Mini Cooper S Detail (56k=die/1.3MB of pics)

[Mad iX]

Was a long, HOT day for me yesterday doing a friend's mini.



Start with pics of before:



Ze Bird Bomb

Ze Swirls, that thing stuck on the roof left a tiny yellow stain which I wasn't able to remove. :/

Ze dirt.

Ze engine. Surprisingly the cleanest part of the car.

Simple wipe-down with APC, dress trim, hoses, etc. with Stoner Trim Shine.

Painted areas got Stardust (thanks to Damian @ Final Inspection). It worked nicely in the engine bay and door jams.

Ze wheel. Gotta hate gutter rash on white wheels. None of the wheels were spared this atrocity.

During. Yuck. It was ridiculous.

After. Carlack 68 and DP spray sealant on wheels. Megs Hot Shine on tires and wells. Plenty of spots which wouldn't come off. Next time I get this car the wheels are coming off for a proper clean.

Clay after only the hood which surprised me since the paint didn't feel that gritty.

Started raining so I had to move the car into the garage to work.

*shakes fist at weather*



Need to split this up into 2 posts.

 

[Mad iX]

Process:

Wash

Clay

Optimum Polish w/ Polishing Pad

Z6

3x Z2Pro w/ ZFX followed by Z6

Finished it off this morning with Z8



After pics (in the garage as it was drizzling):



Megs Metal polish on the exhaust tips. Carlack 68 on tail lights.

Carlack 68 on all exterior glass. DP spray sealant on windscreen.

Carlack 68 on chrome bits.

Carlack 68 on vinyl and headlights.

Nice glassy-wet look here:

Spent a fair bit of time in the interior. Some people have too much junk.

FK1 APC on trim, mats and carpet.

EO Leather Care on seats and other leather bits.

303 on plastic/rubber trim.

FK1 #425 on painted bits and clear plastics.

AG Freshener.

 

[Mad iX]

Was dark and drizzling lightly last night so I took it out again this morning for more photos but unfortunately didn't catch much sun.



Zaino's glassy-wet look works very well on this colour.

Ze orange peel wasn't as bad in person.

Poorboys Trim Restorer on all exterior trim.

Nice glow on the rear end.

Metallic was popping too much for the camera to catch.

Really looks like glass here. Zaino's blingin' away.

Final shot.

Optimum Polish is as good as the hype. Definitely did take a while to work in with my orbital but dusting was very minimal which is a huge plus. Wipes off cleanly.



EO Leather care is nice. Cleaning ability isn't very strong but leaves a nice matt finish. No lingering odour so Z10 lovers won't be interested in this.



Z6 has always stunk for me but working in the garage in the heat made it worse. By comparison Z8 makes me dream of hawaii. Haven't got anything else to say about the Zaino system that hasn't been said before.

 

[RRacer]

Hi There



The blue in this S turned like Heaven, great detail and i loved the depth of the paint :2thumbs:

 

[stilez]

Looks amazing!





Nice work and documentation.

 

[4830Deuce]

very nice! didnt know that light of blue could shine so well...great work :bigups



-Justin

 

[whiteg240]

Hey that looks like my mini... :xyxthumbs

 

[Scottwax]

Really excellent work! Gotta agree about that color being perfect for the clear wet look of Zaino (or really, most other sealants!). The wet glass look is just what that paint color needs to look its absolute best!

 

[Ron Harris]

Hey that looks like my mini

Yeah but your steering wheel is on the wrong side.