then it shouldn't matter what anyone says.

Here's a black Audi S4 that I finished yesterday--polished with Prima Cut, Swirl, Finish X2 (special formula), and Prima Epic--with the Rotary Buffer and UDM polisher using mostly orange and white pads with the black for Epic application.

 

oooo~ lalaaaaaaaahhhh

 

looks awesome

 

Holy crap! That MINI is insane! Nice find OG. And the S4 looks awesome too! Nice work.

 

Wow! That S4 is gorgeous. How necessary is it to do a lighter polish step after Swirl (i.e. Finish or Amigo)? Could I just skip right to the Epic...mind you I'm doing the Swirl(ing) by hand.

 

Got to be one of the cleanest black MINIs I have seen. Up there with the MSFITTOY, for sure. Love the wheel combo, too. Great work Richard!
jason

 

MISFITOY's MINI is DG...

 

LBW is amazing!!! Splendid work!!!

 

Thanks!! I'm really happy with it so far!
When machine polishing, there is a substantial difference in levels of quality between the different polishes. You choose the pad and chemical based on need and desired result. For instance, I found that Swirl wasn't strong enough for many parts of the Audi, so Cut with an Orange pad with my rotary buffer removed the defects without hazing the finish. I followed that with Swirl to remove the next level of defects, then I used a special version of Finish that was formulated for very soft paints with a white pad on the UDM (more powerful PC) for final polishing. Finally Epic was applied with a black pad on speed 3. Here's what the test spot looked like. Original side on left (BEFORE), and right side is polished (AFTER). I don't think it would be easy to achieve this level over the entire car by hand.



Also many parts of the paint was hazed from the dealership--in regular lighting, the paint looked great, but under strong lighting, you could see how bad it was.



I'm going to create a new thread just on the S4 so as to not hijack my MINI thread too much. =)