OK I finally did it I ordered the Sonus Perfect Shine Kit from Autopia & gave it a try. This review is based on using the products by hand (no power tools ) I am not a professional detailer, just a gal trying to get her Mini pretty.

My Mini is a 2005 Chili Red MCSC. I have had it for 20 months. It is not garaged. I wash it weekly using the Mr. Clean System & when I major detail I have only ever used Meguair's claybar w/detail spritz, Scratch X, & NXT wax. My Mini is in good shape w/no major damage. The only flaws are mega swirl marks which are only visible in the bright sun (from the right angle).

In the kit you get: (cost $125)

1. Detailing Clay
2. Glyde Clay Lubricant
3. SFX-1 Restore Polish (for major damage)
4. SFX-2 Enhance Polish (for swirl marks & minor damage)
5. Detailing Spritz
6. Klass All-in-One
7. P21S Carnauba Wax
8. 2 Sonus Der Wonder Applicators
9. 1 Sonus professional Applicator
10. 2 Sonus Der Wonder Buffing Towels
11. 2 Sonus Der Wonder Polishing Towels

I figured if I was going to all the trouble I might as well go all out so I also ordered:
Sonus Gloss Shampoo ($10.99), Sonus Rim Brite ($10.99), & Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish Polish ($9.99).

Started my washing day at 10AM. Finshed at 4:15PM.

Sonus Gloss Shampoo: I really liked the feel of it. Cleaned the Mini well & had a very lubricated/gliding feeling. It's a keeper.
Sonus Rim Brite: It worked fine at getting my new brake dust off but no better than using car soap. It did nothing to help remove my old caked on black specs. I even tried using a brush. I see no need to spend the extra moolah on this stuff.

Sonus Clay Bar & Glyde Lubricant: Run (don't walk) & throw this in the trash as soon as your kit arrives. I have only used Meguair's claybar w/detailing spritz in the past. The Meguair's glides effortlessly & a quick wipe removes the lubricant. The Sonus was horrible. It ruined my whole day. I don't know if it was the actual bar or the lubricant. I had to use an unusually large amount of lubricant to keep the bar from sticking. I used the entire bottle of lube on my Cabrio Mini (I dunno what a person w/a normal sized auto would have done, hell it wouldn't even have lasted on a Mini with a hardtop). Then the claybar kept falling apart (maybe from too much lube but I had no choice). Also if I held the claybar in my hand for too long while I was wiping off lube it would stick on my skin & not come off like sticky chewing gum. Then after I would finish a small area wiping the lube off was a nightmare. It hazed over & didn't want to come off the finish. It took around 45 minutes to claybar (compared to about 15 minutes using Meguair's). I was exhausted after this step & used up a bunch of my needed arm power (I mean I had 5 more wax-on/wax-offs to go).

Sonus SFX-1 Restore Polish: I get some scratches near my rear seat from leaning in my convertible & putting in or removing items with the top down (shame on me ). This time I only had one scratch there & the SFX-1 did nothing to remove it. To be fair I went & got my Meguair's Scratch X & it would not remove this scratch either. The Scratch X has always removed these scratches in the past but alas this scratch remains.

Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Polish: I guess it's a thumbs up. I was in the shade so noticed nothing much after the application but I am positive it played a role in the end result (swirl mark removal). It was liquid & wiped off easily but it does stain your black bits.

Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish: I added this step since the Autopia "Perfect Finish" article included it's use & I figured if I was going to all this trouble I might as well. I don't know why they don't include it in the kit. Again I was in the shade & saw no immedite result but I feel it played a role in the end result. It was liquid & wiped off easily but it does stain your black bits.

Klasse All-in-One: Wiped on very easily & I used very little so this bottle will last a long while. I have heard amazing things about Klasse so we shall see how long my finish lasts. The Klasse goes on & wipes off very easily & it does not stain your black bits. The Klasse is supposed to cure for "several" hours before you apply the wax (they should tell you what several means but they don't).
Detail Spritz: I have no clue how good this stuff is. At this point I was exhausted & could not see straight so I forgot to use it. I was supposed to apply a light coat immediately after the Klasse & wipe down but I think I blacked out when I realized it was time to go rest because the Klasse was supposed to cure for several hours.

