I just handed my 2K New Beetle to my daughter and got an '05 MINI.

I used Mother's California Gold Claybar kit on my Bug and it turned out great, alot of work, but the result was worth it.

With the trim on the MINI, I was wondering if anyone here had used a Claybar Kit and what were the results.

Thanx

 

i think most of us do, before waxing.

i was using the mother's claybar myself and recently changed to Griot's.

The Griot's is much softer and imho, easier to use. it's a little sticky though.

 

Waxing is just like painting... the 3 most important factors in a good finish are preparation, preparation and preparation.

The serious detailers claybar to remove surface contaminants before waxing or sealing. It is even more important for the sealant (Klasse / Zaino) folks or the people using a pure carnuba because there are no organic solvents or abrasives in the product to cleanse the surface before applying the wax.

 

Never heard of Griot's before. But I'll look into it.
Mother's worked really well on my Beetle each time I used it.

What I was concerned about was how it would effect the MINI's trim. I hear such bad stories about having a hard time removing wax from the trim.

This '05, has only 3,500 miles and has been garaged the most part.
For some reason it seems to have an almost static effect on dirt (when dry) mainly on the rear end. It this normal for a new MINI's finish?
I have only had it a week. This is all new to me.

I'd want to give it the best wax job possible....maybe make the static go away.

Thanx for any imput

 

The rear end of MINIs are notorious for being dirty... not much you can do other than wax/seal and maybe use a car duster (or just wash it a lot)

The plastic arches are very porous... they suck in wax and sealant in a heartbeat. A lot of people will just use blue painters tape to tape off the black trim while they are waxing. I've used a plastic drywall knife (10" did nicely) as a easily movable wax shield. Even better... paint your arches so it doesn't matter

If you do get a touch of wax on the arches, apply a bit of peanut oil (or rub on peanut butter), let sit for 5-10 min in the sun and wipe/wash off. There are lots of other removal tips posted on NAM, but this one sounds the safest and seems to produce good results.

 

You will be surprised how much you get off a new car with clay, it needs to be done. I use all Zaino products, easy to use, car always has that wet look. Their clay works nicer than others that I have used.
Good luck and enjoy your new ride,

 

Congrats on the MINI! I suggest that you purchase some blue painter's tape and tape off the trim bits before detailing. It is low-tack and will not leave a residue. Hope that helps.

 

we did ours after 18 months of ownership and were shocked at how much better the car looked and felt.

 

Congrats on your new MINI. As to your question,
of course it's safe to use Clay on your new MINI. There are no issues with the MINI trim and claybar.

There are some waxes on the market, like Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax that will turn the trim white. There are a number of easy ways to remove this, but the best way is to just not get it on the trim in the first place. But claybar and wax are not the same, of course!

The serious ones use masking tape--3M Blue Painters variety-- to tape the trim pieces off. Some trim protectants won't allow the tape to stick, so you might have to put more of the tape on the paint adjacent to the trim, instead of only on the trim.

Other people choose a different wax product that doesn't make the trim white. One popular Meguiar's product is M21 Synthetic Sealant---this is essentially a reformulated NXT Tech Wax that doesn't make the trim white, is more durable and glossy.

Richard

 

my ho cabrio is 13 months old, when i first got her home from the dealer i washed her down, used a paint cleanser to take off the dealers wax, used a claybar to smooth the finish, even took some swirl remover to her (being new from the dealer this step probably wasn't necessary) then gave her a coat of 4 Star ultimate paint protectant. the next day i washed her again and put on another coat of paint protectant and the next day the same thing, a total of three coats. every 3 to 4 months i do it again. last week i got the second coat on and she still has a deep wet look to her, she just plain assed gleems, this week she gets a third coat. the white residue that i get on the black trim is not from the paint protectant but from the swirl remover. i tried a lot of different products to get this off until i found f-21 from turtle wax, it is a vinyl cleaner i was using for the interior. now she looks better than new and turns a lot of heads.

 

Clay barring is easy and should be done at least once a year. You won't believe the difference in how smooth the paint will be after the process.

 

I will add to this. Claybar should be done as often as needed. This might be once a month, every 6 months, every year, or 2 years.

The point is that you clay when the surface needs it. Run your fingers across the horizontal surfaces of your just washed paint. If it feels bumpy (don't try this on front of the bonnet cause you will feel the rock chip pits instead) then it's time to clay bar.

You clay to remove bonded contaminants that won't wash off your paint. By doing this, you have prepped the surface to encourage better adhesion of waxes and polishes to the paint, while also improving the clarity and look of your final wax/polishes.

But don't forget, everytime you clay, you must follow it with wax since along with those bonded contaminants that you removed is your wax!

Richard

 

Lets get back to the original question ...

Has anybody claybarred their MINI?

 

I just claybarred mine the other day, did the windows as well but not the trim.

Hey OctaneGuy, what about this Meg's #7 and I think it's #26 I'm seeing in the auto stores? Is it any good?

....Les

 

#7 is a pure polish. Its a beauty product. You can put it on top or under a wax. Its normally used before a car show to add extra richness and gloss to the paint. It will diminish quickly over a one day period.

#26 is carnuba based. I bought and used some on a BMW yesterday and it looks great. I didn't see any differences between the M21 I normally use in terms of reflectivity or gloss. It comes down to whether a high quality carnuba is preferred over a synthetic.

I will post a pic shortly of what the result looked like.

Richard

 

Flickr is down right now, so I uploaded these pix to my webserver

This BMW 750i was polished out yesterday and final wax was #26 bought from Autozone earlier that morning.



Just for proof!


Here's a comparison
Before Image of 1994 Jaguar


And all polished out and finished with M21


The 750i is a dark silver, the Jag is a light silver. Both were shot at similar times of the day and in the same location. When you do all the prep right, the final wax you choose really doesn't determine all that much how great the finish will be--as long as you like it and it works for you, that's all that matters.

 

And then we're back to the durability question. Does a synthetic (NXT) outlast a high quality carnuba (#26)?

The Jag sure cleaned up nice.

...Les

 

Yep, that's about as loaded of a question as whether Zaino is more durable than NXT.

Actually, from what I understand M20 (not M21) is the most durable out there--in the Meguiar's line--but I have yet to try it.

This comes from a very reliablle source within Meguiars.

re: Jag
Thanks! It was in pretty bad shape. Swirls everywhere.

Richard

 

Most synthetics will out last a carnuba wax. NXT is good for the effort and cost. I know I'm opening a bundle of snakes here but, IMHO nothing will outlast Zaino.