My delivery from Detailers Paradise came today, so I thought I'd take it upon myself to give my still unnamed MINI her first intense detail, including clay bar, swirl removal (good 'ol dealership installed swirl marks), polishing, and wax/sealant.

Products used (in order of application):

Prima Mystique Car Shampoo
Prima Glide Clay Lubricant
Meguiars Clay
Prima Swirl (on PC w/ orange DP pad)
Prima Amigo (on PC w/ black DP pad)
Prima Epic
BlackWow
Prima Wheel Armor
Meguiars NXT Generation INSANE SHINE tire dressing
Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer
Stoner's Invisible Glass

Here are the results; I apologize for the large pictures. But it just looks so much better that way It looks truly unbelievable. I've never been this satisfied with a detailing job. Prima products rock!

 

Very nice. Don't you just love that wet look?
Good choice on your Clubman color scheme too!
Nice work!

 

Thanks! I honestly wasn't 100% sure I'd like the BRG/Silver combo, but I knew black would be way too hot in the summer. As soon as I saw it in person, I fell in love with it!

BRG isn't easy to keep looking fresh, but when it's kept nice, it is fantastic. By far my favorite mini color.

 

Nice! Looks great!

 

Looking good!

 

Looks great, ahendy! Very rich. You did an obviously great job polishing out those dealer-installed swirls.

Take your time on the name... it will come to you at just the right time!

Thanks for posting your results!

-Heather

 

May I ask, do you polish and wax over the chrome trim on the headlights, front grill, etc?

 

PS- The clubman detail is awesome.

 

Your Clubman looks great, its too bad it won't stay that way forever. The great part is that all your hard work will make it a lot easier to keep looking good. BTW that is a great looking color selection!!

 

looks awesome... can do mine?

 

I didn't polish them, as there is really nothing to polish out (no swirl marks, etc), and I feared that the chrome paint would come off, as it's undoubtedly not covered in a clear coat. I did however apply Prima Epic over the headlight trim and grill trim. I figured it couldn't hurt.

Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments. ngweibing, if I ever find myself in CT, I'd be happy to help you out with your detail

Heather & Detailers Paradise, thank you guys very much for being quick and efficient with the delivery of my order. I will continue to order from you guys exclusively, and recommend you to all my friends!

 

You can wax the chrome without issue.

 

Yup, that's what I figured. But I wouldn't polish it with anything even moderately abrasive. It shouldn't need to be polished, anyway.

 

one newbie question abt detailing...

i dun own any detailing stuff yet adn thus not sure if i wan ot buy them and only used them a few times a year adn then left them on the shelf...

or i should just go to detailing shop and let them do it? bocs i am afraid i will onyl caused scratches or swirl on my car since i have no experience in detialing...

 

I polish all my chrome. In fact, I just did last week. *shrug* Nothing bad happened!

 

You polished it with a real polishing compound like Prima Swirl? I suppose it could be fine, at least for a while. But I would imagine the chrome "paint" would come off eventually. Plus it's just not necessary, unless your chrome has swirl marks?

Waxing on the other hand should be just fine.

 

I'd like to add that I think my hesitance to polish the chrome is because the chrome is not real chrome plated metal, it is plastic painted chrome.

 

Certain chrome parts are metal. If I'm not mistaken the boot handle, door handles and headlight rings are metal with chrome plating. The grill is not; just plastic w/plating.
But like ML, I will polish my chrome during the detailing process. Not really to remove swirls or such, but just because it is there and in the flow. I don't polish the grill with Prima but the headlight rings & boot handle are fair game. The remaining chrome I use Wizard Metal Polish with a cotton make-up pad just to get them clean and ready for wax.

 

I polish the grill, mirror covers, headlight rings, and boot handle. I use the little pads on the PC with Swirl. They don't actually get swirls but they do get little teensy dings and chips that the polishing helps minimize.

 

Nice detailing job !! That BRG paint is so reflective, I almost mistook it for Jet Black !

You cannot get those kinds of results without a R/O buffer. Best investment you can ever make for any car you really care about.

 

Thank you, little details like that I'm interested in. I always read about I wash, polish, wax and tada all is good. But, little things seem to always be skipped over. Thanks for the chrome info it certainly helps a lot.

 

I couldn't agree more. I used to do all my polishing and waxing by hand, and to achieve even okay results, I had to spend 12+ hours on the car. Buying the PC was the best decision I've ever made for the well being of my paint. It's an absolute no-brainer.

Thanks again for all your kind comments! One slow trip down my dirt road quickly made 'er not so pretty, but it can't stay perfect forever!