Wow, I just made myself VERY happy (again) with the appearance of my HBB MCS. After recently waxing, a boatload of little annoying micro scratches appeared in a few areas around the paint...

While removing wax "staining" on the black trim I figured I'd give it a shot on the actual paint... My magic paint restorer/wax remover is:

PURE SESAME SEED OIL

I guess it takes the white wax out of the microscratches which makes it appear as thought the paint has been "restored." Any oily swirl marks just buffs out with a nice soft cotton cloth. It was a happy discovery for myself that I wanted to share with you all.

I'm sure it's been discussed already at some point here but just in case it hasn't, there you go.

 

It's oil. Of course it will make your paint look shiny. And the oil is a natural filler which disguises small defects. It is quite temporary, though.

 

you're going to attract roaches in your garage.

 

I use Meguiars Gold Class Trim Detailer to remove the wax from my trim. Apply and ensure you wipe it down well as to not leave a residue.

 

Actually Trim Detailer won't remove the wax. It will mask it. You have to use #39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner first to remove the wax, then follow that with the Trim Detailer which is simply a dressing. That will restore the black. Rubbing alcohol also works, but requires much more effort to use. Also while I always recommend MF towels on our cars, those old red shop rags are great for cleaning the trim. They have just enough bite to be effective at removing wax residue and other splatter from trim areas--especially when used with the appropriate cleaner.

How do I know? Wash your car a few times, and the wax residue will return in the same spot. However, treat it with #39 first, and it won't come back.

Richard

 

Thanks Octaneguy...great detailing guru

 

I gotta find some of that #39. Oh yea, if anyone got impatient when buying detailing supplies, and ended up with "cheapie" microfiber towels, they are great for SCRUBBING on the black trim, like the red shop towels. Cheapie MF's can be handy for cleaning V-Spoke wheels too. I think of it as my punishment for them (demoted to wheel duty).

Tatt

 

Is it possible to take the trim off without breaking anything? The MINI looks dirty in the little space where the trim meets the paint and its a little annoying. I'd like to take the trim off, wash/wax the paint and remove the wax from the trim, then put it back on. Or will I need new clips?

Thanks!

 

Not sure about the clips.

Those little areas get dirty a LOT. I use this soft detail brush and a quick detailer spray to remedy this issue.

 

The clips break very easy, pretty much a 50/50 chance of them breaking during removal. But you could always get a bunch of them from your parts dept, they're only like 20 cents.

 

I bought all of the clips necessary to replace every one on the 14 pieces of trim around the car from Classic MINI... $30 shipped!

I only broke 1 or 2 clips when removing the arches from my car (the side sills, you break almost every one of the buggars). Unfortunately, once you remove the trim piece, it does stretch out the clips a bit and they never hold on quite as well or as tightly to the body panel. I'd recommend new clips for the best possible fit.

I've also used a soft toothbrush to slowly (1 inch per second) chisel out the wax in crevices like this. No more than 2 or 3 passes though... NO BRUSHING!