Detailer's Domain: Mini Cooper, this is one you have to see
Detailer's Domain: Mini Cooper, this is one you have to see
Mini Cooper - This Mini was a bit of a surprise. We figured it would be a 8 hour job. How bad could it possible be, its such a small car. The customer asked for paint correction services and the interior to be cleaned....he then added he would like the wheels pulled off/detailed and the wheel wells detailed as well. Okay when we got the car it was something else.......take a look what a disaster!
Products Used:
Exterior:
Einszett Blitz in the Cam Spray Foam Canon
Adam's Gray Clay Bar and Optimum Instant Detail Spray and Gloss Enhancerfor clay lube
Menzerna Power Gloss Compoune
Menzerna Super Intensive
Menzerna PO85RD
Menzerna Top Inspection
Einszett Glanz
Wheels/Wheel Wells/Tires/Engine
Uber Wheel/Tire/Wheel Well Kit
Interior:
Leather Master Strong Cleaner
Leather Master Vital
Leather Master Protection Cream
Einszett Deep Cleaner
Einszett Gummi
Adam's Glass Cleaner
Dressing on Trim
Black Wow
Tools:
Infratech 5300
Fenix TK11
3M Sun Gun
Brinkmann MaxFire
Metabo PE12-175
Flex 3403
Makita 9227 Hi Speed Rotary
The Uber Foam Pads (5.5inch)
Tons of "Uber" Microfiber Towels
Uber Drying Towels
Cam Spray 1500A with Cam Spray Foam Gun
Before shots:

Wheels



That wasn't so bad........let's start with the interior detail.
Interior before shots: --- Dog hair???? no one said anything about dog hair...












So how in the world do we attack this interior. After careful thought, we decided to pull the rear bench out as well as the front seats.
Ugh the seats!

Time to pull them out

Hair was everywhere


The rear bench


So what do we have underneath the bench



Dirt, dirt, and more dirt...



Tommy on the vac


Driver's area


More vacuuming

Time to pull the front seats out (battery was disconnected)
Tommy pulling out the driver's side


Dan assisting Tommy on the seat removal

Under the driver's seat

More hair!


Cleaned up


Bench back in, Tommy finishing them up

Seat out, cleaned/conditioned/protected


Passenger seat being put back in


Final shots of the interior





Door jamb before


Door jamb after

Now to the exterior:
Starting with the engine start to finish:
Before shot of the engine






Dan on the P21S




Brushing/Agitating all the built up grease, grime, and dirt



Rinsing down the engine bay



Engine wipe down

Final shots of the engine:


Wash - Paint correction - Wheels - Wheel Wells
The presoak



Foaming and washing down the car




Washing down the car with an Uber Sponge

Wheels on the car getting P21S on tires and wheels, wheel wells pressure washed

Claying the car

PG with the Makita and the Uber Yellow

Checking the paint with a Fenix TK11


50/50 shot of the hood
Before shots of the hood





The roof was a mess we did as much as we could on it without wet sanding, scratches were pretty deep, take a look


Under the Sun Gun

After PG and SIP

After PO85RD

Polishing out the bumpers

We put the car on jacks to move on to the wheels and wheel wells


Wheels









Dan and I claying the wheels


Cleaning up the wheel wells



Dressed up in Adam's Undercarriage Spray



Finished wheel wells




Finishing touches
Black wow on the trim


After shots inside and out
















I hope you enjoyed this one. We look forward to your comments
Products Used:
Exterior:
Einszett Blitz in the Cam Spray Foam Canon
Adam's Gray Clay Bar and Optimum Instant Detail Spray and Gloss Enhancerfor clay lube
Menzerna Power Gloss Compoune
Menzerna Super Intensive
Menzerna PO85RD
Menzerna Top Inspection
Einszett Glanz
Wheels/Wheel Wells/Tires/Engine
Uber Wheel/Tire/Wheel Well Kit
Interior:
Leather Master Strong Cleaner
Leather Master Vital
Leather Master Protection Cream
Einszett Deep Cleaner
Einszett Gummi
Adam's Glass Cleaner
Dressing on Trim
Black Wow
Tools:
Infratech 5300
Fenix TK11
3M Sun Gun
Brinkmann MaxFire
Metabo PE12-175
Flex 3403
Makita 9227 Hi Speed Rotary
The Uber Foam Pads (5.5inch)
Tons of "Uber" Microfiber Towels
Uber Drying Towels
Cam Spray 1500A with Cam Spray Foam Gun
Before shots:

Wheels



That wasn't so bad........let's start with the interior detail.
Interior before shots: --- Dog hair???? no one said anything about dog hair...












