MINI Attacked By Truck Brush Gets New Life!
MINI Attacked By Truck Brush Gets New Life!
I first saw this MINI a few years ago. It belonged to a father/son team in a local club that I belong to. What I saw was a severely neglected MINI that needed some TLC. I inquired to the father about using his car as a show piece to show how I could transform it, but he said that while it was a good idea, his son who has a learning disability wasn't doing so well in school and he didn't want it to look like a reward. His birthday was several months passed, so I put it in the back of my mind for awhile
Over a year passed, I got an email notification that it was the son's birthday through the club website, so I took the opportunity to say that I had a birthday present for him. His father contacted me, and this is how it began.
Notice the dent on the bonnet edge passenger side? There was another one on the right side on the front edge. I asked my new friend Rick from Dent Express to take a look and see if these could be fixed.
Got Swirls??? This is why you never use a truck brush to wash your MINI!
Got Swirls??? The car was washed the night before, but dried morning dew and lack of wax on this paint made the finish look cloudy!
Got Swirls??? Need scratches??
Got Swirls??? You can just make out the large dent at the lower edge of the bonnet just above the chrome grill surround at the lower center of this picture.
Got Swirls???
My 2-1/2 year old son wanted to help, so I gave him some claybar.
He also wanted to wash, too bad we had already finished washing, or so I thought!
Lukas being a ham
Taped off and ready for buffing. Rick from Dent Express gave it his best shot to remove two large dents from the bonnet.
Taped off and ready for buffing
Taped off and ready for buffing
Look at the difference! Swirl city on the left and major improvement on the right!
Look at the difference! Swirl city on the left and major improvement on the right!
No wax and very few swirls!
No wax. Although its hard to see the dent which hasn't been removed, the wavy reflection in the boot lid is because of the dented panel.
No wax,but the shine and gloss look great! Thanks to M80!
I Spy some MINIs! Had an opportunity to include my two MINIs.
Look at that gloss! The previous shots didn't have wax yet. I was afraid the sun would be gone, so we shot them at the end of the polishing stage. In these shots, two coats of M21 were applied.
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21. The dent on the front side of the bonnet couldn't be removed 100% due to accessibility issues. the dent on the upper passenger side wsa removed about 95%. Either way the owners were very pleased.
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21. 9 hours of buffing and the car looks new! A close up inspection reveals that it's not swirl free, but the owner agrees that it's atleast a 300% improvement over what it used to be and that's what was most important.
I had a great time, though the work was intense.
Tools & Process:
Makita Rotary Buffer with two W-7006 Cuttings pads (wore one completely out) and M84
Once the swirls were cut, the finish was hazy, so I followed that with a W-8006 with M83 and M80.
Then armed with 2 PC's and W-8006 pads, we polished out together using M80 to remove additional swirls and buffer swirls.
LSP was M21 applied with a PC and W-9006 pad on speed 3.
Final LSP was wiped off by hand using Supreme Shine MF towels.
Conclusions:
This extreme makeover wasn't about giving a free detail away. It wasn't about restoring a neglected MINI. It was all about teaching them the right way to maintain their car. To drive home the point that whatever they were doing right now to clean their MINI, had to stop. No more truck brushes, no more wiping the finish with their bare hands to clean the dust off, no more using their t-shirt to rub the finish. This father/son team got a second chance at enjoying the MINI they haven't seen in 3 years, and for me there is no greater joy than seeing an owner fall back in love with their car again after a polishing job.
a quickr pickr post
Over a year passed, I got an email notification that it was the son's birthday through the club website, so I took the opportunity to say that I had a birthday present for him. His father contacted me, and this is how it began.
Notice the dent on the bonnet edge passenger side? There was another one on the right side on the front edge. I asked my new friend Rick from Dent Express to take a look and see if these could be fixed.
Got Swirls??? This is why you never use a truck brush to wash your MINI!
Got Swirls??? The car was washed the night before, but dried morning dew and lack of wax on this paint made the finish look cloudy!
Got Swirls??? Need scratches??
Got Swirls??? You can just make out the large dent at the lower edge of the bonnet just above the chrome grill surround at the lower center of this picture.
Got Swirls???
My 2-1/2 year old son wanted to help, so I gave him some claybar.
He also wanted to wash, too bad we had already finished washing, or so I thought!
Lukas being a ham
Taped off and ready for buffing. Rick from Dent Express gave it his best shot to remove two large dents from the bonnet.
Taped off and ready for buffing
Taped off and ready for buffing
Look at the difference! Swirl city on the left and major improvement on the right!
Look at the difference! Swirl city on the left and major improvement on the right!
No wax and very few swirls!
No wax. Although its hard to see the dent which hasn't been removed, the wavy reflection in the boot lid is because of the dented panel.
No wax,but the shine and gloss look great! Thanks to M80!
I Spy some MINIs! Had an opportunity to include my two MINIs.
Look at that gloss! The previous shots didn't have wax yet. I was afraid the sun would be gone, so we shot them at the end of the polishing stage. In these shots, two coats of M21 were applied.
