DetailDamon
08-18-2009, 01:18 PM
A coworker of mine has an older Mini Cooper S he wants to sell. He has a Boxster as well and the Mini has been his golfing/bike riding/winter car for several years. It definitely needed some love. It pretty much needed love in every spot. The engine was a mess, there were coffee and pop stains everywhere inside, and the body was pretty scratched up. The back bumper cover and the front end needed a respray from abuse and rock chips, so my job with this car was going to win the battle and not the war. I was determined to do my best.
Products used. Jeesh, I can`t believe I own all this stuff:
Exterior:
Wash:
Gloss-It Car Shampoo
Gloss-It Car Wash Mit
Gloss-It Grit Guard
Gloss-It Signature Wheel Gel
Gloss-It White Drying Towel
Uber red waffle drying cloth
Simple Green
Gunk Engine Degreaser
Parts washer Brush
Griots Garage Boar`s Hair Wheel Brush
Griots Garage 4 finger Lambskin Mitt
Clay-Magic Blue claybar
Griot`s Garage Yellow mild claybar
Polish:
DeWalt Rotary
Griots Garage DA 850 watt polisher
Gloss-It 3" Backing plate
Gloss-It 5" Backing plate
Gloss-It 3.75" Wool Pad
Gloss-It 3.75" Red Polish Pad
Gloss-It 5.75" Fast Cut White Pad
Gloss-It 5.75" Yellow Light Cut Foam Pad
Gloss-It EVP Pad Prime
Gloss-It Extreme Cut
Gloss-It Evolution Cut
Gloss-It Evolution Polish
Gloss-It Gloss Enhancer
Gloss-It Microfiber towels
Griot`s Garage 6" Glass polishing pads
Griot`s Garage Rubber Cleaner
Alcohol/water mix
Finish:
Gloss-It 5.75" Green Polishing Foam
Gloss-It 5.75" Red Ultra Polishing Foam
Gloss-It 100ppi applicator pads
Gloss-It Gloss Activator
Gloss-It Gloss Finish
Gloss-It Concourso Gloss
Gloss-It T.R.V.
Gloss-It Tire Gloss
Gloss-It Gloss Enhancer
Gloss-It Microfiber towels
Griot`s Garage Undercarriage Spray
Griot`s Garage Foam Swabs
Stoner`s Invisible Glass
Mother`s Back To Black
3/4" foam paint brushes
Turtle Wax Chrome Polish
Interior:
Warm, die-free soapy water
Griot`s Garage Leather Polish
Griot`s Garage Nylon Carpet and Upholstry Brush
1/2" course paint brush
Gloss-It Microfiber towels
Gloss-It T.R.V.
Lotsa Q-Tips
Stoner`s Invisible Glass
Here are the before wash pics at 6:15 am day 1.
This is all I got in almost no sun of the full car.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05138.jpg
From the bike rack. It had smashed itself into the paint from being tightened down:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05149.jpg
Anybody hungry?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05153.jpg
The wheels? The worst I have ever had to tackle, by far. Under all the washable brake dust is a layer of brake lining that has baked into the wheels. We`ll get to that later.....
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05139.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05140.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05150.jpg
I popped the hood lever, said a little prayer, and then opened it up:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05179.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05180.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05180.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05182.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/GIF%20Files/Worf.gif
I had a few cans of spray degreaser in the garage I had been saving for a serious job, so they got dusted off and used.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05188.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05189.jpg
Everything was agitated using my favorite engine brush - nice stiff nylon bristles:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05202.jpg
After agitating I let it sit. The sun still hadn`t come over the trees yet so I kept it wet with a mild Simple Green/water mix and moved onto the wheels.
After comparing to P21s and Griot`s, I have become a big fan of the Gloss-It Signature Wheel Gel. Overall it just works the best. I sprayed the wheels and let them sit:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05191.jpg
After about 10 minutes, the runoff alone was pretty amazing. This was with NO agitation:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05194.jpg
If this isn`t a testemonial to how well it works, I don`t know what is.
I decied to keep them soaking and wet as long as I could and move to the body.
I took a few before pics before the pre-soak. Scratches that need sanding and spots that need paint were just everywhere.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05144.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05147.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05148.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05156.jpg
The deal wasn`t any sanding or painting on this one, so it was my job to just make it look the best I could with pads and polish.
Onto the presoak. The entire car was sprayed with Gloss-It shampoo from my cheap foamer and allowed to sit with everything else. You can see the sun catching me in the background.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05199.jpg
By now I was really wishing I had a working powerwasher. But they don`t do well when dropped off a roof. That`s another story.....
I agitated and scrubbed everything the best I could everywhere and rinsed. After re-soaping I claybarred the car with my Clay-Magic bar:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05205.jpg
This car had more rail dust than Norfolk Southern:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05204.jpg
By now it was 9:30am. I already had 3 hours into the car and the wheels STILL looked like this:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05211.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05217.jpg
Again, this was primarily baked-in iron from the car needing a brake job long before it got one, and good ol` BMW brake pads. I ended up removing them from the car in order to get the leverage to rub more on them. I spent over 3 hours on the wheels alone and still only got it about 90% off. Some of it wasn`t coming out without taking paint with it. I had to resort to laquer thinner to break it loose. I don`t recommend this practice without testing a spot bhind a spoke at a minimum, as I could feel it softening the paint. When you are getting to the point where you have to let the paint re-harden before you can polish it, then you are pushing your luck. I wasn`t comfortable at all doing this, but it`s all that was working. After about 45 minutes it went from
This:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05218.jpg
To this:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05220.jpg
3 to go.....