So how in the world do we attack this interior. After careful thought, we decided to pull the rear bench out as well as the front seats.
Ugh the seats!

Time to pull them out

Hair was everywhere


The rear bench


So what do we have underneath the bench



Dirt, dirt, and more dirt...



Tommy on the vac


Driver's area


More vacuuming

Time to pull the front seats out (battery was disconnected)
Tommy pulling out the driver's side


Dan assisting Tommy on the seat removal

Under the driver's seat

More hair!


Cleaned up


Bench back in, Tommy finishing them up

Seat out, cleaned/conditioned/protected


Passenger seat being put back in


Final shots of the interior





Door jamb before


Door jamb after

Now to the exterior:
Starting with the engine start to finish:
Before shot of the engine






Dan on the P21S




Brushing/Agitating all the built up grease, grime, and dirt



Rinsing down the engine bay



Engine wipe down

Final shots of the engine:


Wash - Paint correction - Wheels - Wheel Wells
The presoak



Foaming and washing down the car




Washing down the car with an Uber Sponge

Wheels on the car getting P21S on tires and wheels, wheel wells pressure washed

Claying the car

PG with the Makita and the Uber Yellow

Checking the paint with a Fenix TK11


50/50 shot of the hood
Before shots of the hood





The roof was a mess we did as much as we could on it without wet sanding, scratches were pretty deep, take a look


Under the Sun Gun

After PG and SIP

After PO85RD

Polishing out the bumpers

We put the car on jacks to move on to the wheels and wheel wells


Wheels









Dan and I claying the wheels


Cleaning up the wheel wells



Dressed up in Adam's Undercarriage Spray



Finished wheel wells




Finishing touches
Black wow on the trim


After shots inside and out
















I hope you enjoyed this one. We look forward to your comments
I have 1 thing to say and then some questions. First: WOW! (yes, just WOW!)
First, I don't know if they started doing this in the wheel wells in 07 or it was earlier but there's this weird carpet type crap in the wheel wells that all sorts of junk gets stuck in; how do you get that out? Second, what exactly did you do to the wheels to get the bits of tar and black grime off? I wash and clay and wash and clay and cannot get the little black specks off my rims!
Either way, phenomenal job! I would love to learn how to do this great of a detail job some day. Thanks for sharing!
First, I don't know if they started doing this in the wheel wells in 07 or it was earlier but there's this weird carpet type crap in the wheel wells that all sorts of junk gets stuck in; how do you get that out? Second, what exactly did you do to the wheels to get the bits of tar and black grime off? I wash and clay and wash and clay and cannot get the little black specks off my rims!
Either way, phenomenal job! I would love to learn how to do this great of a detail job some day. Thanks for sharing!
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thanks everyone, we were so confused on what to do on this we ended up spending 2 days on it about 20-23 hours total over the 2 days.
Now on the wheels we used everything on our wheel kit above plus some 3m adhesive remover in the inner wheel.
thanks again.
Now on the wheels we used everything on our wheel kit above plus some 3m adhesive remover in the inner wheel.
thanks again.
Superb job, folks! Looks BETTER than new! This owner just let it get out of hand, and whatever your bill was, it had to be worth it to him. If he won't/can't keep ahead of the dirt buildup, he'll be back to you in the future.
Question: When you wash down the engine, do you cover hoses, distributor, or any other items, or do you just work it over as is?
Question: When you wash down the engine, do you cover hoses, distributor, or any other items, or do you just work it over as is?
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 321
Likes: 1
From: Undisclosed location in Boulder County
I've got dogs, and I've detailed my own cars enough times to know how much work went into that job. Great results all around.
Quick question regarding the jack stands. Did you modify the jack stand to accommodate the MINI's jack points?
Quick question regarding the jack stands. Did you modify the jack stand to accommodate the MINI's jack points?