P21S Carnauba Wax: I was only able to let the Klasse cure for 2 hours because I had to be somewhere. When I opened this jar I thought OMG what is this stuff. It was wax, hard as a rock, like a candle. I started thinking this must be real car wax, you know, like the stuff my grandpappy used . It was amazing. It literally felt like I was wiping butter on my Mini & wiped off with ease & hooray it does not stain your black bits. (I know some do not like carnauba waxes & say they don't last as long but with this kit the Klasse is there for your protection & the Carnauba wax is to make your shine really go BLAM. It will probably need to be reapplied more often but it is hands-down the easiest-to-apply wax. Also my jar is going to last for freaking ever because after one use my jar barely went down. I see myself applying it monthly since & it took less than 15 minutes to wax on/wax off plus the fact that you don't have to worry about getting it on your black bits.)

When I finished it sucked because the sky was overcast so I could not fully appreciate the payoff of all my hard work til I got up this morning. But this morning...OMG OMG OMG all swirl marks from my paint are gone & I did it by hand.

Recomended maintenance for my finish are weekly washing w/Gloss Shampoo & a spray down with Detailing Spritz. I plan on reapplying P21S Wax monthly.

In closing I would recommend that you do not buy the kit as a whole. Buy each individual item in the kit seperately & omit the claybar & the Glyde claybar lubricant (unless you are into self torture then give the Sonus claybar a go ). You might consider omitting the SXF-1 also if you have no major flaws or already have a scratch remover on hand (it runs $9.99).

The kit is $125 but all items purchased individually (less claybar & lube) are $123.01 (even less if you also omit the SFX-1). I know that's only a $2 savings but that claybar was so bad I don't ever want it at or near my house again . Then add the Sonus Glide Shampoo & Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish which will bring your total up to $143.01. (I did a Google search for Autopia discount codes & got one for free shipping). To some this may sound expensive but I have plenty of product left for many more applications so I consider these products to be quite a bargain when compared to the outcome that resulted.

In the future I plan to claybar/Klasse/P21S wax several times a year. I will do this whole mega perfect shine detail once a year. You **** guys can feels free to mega detail as many times as you like though

If anyone cares I feel like a little old lady who has been beaten to a pulp today. Every muscle aches & I cannot turn my head to look & see what is behind me. I was only able to type this review today because my fingers are the only part of my body that isn't sore but I will be OK

Before & After pics coming shortly...posting them requires me to get up of the sofa but alas I just can't do it right now...

(see below for my pics)

 

cool review! actually from my readings, natural wax will
out last most polymer waxes unless it is a sealant.

so far my Griot's natural wax has completely outlasted NXT by about
5 washes and rain storms. and my commuters are not garaged
either.

i'll make sure not to buy that claybar kit.

 

Bamatt,

Great review, not often i come upon this kind of reviews. My friend, for a Gal you sure are handy! (i do not mean to be a jerk you called yourself a Gal) I have 2 sisters and they do not know anything about keepng their cars looking sharp. congrats!

 

Excellent writeup....the results must be fantastic!!! I guess that's why people get addicted to this stuff. You've definitely earned a rest (that writeup must have taken your last ounce of strength...thanks) so enjoy sit back and your shiney baby!!

 

i have this one wife and she too does not know how to
use a vehicle without dirting it up... yesterday, i come out to
see what looked like a dump truck that went through heavy
construction. wtf?! i ask her and she says
oh, it was rainy and they were doing road construction.... :impatient

 

Hey Are you married to one of my sisters?

 

Keep in mind a finish is hard to capture in a pic & the pics don't do my new shine justice but without further adieu here are my before & afters....

Before:


After:


Before: (in 10AM sun)
(don't get jealous of my truck . Shall I perfect shine it next?? I think not )


After: (in 4:15PM sun)






TaaDaa

 

do mine, do mine! Just kidding your MINI is the envy of BAMA.

 

I would gladly loan you my stuff & watch you do yours provided you have a padded chair in the shade really near a cooler from which I can watch

 

Well, bamatt, I must say that look mighty fine!! I'm a Klasse user, too, and am due for a full treatment this fall. You have inspired me!! I've never tried the P21S but perhaps I shall.

 

Thank you Thank you. You really should try the P21S. It's around $32 but will last for ever. I mean to me the greatest thing about it & the Klasse (other than the shine) is that it doesn't stain your black bits so application is a breeze. The only part of the kit that did leave residue on my bits were the 2 polishes & I only plan to use them once a year so I guess I have no excuse for not having a shiny Mini at all times now

 

Woweee that looks nice.

