Mini Cooper . . . Take 2

F

fdizzle

New member
Some of you may remember I did a Minicooper a few months back . . . and not being aware that the bumper was just painted and not cured properly, I ate through the paint with my Hitachi in a matter of seconds.



Luckly, The owner and I noticed other defects (fish eyes and dust in the clear) that warranted the bumper's paint, so it was redone for free. Nonetheless, I offered to do a touch up on the vehicle or preform another detail for him at no cost (this is my best customer, bringing myself and my detailing partner 5 - 10 cars a month for full details . . .



How ironic that the next car I did was yet again, another mini cooper.



This detail was not intended for full defect removal, but the results were still pretty impressive for only using a PC with limited time . .



Process:



Wash 2 bucket method

Clay w/ sonis ultra fine

OC w/ LC Orange pad via PC speed 6

MZ FTG w/ LC white pad via PC speed 6

PB EX sealant w/ LC black pad via PC speed 4

Trim - Adams VRT

Glass - Adams Blend

Metal tips, trim - Adams Metal Polish no. 1



Befores:

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this car only has like 8k miles . . . isnt that just sad . . . people man . .

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Like that hologram and plain out screw up on the hood ? A dent guy did that . .

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gotta love water spots

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more spottage - these were not so bad . . . but still a B*&^H



Afters . . .

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Not so bad . . . could be better . . . but when its a freebie and its gonna be sold in 2 days . . . spending 10 hours on a car is just not gonna happen . . .



thoughts . . . oppinions . . . suggestions . . . and yes, i know my camera skills suck. learn to love me for it . . thanks for looking . .



BTW - MZ Finishing Touch Glaze is just awesome. I know, I know - it's got fillers in it . . . but when your shotting to impress a buyer who will run it through a gas station car wash in two weeks . . . glazes have thier place in the detailing world . . :bigups
 
Nice transformation! Couldn't help but notice how nice the trim and tires look. How do you like the Adams VRT, good durability?
 
Heikes said:
looks so much better, how long did it take? Are those stripes paint or vinyl?
Click to expand...



I started at about 10AM and finished at about 2PM . . . keep in mind the vechile still has defects, mainly deeper ones that were not going to be removed. However, the spider webbing, ethced and heavy waterspots, a few bird drop etchings (light) and light swirils all came out, and i let the EX with carnuba setup for about an hour while I did the interior . . . and much to my surprise . . it wiped off with no effort . . . no streaking, no blotching . . A great sealant with nuba. . . .



Yeah, the stripes are vinyl . . kina lame . . . i had to tape . . .



Joshua312 said:
Nice transformation! Couldn't help but notice how nice the trim and tires look. How do you like the Adams VRT, good durability?
Click to expand...





thanks bro . . . i love the adams VRT :bigups - durability on the other hand is like their buttery wax . . . :sadpace: To give it credit however, it does hold up very well if the surface is not exposed to water . . . I use it frequently to treat the plastic runners on my truck bed . . . and I have noticed (like with most other protectants, even when applied thin . . ) that when it rains the VRT "bleeds" off and leaves runs on the paint . . . But it will take direct sunlight and just laugh . . the UV inhibitors work very well and it leaves a nice, soft gloss and sheen, and is REMARKABLY easy to QD off if you get it on painted surfaces . . . as for the tires . . thats the classic look of 303 baby . . . i just couldent justify trimming the entire car with it since it costs significanly more than most protectants.
 
Very nice fdizzle......when you are up around the wipers with the machine, do you take them off or just work around them? Do you use tape?



Looks really good...
 
shelpdoggSVT said:
Very nice fdizzle......when you are up around the wipers with the machine, do you take them off or just work around them? Do you use tape?



Looks really good...
Click to expand...





I used the pc with a low profile LC orange and white pad near the base of the winsheild and top of the hood. I didnt remove the wipers . . . however I did remove the two plastic grills at the top of the hood . . . they just snap out with ease. this is kinda cool because it allows me to dress the grills out in the street away from the car with my areasol trim detailer (i used adams in/out spray)



as for tape, all i taped on this car were the vinyl stripes. I did get a little polish and sealant residue on the trim but it came off with silicone remover and the adams VRT shined it back up nice. personally, with how much 3M painters tape costs, i only use it when i absolulty halft to. also takes longer to prep and finish when you tape . . . but dont get me wrong, you gotta tape on certain (and most) applications, to polish safely, IMO. . . .





thanks for looking . . .
 
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