So todays job is a Chili Red MINI Cooper S convertible with some severe water spotting. There was no sunlight so I used my dual Xenon flashlight to reveal the problems. The owner has done a great job at keeping the swirls to a minimum, so I focused on the two things that bothered him the most--white specs of paint and the water spots.

I used the Porter Cable polisher and the Makita rotary buffer along with Meguiar's M80 Speed Glaze for removal of the defects, and finished with Prima Epic. Prima Clarity was used on the glass, and Nero was used on the trim. NXT Insane Shine was used on the tires and all the black grill vents (front lower and top just beneath windshield).



It also had these white specs of paint on it


I first washed the MINI using DeIonized water and Gold Class Car Wash soap. I washed the car with my DetailersParadise(DP) lambswool mitt, and dried it with the DP(Microfiber waffle weave towel). I also used a Meguiar's extractor brush which looks like a hair brush with rubber bristles to remove the lint that had built up on the black canvas top. Then I taped off the MINI and used an old bedsheet to protect the top.





Car has a completely different feel with that floral top doesn't it? LOL


I used Meguiar's Professional blue clay to remove the specs, and Goo Gone to remove the specs from the rubber trim around the windows. Apparently the paint came from removing the numbers on the car when the owner went to the Phil Wickes Laguna Seca driving school.


To protect the wipers and the grill openings that are now exposed, I just wrap a MF towel around it. Saves me lots of tape and time!



The first test spot I did was using the PC and W8006 pad and M80, and while it did pretty well in removing the defects, it didn't remove them 100% even after 3 passes, so out came the rotary using the same pad and chemical.


With the rotary I got all the spots out. I used the W8006 pad and M80 because while it was effective with the PC, it just wasn't going far enough, and I figured the next step up in aggressiveness was simply to change tool while leaving all the other variables constant, and it worked great!




As expected the windshield pillars were swirled out. I also detailed the engine bay.



Here's the finished MINI with Epic---it was dark by 5PM!











While the wax dried, I vacuumed the interior, wiped down the dash, seats, and interior with Quik Interior Detailer, and cleaned the glass with my new favorite glass cleaner--DP's Clarity. So now it's all finished, I'm almost ready to go home. But I had to do the test spot on the 67 Morris Minor first. All in all had a fantastic day!

Even picked up a job from a neighbor who wanted her car worked on as well, so looks like I will be coming back down here several more times over the next 4 months!

 

nice nice nice!

 

Man, I have *GOT* to figure out how to get paid for playing around cool cars all day !

Another nice piece of work, Richard.

 

I love the write ups or journals or whatever they are. Gives me hope that I can get similar results.

 

Wooottt! Another fine job my friend

Donna

 

Super Richard ,just great .How a bout a Mini specific Vid ????.

I like to follow pro`s methods especialy in the tape process and when to remove tape etc. etc. I will re-phrase that TRY to follow pro`s methods.

These write ups from you Richard , are a most definate plus for the NAM comunity . Thank you mate .

 

Thanks!! It's definitely in the works! Thanks for the kind words.

Richard

 

Thanks for all your great reports. The detailing process is a mystery for us novices. What is your source of deionized water? Is it a hose attachment?

 

You're welcome.

I bought a special filtering system for around $300. I had researched the different products on the market, but I wanted one that was easy to use, cost effective, and reliable, and so I chose the www.CRSpotless.com system.

I bring a short 25' hose with nozzle with me. Then I plug the water inlet side (hose included) to either the customers hose or the spigot. This way I get pure DI water without having to bring it with me or risk putting undue stress on the tranny of my MINI by towing sloshing water.



It's very well constructed and the two filters are filled with canisters full of resin crystals that you can buy in bags or prefilled canisters. Changing them is a snap. The whole unit weighs around 25 pounds.

You can tell when the system is working by the built in meter which runs on batteries. The output water should be completely pure and free of deposits and should read 000


I've seen the input water read from anywhere between 200 to 600ppm of minerals.

You can see in this case it's reading 309ppm on the input side.


If the output isn't 0 or near 0 then the filters are either spent (these filter 100 gallons) or the water pressure is too great--it needs to be kept to under 2gpm.

This is what the spent canisters look like


And the canister inside the filter housing.


I bought this product for my own black MINI but also to test it out to see whether its something that SCG wants to carry and it is--so we will be stocking it in January.

This particular system can be bought with a dolly, but I wanted to keep it compact. It fits on the floor behind the passenger seat perfectly of the MINI.

Richard

 

^^ wow, that looks like something i need to get down the road
if i ever buy a house outside Lake Michigan water supply.

 

So a side question on your filtering system...Do you get full pressure on the output? And how much is a replacement filter (or do they recharge with salt), and how often do you need to do it?

 

If you mean full pressure from the tap, the answer is no. The system needs time to process the water, so the max flow rate is about 2gpm with this small system. They have larger systems with higher flow rates. To keep the flow down, you just set the water nozzle to Angle Spray or anything but a full flow, or use a pressure washer. My Karcher is around 1.7GPM I believe, but I haven't used it with this system--I've just used the nozzle.

This is plenty of force to rinse off a dirty car, soap it off, and rinse it again, as well as cleaning off dirty wheels.

You can tell if the flow rate is too high by looking at the meter to see if the output is below a certain range---say input is 400ppm and output is 250ppm, either the filters aren't working well or the rate is too high---lower the water rate.

The cost of the resins vary on how much you buy. In bulk it's $32.50 if you buy 6 refills at once--or $45 if you buy refills one at a time. Each refill filters 100 gallons of water.

I don't know about whether you can recharge them with salt. How often do you need to replace the filters is based in part how much water you use as well as how much the water needs to be filtered. If you fill two 5 gallon buckets with water--that's 10 gallons of water. Plus water to rinse off the car twice.

