That would be reallly awesome if you have the time. I'm sure there are other people other than myself who would benefit from a breakdown list like that.

I can't wait to spend all day cleaning my MINI! Seems so fun to spend that much time with her. (and the weather IS supposed to be nice next week! )

 

Got up at 6:00 AM this morning and began my first detailing...10 hrs later the exterior of my wife' 2002 Expedition looks better than it ever has (thought I would experiment on the beast before I did the beauty). Quite an experience. I really lost track of time and enjoyed it quite well.

Did the clay bar, Z-PC, Z-5 and 3 times Z-2Pro + Z-6. I finished with Z-8. Also did the tires as well as the vinyl trim using 303, Wheels, chrome and the exterior glass using Sonus Glass & Chrome Cleaner and Z-2Pro. I did this all without a PCDA - wish you could tell how slow I'm typing . Tomorrow the interior leather and glass.

My thanks to agranger & BradB for thier excellent write-up. I'm now really thinking seriously about getting the PC 7424.

Cheers.

 

I bet your hands are limping across the keyboard... man... 10 HOURS? wow.. and not even done yet!

When my MCS arrives, you will have a MINI neighbor in Aurora!

 

Cool anathema - sure I will see you around town .

Only spent 4 hours doing the interior today. The Zaino leather stuff is great and smells terrific. I also like the 303 on the interior vinyl - not too shiny. So all totaled 14 hours - but I'm assuming the Mini will be less than third that given the size and age difference plus three kids are hard on the beast.

Hey have you checked out MITM yet - me and the wife are going cause I can think of nothing better that a Mini in the mountains (topless) .

 

Yep, but I am picking up my MINI from new york that week...

Dont think I will be able to drive back in time!! But will see you around town (I'm at Tower and Hampden, work at Lincoln and I-25) or at a MINI5280 event I'm sure...

 

This site kicks @ss

 

Why yes... yes it does!

 

Just finished the Zaino process- thanks for the detailed... uh, detail write-up! Before NAM I never knew there was such a humongous world of detail options. I appreciate you putting it all in one place.

Shiny gekko!



Thanks agranger!

 

I'm going to be picking up my new MCS in Oct. Should I tell my MA to 'not' wash or wax or detail or whatever, just leave it alone? I'm afraid that they will run it through their auto car wash before I get it or have someone wax it with a gritty rag. Any worries here or should I just deal with whatever happens.

YD

 

Search around as there are several threads on this topic.

The general consensus is that you have to make a decision...

Is this 'just a car' for you?

If 'yes' then don't worry about it and let the dealership detail your car for you. They will probably wax it and it will give you a bit of protection for a few months.

If 'no' (and the odds are on 'no' because you are here, after all ), then have your dealer skip the detailing process. Most use automatic car washes, which can be awful for swirl marks but are probably better than the washes done by hand with substandard tools and poor technique.

I've gone so far as to make a little sign that say "Do not wash this car" (in several languages) that I tape to the dash whenever the car goes in for service.

 

My dealer(s) KNOW not to wash my car(s). We have an agreement right up front. It's even in my record when they pull up my name. We also to a "walk around" each time I take it it looking for any imperfections before I leave it with them. Call me paranoid, but I ususlly have the cleanest car in the dealership!

 

Would anyone be willing to share their favorite source for Zaino products?

 

www.Zainostore.com

As far as I know, that's the only web source. I think that there are some independent distributors that are geographically spaced out, but I think the best place to start would be the web site.

 

Awesome write up. It helped me out alot. I printed out all 14 pages and I can't wait to start cleaning up my car. Thanks.

 

Glad to help! It's an addiction. I've been off of NAM for a while as I've found a local board that's very active on the web and in person (www.metroplexmini.org).

I'm 1.5 years into MINI ownership and just rolled past 22,222 miles on Friday. As it's spring and there is an all British car show 2 miles from my house next weekend, I got started with the cleanup...

Thurs night
detailed engine bay (1st time for Jango - I hate Cosmoline)
Clayed nose of the car
used touch-up paint and Langka on some 200 stone chips (I drove 30-some miles each way to work on the highway during the winter)

Sat Morning
Dawn Wash
Claybar
Dawn Wash
Polish
Zaino auto detergent wash
Dry
Z6 Quick Detailer
Z5
Z6 - buff off Z5
Z2
Z6 - buff off z2
Z2

Sunday
Z6 - buff off z6

Next week
Interior clean and leather moisturize
Remove wheels to clean thoroughly
power-wash (gently) suspension, undercarrage and wheel wells

 

Thank you for putting this thread together and for providing all of the details in the Word doc which I've downloaded and started to go thru.

Everyone knows about washing and waxing (in general). This is the first time I've ever heard of the clay bar treatment of a car's finish. What does the clay do?

 

Clay bar removes surface contaminants from your paint. It is a must-do step to properly prepare your finish before waxing. Next time you are ready to do a big waxing detail job buy some clay & lubricant (I recommend Meguiar's claybar kit which should be available at most Autozone-like stores for under $20)... after you wash gently run your fingertips down your finish (some people say to put a plastic baggie over your hand), then claybar the area, then run your hand down the finish a second time. Before claybarring you will feel a slight drag with minute bumps here & there. After using clay your paint will feel smooth as silk. It's a quite shocking revelation the first time you do it

 

Thank you for the explanation, bamatt.

 

Yep. That's a good description.

I think of claybar as thousands of tiny little razor blade scrapers. When you flatten the clay agains the finish, you are aligning the blades to the paint surface, so that they shave off any surface impurities or minor imperfections. It might not be a perfect analogy, but it is a wonderful product.

PS: I don't bother with clay lube. I wash the car, clean out my bucket and wash mit and mix up a 2x strength bucket of clean wash water and auto detergent. I slop some on a body panel, clay, wash the panel and rinse... I can do the whole car in about 45 minutes.

 

AWSOME writeup!!! I can officially tell my wife I'm not as bad as she thinks I am!!!

 

Heh... I call it automotive OCD!

BTW: I still keep to this process fairly regularly for my 3.5 year-old MINI, Jango.

 

I know both you and BradB are set against the auto car washes specially the ones with the hula straps and or spinning brushes, but how do you feel about the water only sites, wash and rinse only no wax, for a quick wash down from road salt and other winter accumulations.
BTW your detailed detail tome is excellent, have saved the Word document and will be starting to stock up on the recommended products later today.
Thanks for your effort,
John

 

I'll admit... I've taken my MINI through touchless car washes. The ones that rotate around the car but never touch it are OK (the ones that I use), but the detergents that they use are fairly harsh and will strip wax fairly quickly (how they get away without actually touching the car). I use these primarily in the winter to knock off the bulk of dirt between washes and I usually upgrade to the premium wash so I get the undercarrage wash after they salt the roads in the winter.

The ones that have brushes or walls of shaking fabric strips will put swirls on your paint if you even look at 'em, let alone drive through! :D

The spray wand places are OK, but don't spray too close or you can blast the paint right off of the car.

 

Thanks, that's how we use them as well, to just get the salt/grime off in the winter. We also always get the level that does the under carriage.

 

Great write up I basically found out I've been doing everything wrong with washing my car but I don't think its to late Ive only had my mini for 2 months now

Nervous part never done ANYTHING but washing my car like soap and water so not quite sure how to tackle waxing or clay but Ill give it a shot...