Hi I just took delivery of my CR/W MC on saturday. This is my first car, and I am new to car care. I really want to keep my car looking beautiful and clean. Since I am new to this I really don't want to damage the the paint surface from using incorrect towels/fabric that can cause scratches in the clear coat. I am also not familiar with what the best soap product to use for washing this car? Also, what are some good habits/methods for cleaning the car? I noticed that MINI has its own line of cleaning products and was wondering if these would be adequate to start me out with? Furthermore, what cleaning tools do I need? I am really sorry for my ignorance on this, but I have noticed a lot of you have experience in this and would have potentially good advice to share with me :smile: For example after driving my MC home from the dealer there are bug guts all over my mirrors, bumper, and grill I ran my MC through a Touchless carwash and of course it wasn't able to thoroughly clean off the bugs. How would you clean bugs off without being too adbrasive? Since, these bugs cooked in the sun on my car while driving 300+ miles from the dealer to home.

Can someone help me?

 

Congrats on taking delivery of your new MINI. :smile: Now let's see some stripes.

 

Congrats, DP! ... if you can spare the time, read a bunch of these 'Detailing' threads and you'll have a good idea about how to start; Actually, if you PM Davbret, you'll get all the (best) info you'll ever need ...

 

Howdy Digipus! :smile:

R

 

congrats!
nice name !

 

Hey thanx Davebret, to bad I didn't see your post till after I bought some car care items If the weather is good tomorrow here in SoCal I am going to give Beepers a good washing -BTW I have already put 643 miles on her from when I picked her up on Saturday..hehehe This car is way too much fun

 

The best advice I can give is; wash by hand. I use a lambs wool mit for the paint and a sponge for the wheels and black plastic. I use 2 different "absorbers" for drying. Start from the top and do the wheels last. If you're parked in the elements a lot, wax often. Enjoy that new MINI.
Motor On, Mike Brinson

 

I am never washing my car myself ever again..it was a disaster I am going to go bury my head in the sand

 

>>I am never washing my car myself ever again..it was a disaster I am going to go bury my head in the sand


What happened?? Hopefully nothing too terrible.

There are so many different approaches to detailing a car, with varying levels of difficulty from simple and easy to downright complex and time consuming. He's a simple easy receipe for starters.

1. Use only soap designed to wash cars.
2. Wash during sunrise, sunset, cloudy, or overcast days to avoid water drying out and leaving spots.
3. Use a chenille or lambs wool wash mit. (I use two at a time for quicker washing).
4. Wash rims, tires, and any other HIGH dirt areas LAST. If you wash rims, then go back to washing your hood for example, your mitts and the buckets that you use will now have a ton of fine grit brake dust in em, which can lead to hairline scratches and swirl marks.
5. Dry with micro-fiber towels from either http://www.pakshak.com or http://www.yosteve.com Trust me on this one. My wife thinks these things are god's gift to car care! Easy to use, absorbs a ton of water, leaves less streaks than standard towels, and greatly reduces hairline scratches and swirl marks that you can typically adopt with other towels.
6. Hand wash your washing mitts after your done. Don't machine wash. They will fall apart (especially lambs wool).
7. Wax. Keep it simple and use a 100% carnuaba wax, and apply with a sponge wax applicator (good to have several of these around so that when you see one sponge getting a little too dirty, switch to a new one).

Lastly, for caked on debris and grit that you can't get off through the regular washing process, try using any clay bar kit out there (I use Mother's Clay Bar kit). This is a whole other topic, which I can get into more if you want.

 

I have the white 17s and used to have a brake dust nightmare. Many of the aftermarket sites have EBC brake pads which drastically reduce the dust. Go to mini-madness.com, I think George has them.

 

Well this is what happened for starters my first downfall was I started washing my car around 11:00 a.m here in Socal, and the location of the self carwash at my apt is in the sun. I should of started earlier or late afternoon like you mentioned. I thouroughly rinsed the car before applying soap. I used two buckets one w/ clean water and one with the soap & water I started from the top and cleaned my mitt in the clean water between applications of soapy water. I gently scrubbed from top to bottom avoiding high dirt areas till last. I rinsed the car three times to make sure no soap residue was left. Now here comes the nightmere..drying.. as I mentioned I have a chamois and a water blade. Firstly, I started w/ the water blade on the roof but it felt like itwas resisting and sticking so I quit using it. I then started with the chamois and it didn't seem to soak much, I suppose I just don't know how to use it correctly. So to cut a long story short I have LOTS of water spots now I also noticed I have some small debris stuck on the hood whenn veiwed closley. I didn't want to scrub to hard since it is really stuck in, so I figure this is when some clay bar should be used.

acckk

 

A claybar should take care of all your worries. Just remember to wash it again before using the clay bar, apply a good spray of lubricant (very soapy water) while you are using the clay bar, and use light pressure. Then, wash again...in the shade...and dry. Then, you can wax it with your choice of wax.

Good luck,
JS

 

Digitalpussi - don't despair! ... red cars are infamous for spotting - I had a 1977 Mini 1000 that was Damask Red (or Morris red, kinda maroony) and it was terrible!
If you looked at it cross-eyed it would spot ... every time it was washed, it would spot in different patterns ...
... Wash your car again (maybe in cloudy, shade conditions) and it will be back to normal - ready for the next step ...
The red spots easily and the spots vanish almost as quickly ...

 

If you have some severe spotting that really bothers you, you can try using some vinegar mixed with water on the spots.

