Driven Auto Detail: 2008 Mini Cooper

This '08 Mini Cooper belongs to the father-in-law of my good friend with the white Saturn Aura that I recently posted. He just bought it a couple months ago and wanted to get it cleaned up and protected.



I started off with an ONR wash. From there moved to claying. With the paint being typical BMW soft, it was already full of siwlrs/marring from the dealer. Since the owners main concern today was protection, full defect removal will have to wait until spring. In order to make the paint look better and provide protection, I used Optimum Poli-Seal with the Flex on speed 6 and a Soft Edge blue polishing/finishing pad. This removed the vast majority of defects. I was really surprised how much correction this combination provided. Obviously, the soft paint played a part. I buffed off any remaining residue (which wasn't much) with Optimum Car Wax. I hit the tires with Optimum Tire Shine and the wheels also got a coat of Optimum Car Wax. The exterior trim was treated with Optimum Protectant Plus.



The inside received a vacuum and then all plastic, vinyl, and leather surfaces were treated with Optimum Protectant Plus. The rubber floor mats were cleaned with ONR and given a light treatment of Optimum Protectant Plus. They don't look that great in the pics because of the scuffs on the them. Plus, the owner accidentally tracked in dirt when he backed the car out of the garage for me to take pics.



I have to apologize for my crappy camera skills today. I'll blame it on the cold weather. :)



A couple of defect shots...



A pillar:

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Passenger side door:

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After shots:

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Great work Mike. I love the color. BTW..I tried that tip that I was talking to you about for the license plate. Works perfect. No need to remove screws :)
 
Thanks guys!



Pat - Awesome, I'll have to give it a try. Would sure beat swapping plates like I've been doing.



COLDZ71 - This is actually the first time I've used OPP on exterior trim. Unfortunately, I probably won't see this vehicle till spring. None of my cars really have any good exterior trim to try it on, otherwise I would. The next car I get that I know I'll see often, I'll be sure to keep a tab on it.
 
DieselMDX - Thanks! You're going to love the Flex. I've only used it twice and now I won't touch my UDM.



tdekany - Thank you! I can't wait to see how PS + OCW v2 stacks up against the original OCW formula that I have.
 
No, sorry if that's how it sounded. I plan on buying some OCW v2 as soon as it comes out though...along with the other new products coming out (Power Clean & Instant Detailer).
 
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