Here are some pictures of my detailed car. Thanks to Adrion (aka minimk3) for basically letting me use all of his products . And his skillfulness with the PC. Even though I got to use it for just a little bit, I noticed it takes a bit of getting used to. We washed it, clayed it, polished it, and then waxed it. Also used Black Wow on the trim.

 

Adrion got out most of the swirls, but I forgot what color pad with swirl.

 

It looks so nice

 

Heres a back pic, side pic, and one with a classic mini. That classic is so nice, too bad it doesn't have ac

 

A nice close up pic, and top of the bonnet. Enjoy

 

Looks nice! IB really pops well.

 

Very nice, who painted the lawn on your door?

Nice series of pictures, you should sit down with your friend then tell us what products and pads and your sequence.

Share the success. You may want to do it again next week.

 

Good job! IB is beautiful.

 

Well we first started by washing the car with the meguairs car cleaner. Adrion had this cool attachment that connects to the hose. It was filled with some water and cleaner and he sprayed it all over the car and let it soak. Then we rinsed it. After that he taught me how to clay. So we clayed the car with the Meguairs clay. Cleaned the rims with this neat little brush. For the polish I can't really remember if it was a white or orange pad. He started off with the lighter one than after the test spot he said he would need to go up one. Then we polished with Swirl. Polished most of the car and then took a little lunch break. After that we used Amigo. Then we used Epic. We used some Black Wow on the trim. Dressed the Tires. And then took alot of pictures.

 

Thanks, nice narrative. Good to see the BW contrast.

 

Hey Mini_chan, Glad that you are happy with the result.

I apologize for the lack of before pictures. We were so excited to get it started that we forgot to take more before pics.

Now for the process....

Washed car with Water softener filter kit.
Wash - Meguiar's NXT
Pre-soak car using Gilmore Foam gun (approx. 3 minutes)
Clean tires with P21S Gel cleaner with the EZ-detail brush and tire washmitt.
Rinse and went ahead with the 2 bucket (w/ gritguard) wash and washmitt.
Rinse and dry with MF drying towel.
Clay - Meguiar's Clay (white) and Meguiar's Last Touch detailer
Trim Dressing: Black Wow
Tire Dressing: Meguiar's High Endurance

Test Spot: Prima Swirl w/ White LC 5" CCS pad (3x with the PC). This combo wasn't enough to eliminate most swirls so I switched to an Orange LC 5" CCS pad and we got the result we wanted.

Polish: Prima Swirl w/ Orange 5" LC CCS pad (2x)
Prima Swirl w/ White 5" LC CCS pad (1x)
Glaze: Prima Amigo w/ White 5" LC CCS pad (1x)
LSP: Prima Epic by Hand.

It took us 4 hours to complete the exterior detail.

 

Theres the whole process. I got to invest in some of those tools.

 

I've not tried the 5" ccs pad. What advantages do you find over the 6 1/2 standard flat pad?

 

Well the pads that minimk3 used had little holes in it but they weren't deep. The pads keep the product in better. And thats all I really know.

 

Shiny! You guys did a great job.

I need to replace a couple of pads soon, I am going to try the CCS ones just for a change.

 

I find the 5" pads easier to handle than the standard 6" pads. You can apply a little bit more pressure on the PC and I feel lesser vibration with the 5" pads.

I switch between 6" and 5" depending on the application. I find the need to use 5" on the MINI as a lot of the panels are smaller. It makes it easier to go around the roof on those fitted with panoramic sunroofs and polishing A-panels and boot.

IMO, flat pads are better than CCS but I think the 5" pads need those pockets to reduce the surface area and decrease the heat generated from polishing.

 

Great job! I love looking at freshly polished MINIs!

re: CCS
I agree. I'm not a fan of the CCS pads. I find them also hard to clean on the fly. The whole point of CCS pads is to trap polish into the pockets to reduce splatter, but unless you're doing something wrong- splatter with the PC shouldn't be much of an issue.

 

I'm curious... do you switch between the 5" counterweight and the 6" counterweight when you switch between the 5" and 6.5" pads? Matching them can aid in the vibration reduction- so that's why I'm wondering.

Most people find that the difference in vibration you get by switching the counterweight isn't worth the hassle of switching them but I'm curious to know if some prefer to make the switch anyway.

-Heather

 

Indi Blue looks so SWEET when detailed properly !!!

Almost as good as Jet Black, in fact !

Very nice job. A+++++

 

Hi Heather, I only have the available counterweight that is fitted to the 7336 and I don't really think I need to switch the weights. I got used to the vibration that it doesn't bother me anymore.

I just make sure to use 3.5" backing plates when I am using the 5" pads.

 

Thanks for the compliment Richard.

btw, I use the pad conditioning brush that ADS sells and it works very well even on CCS type pads. I have to agree on knowing the right technique to eliminate splatter when using the PC (HINT: buy Octaneguy's DVD).

 

Cool. I was just curious to hear if someone out there actually switched back and forth. I agree... whichever counterweight you have, you can easily get used to the vibration anyway. Thanks!

Heather

 

Is that the brush with the 3 black plastic spurs and a grate like thing on the back? I just bought one of those, but haven't used it extensively. I've also got the yellow handled pad cleaning brush--but that's use with my rotary.

Richard

 

I have the orange brush with plastic cleaning bristles.

 

Your car looks awesome! Makes me want to leave work early and do the same with my car. I have yet to do a full detail this summer because of how quickly weather can change around here. And it's too bad I live in a dusty Alaskan town - it would only look good for a day at most...