05' MCS, '06 G35 Coupe

audicoupej

audicoupej

New member
I had the pleasure of working on both of these cars over the weekend.



First up the Mini Cooper S. The owner contacted me via a car forum (EastcoastEuro.net).



The car was in great shape. Light swirls, a few RIDS and light contamination. Not many befores because it was hard to capture swirls due to the paint color.



Nxt wash

Claymagic Clay

Nxt wash

OP via white LC pad 1000-1300 rpms

JW AJ via MF pad, WOWO, I'm getting better at application.

Wheels/Wells/Tires - EO A2Z and various brushes then nxt wash

Fenders/tires dressed with Megs Nxt Tech Protectant

Exhaust tips polished with Mothers power polish, via an old sock.

Outside trim - FK 108

Clear bra - OP 6" white LC pad via PC @5



Interior was vacuumed and wiped down with damp MF.



Before:

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Hatch was the worse as usual.

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After:

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The lines that look like scratches are clear bra edges.



More to come.
 
Next, the G35 Coupe.



It only had 6500miles on it and was in great shape (some RIDS and light swirls) but had no protection at all. Light swirls? I thought they were. I started with OP via white pad at 1200 rpms and it didn't do anything. So I popped the hood and looked around to find this:

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Process:

Nxt wash

Claymagic clay

Nxt wash

Clear bra - OP 6" white LC pad via PC @5

EC/OP yellow LC pad at 1200-1900 Finished out fine due to the hard clear and the color.

JW AJ via foam applicator, WOWO, this works even better with the foam.





Wheels - Megs WB, Nxt wash, topped with Wheel Wax

Tires/Fenders - EO A2Z, protected with Megs Nxt Tech protectant

Exhaust tips polished with Mothers power polish, via an old sock.



Interior:

Glass - IG via MF

Wiped down with woolite/water

Protect with 303

Vacuum





Before (again hard to capture the light swirls due to the color):

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After

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Before

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After

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Before

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After

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Sorry for the lack of good afters. It was dark when I finished. If the sun comes out today I am going to take some more afters since I work with the owner.
 
Very nice work. Made that Cooper look rather wet, love the hood shot. So Nissan starting to use the hard clears now, I didn't know that. Great work on the G as well, looks superb :2thumbs: . No maring at all with a cutting pad?? Wow thats some hard paint.
 
Thanks for the comments.

OP and a white pad only removed minor marring from the clay. The clear is hard, very hard. Also, the owner takes it to automatic car washes and it was hardly marred, that tells you how hard the clear is. :scared: At least it was not that bad to correct. I like that, hard to marr, but not as hard to correct. It's the opposite of the Vettes clear.
 
Looks like you ended up with a perfect finish on both cars. You can really tell the G35's is in excellent condition with the halogen pics you provided. Great work!!!!
 
Chris - Thanks. It is getting cold. I need to start looking for a portable heater for my garage. It won't take much to make it toasty. The QEW is coming out soon as well.



Jake - Thanks for the compliments. The G mainly had a few RIDs. It come out about 97%+ perfect. I am not going to get any sun pics today but maybe tomorrow.
 
Awesome job on both vehicles!



I did my sister-in-laws mini which is the same color. It's an excellent color when polished!



The G35 work is impressive too. That is my main complaint is that the paint is too soft on the cars. I wonder when they made that change and started using the decal under the hood? It must have been for the '06 models (I'm guessing). The shot you have of the wheel and tire looks really nice. That little Meguiar's brush is a great tool!



:bigups



BTW what is RIDs? I've seen it a few times I just don't remember.
 
Thanks Twitch



I have 3 of the Megs spoke brushes. I like them. I use the Wal-mart powerpuff brush for wheels that need more scrubbing.



RIDs= random imperfections and deep scratches.



I think '06 is when they switched the clear.



The Mini color is very nice. It would be one of my choices if I got a Mini.
 
Great jobs, most interested in the Mini detail though. I've noticed that the bezels around the headlights are plastic. Did you just polish it as if it were paint and how did you manage to polish inside the scoop....I imagine the rotary might be easier for that than my PC. I ask because I have one coming up and while I could make it up as I went a long, coming from someone with your results would be more comforting! Thanks and keep it up!
 
Yep, 06' is definitely when they switched the clears, as I remember Sean(G35stilez) mentioning that his G35 has very hard paint. Both cars look excellent.
 
ShineyWhiteRex said:
Great jobs, most interested in the Mini detail though. I've noticed that the bezels around the headlights are plastic. Did you just polish it as if it were paint and how did you manage to polish inside the scoop....I imagine the rotary might be easier for that than my PC. I ask because I have one coming up and while I could make it up as I went a long, coming from someone with your results would be more comforting! Thanks and keep it up!
Click to expand...



The headlights and inside the scoop had clear bra material. I used the PC with OP and a white 6" LC pad at 5 for those areas. I will edit my original posts.
 
Nice work as always John. The mini makes your garage look big, but I know otherwise.





PS- looks like you missed a tar spot on the inside of the wheel on the G35 ;)
 
audicoupej said:
Chris - Thanks. It is getting cold. I need to start looking for a portable heater for my garage. It won't take much to make it toasty. The QEW is coming out soon as well.
Click to expand...



Are you going to use an electric or kerosene or propane heater? I have an electric now, but with the halogen lights and all the other crap I run at the same time I have tripped the circuit breaker a few times. Im looking at getting a nice kerosene heater and use the "non-kerosene smelling" fluid.
 
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