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21. The dent on the front side of the bonnet couldn't be removed 100% due to accessibility issues. the dent on the upper passenger side wsa removed about 95%. Either way the owners were very pleased.
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21
Look at that gloss! Finished with M21. 9 hours of buffing and the car looks new! A close up inspection reveals that it's not swirl free, but the owner agrees that it's atleast a 300% improvement over what it used to be and that's what was most important.
I had a great time, though the work was intense.
Tools & Process:
Makita Rotary Buffer with two W-7006 Cuttings pads (wore one completely out) and M84
Once the swirls were cut, the finish was hazy, so I followed that with a W-8006 with M83 and M80.
Then armed with 2 PC's and W-8006 pads, we polished out together using M80 to remove additional swirls and buffer swirls.
LSP was M21 applied with a PC and W-9006 pad on speed 3.
Final LSP was wiped off by hand using Supreme Shine MF towels.
Conclusions:
This extreme makeover wasn't about giving a free detail away. It wasn't about restoring a neglected MINI. It was all about teaching them the right way to maintain their car. To drive home the point that whatever they were doing right now to clean their MINI, had to stop. No more truck brushes, no more wiping the finish with their bare hands to clean the dust off, no more using their t-shirt to rub the finish. This father/son team got a second chance at enjoying the MINI they haven't seen in 3 years, and for me there is no greater joy than seeing an owner fall back in love with their car again after a polishing job.
a quickr pickr post
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6th Gear
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,285
Likes: 19
From: Merrick, NY
Man. THat's wigga crack level of goodness!
I bet 100% that even with the swirls not fully out that it looks better than from the dealer. Somehow, octaneguy gets that polishing thing down to a level that the car has not seen ever. Hm. I should fly him over to NYC and have him give a go at my brand new mini. WOuld be fascinating to see what that would look like.
I bet 100% that even with the swirls not fully out that it looks better than from the dealer. Somehow, octaneguy gets that polishing thing down to a level that the car has not seen ever. Hm. I should fly him over to NYC and have him give a go at my brand new mini. WOuld be fascinating to see what that would look like.
Richard, very nice gesture and excellent results! I'm assuming here that a job like this which was initially too much for the PC is probably better left to an expert with a rotary buffer?
Again, nice, nice work.
(oh and cute kid - start'em young!)
Again, nice, nice work.
(oh and cute kid - start'em young!)
nice job! 
my eyes focused too much on the dent and im still looking at the dent
and that dent needs to be pushed out.
man, your son is very cute.
so why did you give him the claybar
in the area which is the toughest to do, lazy dad?!
my eyes focused too much on the dent and im still looking at the dent
and that dent needs to be pushed out.
man, your son is very cute.
so why did you give him the claybarin the area which is the toughest to do, lazy dad?!
Kenchan
hah yeah, the PDR guy did the best he could without drilling any holes. He wasn't able to fully fix either dent to his satisfaction, so he ended up not charging for it. The dents were just too large, in his opinion for a 100% perfect fix. I've seen him do amazing perfect results on smaller dents though. As for the claybar, hahaha!!!
dickdavid
That is funny. Lucas (Lukas) is a great name! I've raised him to be a MINIer. LOL. When I pick him up from school he's like---Ohhh there's the MINI!
El_Jefe
I've worked on many new MINI's some as old as one day. The detailing skill level is different from every dealer, but the typical response I get from MINI owners is that it looked better than the day they brought it home.
minimaybee
Yes, to do a restore like this, a PC isn't powerful enough. In fact, when I first began, I had doubts that I could even restore this paint. The scratches were so deep and numerous that I was fairly certain I was going to have to wetsand the finish, then buff it out. But in the end, I was able to use the most aggressive pad and chemical available in the Meguiar's line with the rotary buffer, and I know I removed a lot of clearcoat. I warned the owner that should he let the finish degrade like this again, it wouldn't be safe to try to do another restore due to the thinning of the clearcoat, and a repaint would be in order.
c4
Thanks for the invite! If you can get me plane tickets, a place to crash for a night, and some spending cash, I'll travel anywhere for a clinic. LOL.
Thanks everyone else for your nice comments.
Richard
hah yeah, the PDR guy did the best he could without drilling any holes. He wasn't able to fully fix either dent to his satisfaction, so he ended up not charging for it. The dents were just too large, in his opinion for a 100% perfect fix. I've seen him do amazing perfect results on smaller dents though. As for the claybar, hahaha!!!
dickdavid
That is funny. Lucas (Lukas) is a great name! I've raised him to be a MINIer. LOL. When I pick him up from school he's like---Ohhh there's the MINI!