Products used. Jeesh, I can`t believe I own all this stuff:
Exterior:
Wash:
Gloss-It Car Shampoo
Gloss-It Car Wash Mit
Gloss-It Grit Guard
Gloss-It Signature Wheel Gel
Gloss-It White Drying Towel
Uber red waffle drying cloth
Simple Green
Gunk Engine Degreaser
Parts washer Brush
Griots Garage Boar`s Hair Wheel Brush
Griots Garage 4 finger Lambskin Mitt
Clay-Magic Blue claybar
Griot`s Garage Yellow mild claybar
Polish:
DeWalt Rotary
Griots Garage DA 850 watt polisher
Gloss-It 3" Backing plate
Gloss-It 5" Backing plate
Gloss-It 3.75" Wool Pad
Gloss-It 3.75" Red Polish Pad
Gloss-It 5.75" Fast Cut White Pad
Gloss-It 5.75" Yellow Light Cut Foam Pad
Gloss-It EVP Pad Prime
Gloss-It Extreme Cut
Gloss-It Evolution Cut
Gloss-It Evolution Polish
Gloss-It Gloss Enhancer
Gloss-It Microfiber towels
Griot`s Garage 6" Glass polishing pads
Griot`s Garage Rubber Cleaner
Alcohol/water mix
Finish:
Gloss-It 5.75" Green Polishing Foam
Gloss-It 5.75" Red Ultra Polishing Foam
Gloss-It 100ppi applicator pads
Gloss-It Gloss Activator
Gloss-It Gloss Finish
Gloss-It Concourso Gloss
Gloss-It T.R.V.
Gloss-It Tire Gloss
Gloss-It Gloss Enhancer
Gloss-It Microfiber towels
Griot`s Garage Undercarriage Spray
Griot`s Garage Foam Swabs
Stoner`s Invisible Glass
Mother`s Back To Black
3/4" foam paint brushes
Turtle Wax Chrome Polish
Interior:
Warm, die-free soapy water
Griot`s Garage Leather Polish
Griot`s Garage Nylon Carpet and Upholstry Brush
1/2" course paint brush
Gloss-It Microfiber towels
Gloss-It T.R.V.
Lotsa Q-Tips
Stoner`s Invisible Glass
Here are the before wash pics at 6:15 am day 1.
This is all I got in almost no sun of the full car.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05138.jpg
From the bike rack. It had smashed itself into the paint from being tightened down:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05149.jpg
Anybody hungry?
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05153.jpg
The wheels? The worst I have ever had to tackle, by far. Under all the washable brake dust is a layer of brake lining that has baked into the wheels. We`ll get to that later.....
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05139.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05140.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05150.jpg
I popped the hood lever, said a little prayer, and then opened it up:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05179.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05180.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05180.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05182.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/GIF%20Files/Worf.gif
I had a few cans of spray degreaser in the garage I had been saving for a serious job, so they got dusted off and used.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05188.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05189.jpg
Everything was agitated using my favorite engine brush - nice stiff nylon bristles:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05202.jpg
After agitating I let it sit. The sun still hadn`t come over the trees yet so I kept it wet with a mild Simple Green/water mix and moved onto the wheels.
After comparing to P21s and Griot`s, I have become a big fan of the Gloss-It Signature Wheel Gel. Overall it just works the best. I sprayed the wheels and let them sit:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05191.jpg
After about 10 minutes, the runoff alone was pretty amazing. This was with NO agitation:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05194.jpg
If this isn`t a testemonial to how well it works, I don`t know what is.
I decied to keep them soaking and wet as long as I could and move to the body.
I took a few before pics before the pre-soak. Scratches that need sanding and spots that need paint were just everywhere.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05144.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05147.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05148.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05156.jpg
The deal wasn`t any sanding or painting on this one, so it was my job to just make it look the best I could with pads and polish.
Onto the presoak. The entire car was sprayed with Gloss-It shampoo from my cheap foamer and allowed to sit with everything else. You can see the sun catching me in the background.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05199.jpg
By now I was really wishing I had a working powerwasher. But they don`t do well when dropped off a roof. That`s another story.....
I agitated and scrubbed everything the best I could everywhere and rinsed. After re-soaping I claybarred the car with my Clay-Magic bar:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05205.jpg
This car had more rail dust than Norfolk Southern:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05204.jpg
By now it was 9:30am. I already had 3 hours into the car and the wheels STILL looked like this:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05211.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05217.jpg
Again, this was primarily baked-in iron from the car needing a brake job long before it got one, and good ol` BMW brake pads. I ended up removing them from the car in order to get the leverage to rub more on them. I spent over 3 hours on the wheels alone and still only got it about 90% off. Some of it wasn`t coming out without taking paint with it. I had to resort to laquer thinner to break it loose. I don`t recommend this practice without testing a spot bhind a spoke at a minimum, as I could feel it softening the paint. When you are getting to the point where you have to let the paint re-harden before you can polish it, then you are pushing your luck. I wasn`t comfortable at all doing this, but it`s all that was working. After about 45 minutes it went from
This:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05218.jpg
To this:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/00miata/Mini/DSC05220.jpg
3 to go.....