Hey guys, I've had my MINI for about 3 months now, and I haven't really given it a very "thorough" cleaning or waxing yet. It lives outside unfortunately, which means that where I live, it rains at night or gets very dewey, and then the sun dries all the water onto my car with waterspots (filled with dirt, as I live on a dirty road.) So I am wondering if there are any good threads showing how people clean up and wax their cars, and had a few specific questions.

1. My roof is black, and I've never really seen paint like it before. It seems like it has a really odd texture to it when I do clean it, and would like to know what you guys do to clean it up and keep it looking nice.

2. I've got some black spots on the boot of my car, around the lisence plate and my "Cooper S" badge. I'm wondering what they are, and how I might get those out.

3. Anyone know where to get some good info on random orbitals and buffing, and what is and what isn't good wax?

4. Black vinyl stripes...water spots. Probably discussed a lot, but I would like recommendations for products and/or threads discussing such things.

Thanks guys, my OCD is kicking in and I hate to see my car sitting out in the driveway like this.

 

I washed my car once with the water at my house which is hard well water that loaded my car with huge water spots. I use a clay bar to get them out and it worked beautiful.

 

That's a lot of very broad questions. Would take me an hour to answer them all properly.

Read up on the Detailing Forum and then ask more specific questions.

But just to touch on the previous reply... nobody who cares at all about their car's paint should be without detailing clay. It's cheap, easy to use, and makes a HUGE difference in the appearance of your car. With just clay and a good wax, you can keep your car looking pretty good. To go the extra mile and make it look great, you need to learn about polishing with a machine. Although a bit complicated at first, once you learn how to do it and invest the money into a good buffer/pads/polishes, you will be amazed how good your car can look over it's lifetime.

 

I have fairly hard water and have never had a spotting issue. I always wash before the sun hits my driveway and I never let water drops to sit more than a few minutes. What I do is, after each panel gets washed, I do a quick rinse of the entire MINI, replacing water drops with new ones in new locations. Takes a little longer to wash but like I said, never have had a single water spot.

 

1- Wash the car with cool clean water, I prefer to use a car-wash soap, don't use dishwashing liquid. Use a clean bucket, and a fresh microfiber mitt. Wash top to bottom, wash in sections, prevent the soap from drying.. wash in the shade... actually do everything in the shade.

I use a separate bucket/sponge for wheels.

2 - Dry the car with microfiber towels. Again, keep it cool.

3 - For a black roof (I have one too).. use a clay bar. You buy this as a kit, they are easy and safe to use. This will lift any "junk" stuck into the clear coat. There are a LOT of DIY videos online.. I love claying a car, it will make the paint "Feel new" and remove a lot of stuck on junk. Keep the surface wet with the included spray.. your letting the clay "suck" up debris, don't grind the clay into the paint.. very light touch is all thats needed.

4 - After claying, I use a good quality wax. Meguiars NXT works well, easy to use, and easy to take off. Put it on with a soft application sponge, keep it OFF the plastic trim. If you want, blue 3m painters tape works well for protecting the drip rail trim and the area around the fender flairs. Let it dry to a haze, again, fresh microfiber towels...

Yes, this takes time, but done right, its just a three hours in a weekend every few months. In between, I just do washes every week or so.. stuck on junk I hit with a clay bar.. and I use a spray detailer... Turtle Wax makes a great spray wax once the car is clean and dry, its harmless to plastic surfaces and won't leave any white dust.. Again, microfiber towels here..

As for stripes care... I recently found that http://www.1z-usa.com/einszett_polish_wax_8.5.html 1z car polish wax REALLY worked great on the stripes.. black and glossy, removed all the water spots that had accumulated on them. It also worked well on the car's finish, but was much harder to work with than the NXT.

 

This sounds like a great idea to avoid water spots. I was amazed at how nice my mini looked after using a clay bar on it.

 

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I know the questions are pretty broad, I'm just a little overwhelmed.. I think my biggest problem is the roof. But after hearing about the clay, I am certain to jump on it and see what I can do with it. The texture of it seems kind of odd to me, and it probably has dirt dug deep into that i need to get out. I hope to use my random orbital next weekend, so I will try and jump on that too. Thanks again.

 

I've had two MINIs with black roofs and I'm not sure what you're referring to about a different texture than the rest of the paint on your MINI. It might show imperfections more than other colors but the texture isn't going to be noticeably different than other colors.

clay bar the roof, then put a good wax on it, and watch it reflect like crazy. Or clar bar it, polish it with the random orbital and the right pad/polish for the job and turn it into a mirror.

Here's my Jet Black MCSC after a detailing with the random orbital buffer and a series of Prima brand polishes and wax:



Yeah, that's the door of my Jet Black MINI with my CR R50's reflection in it. Here's another shot taken that same day:



Your roof is the same color. You can make it look like that.

 

BTW... here's an overview of the car just so you know I really did have a Jet Black MCSC and wasn't just taking pictures in a mirror.

 

Wow CR... you should make a detailing video... you do top notch work

 

Thanks, Zippy... you can bring your MINI here for a detailing and make the video for me.

 

Ha Ha...CR that isn't a bad idea.. really your work is very good.. Plus having nothing but MINIs in the background while making the video would make it even more cool Hows that chilli?

 

I can supply four MINIs for the background.

Really good but really hot this time. I don't use a recipe so it comes out a little different every time I make it. You a football fan..... watch any of the games today ?

 

Awesome.. CR I watched a few games today..love football and chilli... made some myself for the big game..but of course the Vikings need a QB..lol.. let the rumors begin ha ha

 

Yeah, Christian Ponder is not the answer. And how can Adrian Peterson rush for a 77 yard TD on his first carry in the game and end up with what... 90 yards total ? They stop running the ball in the first quarter ? If I had him on my team, I'd hand him the ball 30 times every game.

 

CR everything you have said is true... so sad!!!