El_Jefe
I've worked on many new MINI's some as old as one day. The detailing skill level is different from every dealer, but the typical response I get from MINI owners is that it looked better than the day they brought it home.
minimaybee
Yes, to do a restore like this, a PC isn't powerful enough. In fact, when I first began, I had doubts that I could even restore this paint. The scratches were so deep and numerous that I was fairly certain I was going to have to wetsand the finish, then buff it out. But in the end, I was able to use the most aggressive pad and chemical available in the Meguiar's line with the rotary buffer, and I know I removed a lot of clearcoat. I warned the owner that should he let the finish degrade like this again, it wouldn't be safe to try to do another restore due to the thinning of the clearcoat, and a repaint would be in order.
c4
Thanks for the invite! If you can get me plane tickets, a place to crash for a night, and some spending cash, I'll travel anywhere for a clinic. LOL.
Thanks everyone else for your nice comments.
Richard
Last edited by OctaneGuy; Sep 25, 2006 at 03:55 PM.
Great job. But now we know the 2.5-year-old secret weapon that gives your details that extra edge! 
I can understand why they were using the truck brush. They probably saw every other UPS truck being cleaned that way!
VR is a great color for this, dark enough to show swirls and flaws but light enough to still have its own color. Taking shots of black are more like trying to take pictures of a mirror.
I can understand why they were using the truck brush. They probably saw every other UPS truck being cleaned that way!
VR is a great color for this, dark enough to show swirls and flaws but light enough to still have its own color. Taking shots of black are more like trying to take pictures of a mirror.
re: little detailer in training
hahahaah. Yep, he gets into wheel wells and the undercarriage much better than I can! JK
re: Black
Yep, it's difficult, but it's all about the lighting. I will have pix of a black MCS restoration on here soon.
Richard
hahahaah. Yep, he gets into wheel wells and the undercarriage much better than I can! JK
re: Black
Yep, it's difficult, but it's all about the lighting. I will have pix of a black MCS restoration on here soon.
Richard
Great job. But now we know the 2.5-year-old secret weapon that gives your details that extra edge!
I can understand why they were using the truck brush. They probably saw every other UPS truck being cleaned that way!
VR is a great color for this, dark enough to show swirls and flaws but light enough to still have its own color. Taking shots of black are more like trying to take pictures of a mirror.
I can understand why they were using the truck brush. They probably saw every other UPS truck being cleaned that way!
VR is a great color for this, dark enough to show swirls and flaws but light enough to still have its own color. Taking shots of black are more like trying to take pictures of a mirror.
Kenchan
hah yeah, the PDR guy did the best he could without drilling any holes. He wasn't able to fully fix either dent to his satisfaction, so he ended up not charging for it. The dents were just too large, in his opinion for a 100% perfect fix. I've seen him do amazing perfect results on smaller dents though. As for the claybar, hahaha!!!
hah yeah, the PDR guy did the best he could without drilling any holes. He wasn't able to fully fix either dent to his satisfaction, so he ended up not charging for it. The dents were just too large, in his opinion for a 100% perfect fix. I've seen him do amazing perfect results on smaller dents though. As for the claybar, hahaha!!!
yeh, that's a HUGE dent. I personally don't think i can pull that out
with my glue pullers either. it's too close to the grill too for my
regular PDR tools probably... it will need to be filled.
perhaps if the owner doesn't want to spend too much money on the
repair, he can maybe fill it, sand it, and put some nice stripes or some
decals covering it up?
Naw, Rick tried with the glue puller as well. It helped but really had access issues to finetune the work. He said it's smooth enough now that it can be fixed using traditional means--sanding/filling/painting.
I'm curious though, are you saying that if it's filled and sanded and painted that the fix won't be 100%?? You would still have to cover it up with a decal?
Richard
I'm curious though, are you saying that if it's filled and sanded and painted that the fix won't be 100%?? You would still have to cover it up with a decal?
Richard
yeh, that's a HUGE dent. I personally don't think i can pull that out
with my glue pullers either. it's too close to the grill too for my
regular PDR tools probably... it will need to be filled.
perhaps if the owner doesn't want to spend too much money on the
repair, he can maybe fill it, sand it, and put some nice stripes or some
decals covering it up?
with my glue pullers either. it's too close to the grill too for my
regular PDR tools probably... it will need to be filled.
perhaps if the owner doesn't want to spend too much money on the
repair, he can maybe fill it, sand it, and put some nice stripes or some
decals covering it up?
at bodyshop.
but wat i was saying was if the owner was wanting to save money
(looking at how he didnt' care too much about the cosmetics of the
car in the first place) he can cut corners and have the dent filled,
sanded, and just cover it up with some nice stripes for less money.
Oooh ok, so you didn't mistakenly leave out the "painted" part---sanded and filled to restore shape then covered with something instead of painting it. Gotcha, thanks!
Yep, that bonnet can be repaired 100% if filled, sanded, and repainted
at bodyshop.
but wat i was saying was if the owner was wanting to save money
(looking at how he didnt' care too much about the cosmetics of the
car in the first place) he can cut corners and have the dent filled,
sanded, and just cover it up with some nice stripes for less money.
at bodyshop.
but wat i was saying was if the owner was wanting to save money
(looking at how he didnt' care too much about the cosmetics of the
car in the first place) he can cut corners and have the dent filled,
sanded, and just cover it up with some nice stripes for less money.
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