Well my MINI is naked for a few days, so I am taking this opportunity, while it is out of service, to give it a well deserved spring cleaning. EVERYTHING needs to be cleaned and I plan on documenting it in this thread so keep an eye on it for the next few days for updates.


First, why the MINI is naked:






...Because the front bumper is FINALLY getting repainted to match my painted arches. So, the MINI is going to be sitting in the garage for a few days. I am already going through withdrawals.


Tonight's work involved getting the boot/hatch/trunk (whatever it's called) back into shape. I have kind of let loose lately, and gotten my MINI way out hand. Part of it is the dealers fault for washing my MINI, but I certainly cannot place the blame all on them.

So here is what I am dealing with (actually, it looks A LOT worse than it actually is, to be honest):








My polishing process:

M80 on a Edge 2000 Blue Pad (Speed 5)
M82 on Edge 2000 Blue Pad (Speed 5)

No wax was applied tonight because I am going to wait until I am all done tommorow before going crazy with wax and sealant.

Test Spot:



I still notice very slight micro-marring in the paint, and I have noticed the MINI black paint to be VERY finnicky. I wonder if this is just me, or if perhaps, if it is the same with other Jet Black owners...it seems even lightly running a clean Microfiber over a clean surface can marr the finish. Oh well, I can live with 95% improvement until I have other tools to play around with...

More testspot pictures:





Dusty already...



All done with that side:



Onto the bumper. As you might have noticed, I am kind of working on the left side first. I am going to do the right side and the rest of the MINI tommorow.

Before:



Same Process as above (M80 followed by M82) Notice the dirty exhaust pipes in this one too:





Granted, some of the above gunk you see on the right is tape residue, however it makes for a more dramatic picture (kidding, of course ). Not to say improvements were not made though...look a little to the right:





Like I said, I did not polish out the right side yet, but that will come tommorow.


Also did a little work on the exhausts.


Before (Flilthy):



After (notice the line in the paint from the earlier test spot as well):








Tommorow, I plan on tackling the rest of the paint. And if I feel like it, doing the wheel wells and the engine bay. Still have a whole weekend too, so I have lots of time! Look for more pictures and writeups in the coming days .

 

"it seems even lightly running a clean Microfiber over a clean surface can marr the finish"

Remember the bubble boy? You have a bubble car

 

Black is the most awesome paint when it is clean. I chose red however because black would drive me crazy. You are much more tolerant than I.
It is such a dramatic improvement. I'm assuming that you used a PCDA for this work, tell me how do you do the little bits of the bumper down around the exhaust. All those nooks and small areas, you can't get in there with a 6" pad can you? Do you use a 4" pad or do it by hand?
I'm looking forward to more pictures as you progress.

 

nice work, skitelluride!

 

So when can you come and work on my Lexus?!

 

Looks very nice. What did you use on the exhaust tips?

 

Jet Black is beautiful - but it CAN and WILL drive you crazy.

My impetus for getting my 'repaint' (and the cuncurrent 'flame job') was that after almost 2 years, and some heavy snow and winter salt, trying to keep my 'Wikked One' clean only caused it to look like I 'sanded' it down with steel wool.

Porter Cable to the rescue, along with a white cutting foam pad, some 3M 'Finesse It' and some follow up with Wolfgangs (on a soft grey foam pad).

See my gallery for results.......

-B

 

Yeah I'd like to know what you used on the exhaust tips as well.

Looks great! I had a black car (non metallic, like Jet Black) and it was a nightmare to keep clean and the finish looking nice. Thus, I now own PW. Ha.

 

wenol wenol wenol.

 

What the heck is this wenol stuff. I have seen you mention it in a few posts today. *hides from feared beating*

 

http://www.wenol.com/

it's a metal polish that leaves a protective film and withstands extreme
heat.... very popular amoungst the cooking crowd?

 

May have to find some of that stuff.

 

You can find it on the shelf in my garage. How'd you miss it?

 

i got mine from WilliamsSonoma.

 

Having had my hood repainted, the comment from the shop was that the factory paint was VERY soft. Not suprising considering how hard it is to take car of a JB car.

 

damn. that paint is hurt pretty bad. I could never get JB on a mini. It looks sick when detailed to 100% but I dont think I could deal with that sort of work.

eek!

Looks great though, lots of work!

 

I am going to update this tommorow...too tired right now

 

Good job, and not for trying to restore your MINI, but for being brave enough to show the true finish. Close up pix and halogen lights don't lie, though they may slightly exaggerate what is normally seen during the day.

Yes, Jet Black is tough to keep looking good. The paint also tends to look milky after it's polished out. Using Hydro and Epic seem to combat this a bit and restore a dark contrast to the paint. 80 and 82 is a good path. When you start playing with the rotary, you can even go M84 and w9006 finishing pad to get the micromarring out. But then you still have buffer swirls to contend with, so you can finish up with M80 or M82 with PC. Might even do a coat of Amigo. The only way I've found to reduce or eliminate them are:

1.) use a new pad (clean pad) often
2.) finish with Hydro or Epic
3.) remove wax with mf bonnet over w7006 pad


This is why I'm interested in finding a solution to minimize the amount of buffing needed--filling light swirls is acceptable to me for my own car until I have the time to treat it correctly.

Slick also really makes my paint look better than either Final Inspection or Last Touch from Meguiar's.

Yesterday before Qding, I used compressed air (or from an air tank) to blow off the dust. It worked great, then I used a Monster Fluffy to gently wipe the remaining dust.

Richard

 

Well, yestarday I did the wheel wells, engine bay, polished the wheels and all that fun stuff.


Today I am working on finishing the polishing. I just was outside in the sun looking at the right side of the car which I just finished polishing. I then looked at the unpolished left side of the car in the sun. I couldn't believe I had been driving around with my MINI like this for so long!!! I was slightly embarassed to be honest... cool:



Anyways, back to the garage to do the left side and then a few coats of wax as well . I am taking lots of pictures so be prepared .



Octane Guy...I still am struggling with the micromarring, but I decided to wait until I have bigger, more powerful tools (i.e. rotary buffer) under my belt to worry about getting rid of the micro marring.

 

Even without a rotary, you can minimize micromarring by using either M66 (Quik Detailer cleaner/wax) or Prima's Amigo which both have fillers before doing a final coat of wax. If you're really lazy, which I can be on my own car, sometimes I'll just use M66 and be done with it---it looks great and is essentially a combo of M80 and a synthetic wax in one, so you let it dry after buffing and then wipe it off. The funny thing is that the smell reminds me of those little discs in the urinals.

 

I'm in the same situation Ski. I haven't even washed my Mini in like 2 months, I'm ashamed to say. Mine is HB which is a little easier than JB but still susceptible to micromarring.

BTW, ahem, nice website

 

JEEZ!!! After almost a week, I am finally finding enough time to update this darn thread! So, hear we go.



First off, most importantly, the bumper is back, and painted to match the painted arches!



Now I just need to black out those darn reflectors!


So, first up, the engine bay.

My engine bay was a little messy, and certainly needed some TLC.

Cleaned with Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner +
Dressed with Meguiars Hyper Dressing

The befores:








The afters!

 

Next up, the wheel wells.

Process:
Clean with Meguiars Safe D-greaser
Dress with Meguiars Hyper Dressing

Before (actually right after spraying on d-greaser):




Afters:








Look at the difference!




I also polished the wheels while they were off:

 

nice work.

niteshades for your reflectors, i suppose? it's a spray.

 

yah, i need to do my fender liners next time... wow!