Also, if you ever need any help, stop by some time..we live in Costa Mesa! We've got drying down to an absolute science.

PS - Has anyone else noticied that the Mini paint isn't very durable? It scratches sooo easy. Seems as though the clear coat is super soft. Am I alone on this one?

 

Digipus,

Ditch the chamois. They are the worst, hardest way to dry a car. Dirt or particulants can be trapped between the hard chamois and the paint. There is no knap to trap the particles and pull them away from the painted surface.

But if you insist on using it, here are some tips:
1-Before using it to dry, rinse it completely, soaking wet, then wring it out fully. It has to be wet to work. A dry chamois will only scratch your paint.
2-Really wring the snot out of it every other pass. It's so thin, it can barely hold any water.

Oh, and if your Cali Water Blade was really sticking to the paint, that means you desperately need to wax. The surface of your paint is not smooth, so it grabs at the plastic blade edge. It should glide effortlessly across the paint.

R

 

Oh, and the Quick Detailer/Final Inspection product I mentioned earlier is WONDERFUL for quickly removing fresh water spots on an otherwise clean car.

R

 

Well I had to learn the hard way that the chamois needed to be wet. F#@k! I hope I didn't scratch the hell out of the bonnet (of all places) At the dealer they put a protection package TOC on my car so I thought maybe the water blade was sticking to the surface because of that...hmmm The water blade would skip on the surface and make squeeky noises so I quit using it in fear it would be potentially damaging. BTW- I will never use a chamois again, I am going to go pick up some micro-fiber towels this time.

 

You may want to check out the Zymol website Zymol. I purchased the wash caddy, which comes with soap, the bucket, sponge, chamois and caddy. I also purchased the introductory care kit with creme wax, cleaner, etc. It's expensive, but I've read good things about the products. Only used the soap at this point becuase of the cold.

The website has some nice points on car care, too. Of course, they'll tell you why their products are best, but aside from that they have some good tips.

 

I just bought the Zymöl wax kit for the MINI :smile: , I have most of the cleaning supplies, now I just need to pick up some micro-fiber towels for drying so I don't hurt my baby and get her properly dried next time

_________________
Looking forward to Beepers in Late February!

MC ~ CR/W ~ Tartan Red Interior ~ CVT ~ Chrome Line Inserts ~ Multi-Function Steering Wheel ~ Sports Package ~ 16" White Star rims~
Beepers is all mine

 

Hi, I was wondering if any of you can tell me how to use the clay bar, since I am going to give my MC a wash today. There are these tiny flecks of crude in my hood, and I would like to get them out. Also, what is a good product to use on the crome pieces?

Thanx again!

-Digi

 

Here is a good description of using a claybar:

http://www.zainobros.com/files/z18.htm

You don't have to use Zaino products to follow the instructions. Simply substitute your claybar of choice for references to Z-18, and substitute your carwash of choice when Z-7 is referenced.

It really is a simple process. Just remember that after using the claybar, wash the car again with carwash and dry quickly before water spots form. After doing this, your car's finish is naked. You really need to get some type of wax on it.

Good luck,
JS

 

You are desperately in need of the following web site.

Autopia Car Care

It has an excellent detailing forum. Everything you need to know about washing, drying, clay bars polishes, waxes, etc.

Best site I found and I thought I was doing things right but learned better ways and better products. Most info you need can be found in the Autopia Guide to Detailing.

Good Luck and Motor On

_________________
Red/White Cooper 'S' - 17" S-Lite Wheels with Performance Run Flats

 

I'd take care of your car the way your parents took care of their cars while you were growing up. If they were outside washing their cars on the weekends by hand, then that's what will fit best into your lifestyle. If they drove their cars through car washes then that's what you have seen your whole life and will be what feels comfortable to you. After a lifetime of having never hand washed a car, even to help your parents wash their car, it might be a stretch to suddenly start hand washing the cars you own. I'd continue in the mode of living that you are accustomed to.

 

>>I'd take care of your car the way your parents took care of their cars while you were growing up. If they were outside washing their cars on the weekends by hand, then that's what will fit best into your lifestyle. If they drove their cars through car washes then that's what you have seen your whole life and will be what feels comfortable to you. After a lifetime of having never hand washed a car, even to help your parents wash their car, it might be a stretch to suddenly start hand washing the cars you own. I'd continue in the mode of living that you are accustomed to.

Well I was brought up with watching my dad hand wash his cars, and I had helped when I was younger..hehe, but my dad has severe arthiritis in his knees to the point now that he takes his cars to either a drive through wash or a hand wash place. The MINI is my first car, and I have read so many different ways on how to clean it. I just want to establish good habits to maintain the cars appearance, since it is mine I will have it for a very long time

BTW- My dealer told me that I cannot use clay bar on my MC because it has a protection pkg. on it. If I were to use clay bar it would ruin the TOC sealant

 

Hmmm. What exactly is TOC sealant? I'd be curious to know what sort of benefit the paint protection is giving your car. Is it one of those systems that makes it so you don't have to wax your car for an extended period of time?

Anyway, it seems unfortunate that this sealant is preventing you from using the clay bar. After all, if the sealant were doing its job, you shouldn't be having flecks and debris imbedded into your paint surface.

This might be a good question to ask at the Autopia forum. Tons of professional detailers on that board that could help you out.

If you ever do end up claying check out this how-to video:

http://home.gwu.edu/~dakahler/clayvideo.wmv