good luck!

by the way, if your store ends up not having it in stock. just hop on the home depot website, order it from there. it's six bucks. just thought i'd throw that out there. good luck again!

 

Wash, clay, 2 coats of Epic, Banana Gloss, Hydro. Well actually it was two days effort, but worth it

 

alright, i've been meaning to ask this for a while now... what exactly is claying a car? and how do you do it?

 

Here's a quick video on what a clay bar is and how to use it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcZRj509Ir8

In the detailing forum there are also a gazillion tips on how to spoil your MINI. Octaneguy is particularly knowledgable.

 

Changed oil, washed and ready for Road Trip!!!

 

Have fun on your road trip xristos!

This morning I'm changing my oil and getting ready for a road trip myself. Going to make an 8 hr trek down to Southern California... and get an RMW tune!! I've been waiting for this day for too long it seems. The 8 hr drive back home is definitely going to be an exciting one.

 

Have finally started repairing the paint chips and scratches. I got supplies from automotivetouchup and langka. I haven't yet de-blobbed, but so far the paint match looks perfect. It's such a pleasure to see the improvement and I'm very excited and optimistic about finishing the job.

 

lol - keep us posted. Our club is having a PDR / paint chip / road rash bash in October. As little as these cars are, frontal flat profile makes for some great road debris target.

 

that sounds like fun! If I were in your area I would definitely go. I've got one dent in the bonnet that looks like a 4" lead sphere was dropped on it. It's been there for at least 1.5 years and I have NO idea how it got there or exactly when. I think that's the only thing I'll ask a body shop to PDR (if that's a verb) since I need to really watch the expenses. Both my bumpers are a disaster but I'm hoping my DIY will make them more presentable. I know they'll get messed up again soon enough anyway.

 

I really need to do some touch up work on the front of my MINI too. I just don't know how to approach it. My bumpers all chipped up, and my bonnet has a few scratches on it.

 

Installed a scanguage today. Should have done this sooner.

 

washed her up real good, then installed new pedals. tomorrow possibly an oil change.

 

Today: First wax since she set foot on North American soil 17 months ago (does silicon prep at dealer count?). Lot of grit and grime - found first paint chip

 

Wiped down the engine bay, and cleaned the rear wiper spray nozzle, which had not *quite* clogged all the way, but was seriously in need of cleaning.

C ya,
Dutch

 

Cleaned out the interior today. I'm a baker by trade so flour dust follows me everywhere if 'm not careful! I finally found a local retailer who carries plastidip and knows what it is, so Monday I'll start my blackout project! Very excited.

 

Added black out package - head light rims - gas cap - handle bars - and mini badges.

 

cracked 10K on the odometer

 

After months of internal conflict about keeping the bonnet stripes or deleting them. And after worrying about ghosting, adhesive nightmares, and remembering the painstaking task of removing hideous wallpaper. I did it. It took all of 10 minutes and you can't tell they were ever there!

Thanks for the information on the threads! I hooked up an extension cord and brought out a blowdryer...turned it on "hot" and "high" settings and the stripes just let go. Awesome! Thanks again for the info on the may stripes threads. Now I have to decide if I want to put different stripes on it and what I want but for now it looks like a new car!

 

- Not sure that could be done with a 2nd Gen Front bumper is so much different.

 

WHOOT WHOOT! I got my Temporary Permit last Friday and today was the first day i have ever driven a mini :P AHHH no wonder you guys love motoring, ITS ADDICTING :p well i hope i will get to drive it some more .... if my dad lets me

 

Gratz, dood. I'm sure there will be more opportunities if you drive responsibly enough not to scare your dad....

C ya,
Dutch

 

Today, I built in a lumbar massager! The entire process wasn't very complicated and took about ~2 hours to complete, seeing as I had never done something like this I'd say it was a fairly quick job.

The lumbar massager works by alternating three different air bladders using a switch mounted next to the hand brake. The bladders are rotated continuously and if the switched is pressed again during the massage sequence, the bladders are kept inflated. This allows me to set my lumbar support once and then forget about it, or run the massager when my back is in need of it.

Attached are some pictures of the process.

Oh, and there is a blue LED that lights up around the switch to let me know when the massage is running, which looks great with the Electric Blue exterior!

 

Too cool! I want one! :D

C ya,
Dutch

 

Whoa, too cool!!! The install looks very professional too, nice job!

 

Thanks, those are actually high end components from the luxury seats in the big sedans. The installation in the seat was done in 5 minutes. Pop the back, slide the bladders in and tie rap the components.
The hardest part was drilling a 16mm hole with a 10mm bit, I won't show the hole before the button was in. Plus running the cable from the fuse box, but with the great info from this forum it was no problem either.

Cheers

Tom