I don't think the filter is for everyone, but it's great if you own or work on black cars a lot, and if you don't have much shade to wash/work on your car in. It's also great if you get paid to work on cars since it allows you to take your quality up a notch over the regular joe that's just using the water hose and getting water spots all over your car.

 

Just for my curiosities sake...How do you get water spots that won't come off? I mean I dry after washing but I never run outside after a rain & dry my Mini off & I have never gotten semi-permanent water spots like that. Glad I don't get em just wondering what causes them

 

In every case I've seen, it's been due to parking the car on a driveway or street that a sprinkler system got it wet, and then dried in the hot sun. So a combination of high mineral content water and then baking in the sun would cause it.

 

It's all about the mineral concentration in either the rainwater or the local water supply.

I bought a used Honda a few years back. I looked at in one day, and then went back to buy it the next. Overnight, the owner had parked it on the street where it got doused by his in-ground sprinkler system. Problem was, his sprinkler system was fed with well-water! Mineral spots like you wouldn't believe, all over the car. They all came off, but it took some soaking with a vinegar/water solution, and then some finishing with a polisher.

The municipal water supply where I live is pretty good, but I'm eyeing one of those filter/de-ionizing units as well.

 

Ahhh OK

 

I'm considering getting a Mr. Clean Auto Dry to filter the water. Our water is VERY hard and I got awful spots on my old car and don't want to get them on the MINI. I don't know how well it actually works but for $30 I figure I'll give it a shot.

 

I'm sure you'll be happy. I know there are lots of happy users, but my understanding is that the "magic" happens in the PUR water filter. The car soap isn't anything special.

According to a quick Google, you can buy the kit from Amazon for less than $20 and buy refills for less than $8, but a reviewer said that one refill was good for between 2 to 3 large cars (truck and minivan).

Do any users know if there is any sure way of knowing when to replace the filters?? Or is it simply by seeing when it loses it's effectiveness? Because I know with my system that even at reduced filtering--say reducing output from 400ppm to 100ppm (not 0ppm) that it's still effective up until it reads 1:1 when I know it's fully spent.

[edited by me...seems there is a filter window that turns brown when it's spent--that makes sense]

Seems that proper use of the Autodry is that you wash and rinse the car with unfiltered water and save the final rinse for the filtered water? I guess that would make sense to save on the filters.

Richard

 

Yeah I have no intention of using the soap...I just want it as a water filter.

I have to go to Target tonight to replace my broken Christmas tree lights *cusses* so I might pick one up.

 

Richard,

You did a superb job on this car; truly outstanding work! Living in Denver, I have had the chance to visit Detailers Paradise and to start accumulating the Prima products. Where I live there is no opportunity to use the filtering system you employ. I gather that if this system is not utilized that you end up with water spots. Is that a correct assumption? If that is the case, how do you minimize this effect?

I would like to keep my Mini in superb condition, but there are limitations as to what I am able to do. Your DVD, I have been informed, is on the way.

Thanking you in advance for your advice,

Jake

 

Just for reference, I just bought the Mr. Clean Auto Dry at Target for $18. They also had a "pro" model (that I think came with a case (?) and I don't know what else) for $35.

 

Thanks Jake!

Water spots aren't always a concern to the paint polisher--that's you with your PC and my DVD. I got away without using the filter for about a year with I don't know, maybe 100 cars. But as luck would have it, the percentage of black cars I've been working on has increased, and of course, now I own a black MINI as well, and I wanted something better than what I had before.

My point is that water spots caused while washing the car usually aren't as severe as from a sprinkler thats baked in from the sun. Many car wash soaps contain components to minimize water spotting while washing such as the NXT Car Wash soap from Meguiar's, so it's the final rinse that would be of most concern, but usually you have control over how fast you dry the car.

Some of the reasons for having a water filtering systems are:

1.) Your water supply is very hard and water spots are inevitable
2.) You had no choice but to wash in the sun--no shade available
3.) You want to lessen the time washing your car by not having to worry whether your car is fully dry or not.

Most water spots can be removed with the PC. Even when it's on the glass, you can use the PC on that as well. In the case of the car in this writeup, the spots had somehow etched themselves into the paint, so even after using the PC, there was still a faint blemish under each spot, so thats why I had to use the rotary buffer.

Thanks for ordering my DVD. There were 4 orders over the weekend, and I processed them all on Sunday, and dropped them off at FedEx today (Monday), so you should have it tomorrow or Wednesday.

I envy you for being able to visit DP. I Mapquested it, and it's a 15 hour drive for me--hmmm, I have thought about it. LOL.

Richard

 

I've used the Mr. Clean AutoDry for a few years now. It really is a great tool for the price. You can quickly wash your car without a bucket in ten minutes.

I've moved away from using it for soaping though...but I still use the filtered water. It really is just a mini version of OctaneGuy's system. Just like his, the filters turn brown (or, you'll notice water spots when it dries). You use regular water for rinsing and washing, and once your are done, you replace the water on the car with the fine mist of filtered water. Works great, you can leave it to air dry and no water spots even with the hard water we have here. With MINIs, the filters last much longer than the advertised 10 washes. One will usually last me all summer, and I can get replacements in the supermarket. (One tip is to remove the plastic filter label which lets you see just how brown everything is getting inside)

The pro version simply adds a stronger jet mode, a comfier handle, a quick disconnector, and a carrying case.

 

In the summer I usually would put up my shade tent thing which was just about as long as the MINI and did a fine job of blocking the sun. I still used the spot-free rinse from the Mr. Clean system though and never once got water spots. I tried the soap when I first got it but it seemed to me to leave a film so I went back to the bucket for washing.

 

i chose a house that is facing NE so that i get shade on my driveway
in the afternoon. how **** is that?