I really really need to polish my POS car before I sell it - the roof is starting to get that oxidized look - ewww. I think your pictures just motivated me.

I really just need to do an orbital on it but frankly, I'm afraid.

 

Thanks. I don't know what kind of shape your POS is in but the Klasse is supposed to remove oxidation & keep in mind I did all of mine with the old arm only, no buffer.

 

Roll Tide, Roll!!!!!!!!!!

Great job!

 

Great job and an excellent personal review of the products used.

 

bamatt- great job! looks fantastic.


if my wife did something like what bamatt did, i would fall into my wash bucket,
roll down the driveway and crash into a light pole...

 

Very nice Bamatt, I feel your pain - having done the 14 hour marathon myself . I think my hand now has a permanent kink in it .
I used the Sonus clay with good success, however I used the wash water with Dawn in it. The clay held up well and did not stick at all. The last time I used clay, I used Zaino's clay and Sonus spray lube. I had your experience , clay fell apart , was sticky and a real PITA . Perhaps its the spray lube, I don't know .
Anyway now you can bask in the shiny glory of your Mini . You'll swear that everyone is looking at you , you'll hate to pull it out of the garage and you'll swerve around every puddle you encounter on the street .

Oh the joy of detailing!

Chuck

 

I don't have a hubby to boss around so I am forced to do these things for myself

MBE it was that Sonus Glyde lube stuff & not the actual bar since you had a bad experience w/it too but I am gunshy to both now & since I know the Meguiar's works I will probably just stick with it

I don't have a garage but my new shine surely makes me want to build one so I can make it last longer I am mad that it is dark now & I can't keep peeking outside at my shine

 

akk, by the way your car looks you don't need one cause you'll do a
better job than him anyways!

 

I use P21S on my bimmer. Love the wax.

 

Looks gorgeous, bamatt!

I've only clayed once (just got my new MINI), but had no problem with the Zaino clay. I used Z7 car wash as the lube (about 3x as strong as regular car wash solution), and it worked fine.

It's amazing what MINIs do to us. Don't know about you, bamatt, but before I got my MINI, I had never even washed a car and didn't know the slightest bit about them. I suppose I was "that wife", though not too bad because I didn't ask my husband to do it; just went through the car wash or let my Integra stay dirty too long.

Then I got my MINI, and the rest, as they say, is history. I've been so proud researching and picking out my detailing supplies, explaining things like claybars to my otherwise very car-knowledgeable husband, proving to him how much better results you get from my detailing process than from his, and seeing just how gorgeous Logan (my MINI) looks after a full spa day.

Since I started from no knowledge and taught myself through the wonderful information available on this forum and my own web searching, it's so exciting to see the results, and to hear my husband say, "Honey, I'm blown away by how shiny and great my car looks now!" (We each did our own using the products and techniques I pieced together).

Yay girl power! bamatt, thank you so much for posting your product reviews. It's just that kind of info that helped me learn what I needed.

 

Great review and great job! I had the same bad results using the ordinary 'wheel cleaners' ...even the Mini Cooper product from the dealer. Then I used P21S Gel Special Performance Wheel Cleaner and the caked-on hardened brake crap dissolved and rinsed away.

I just bought a Porter Cable polisher, but after looking at your before/after shots, I'm guessing my spider web swirls are about the same as yours were, and I think I"m going to try to hand glaze them away like you did. The PC will be put to good use on two older vehicles where a machine will make the swirl and scratch removal much easier.

Thanks again for your thorough write-up

 

My experience is the opposite. I find it is excellent at removing brake dust, which just washes away with minimal work. It woudl go nowhere with regular soap (if your soap is using it, stop using Lava to wash your car!) It performs pretty much the same as P21S Gel, but is a little cheaper, so I now use rim bright. But I've been using both for years, now and am very happy.

Thanks for the big review of the whole kit!

 

Here is my wheel after using the Sonus Rim Brite. I even tried to use a scrub brush on all those little black specs but they didn't budge
From afar my wheels look clean (except for my curb rash )


But up close, UGH

 

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (for wheels and tires) will take all of that crap off of your wheels. Try it.