Mini Cooper - What should I use?

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Reddwarf

Advanced Helper
My nephew's girlfriend wants me to detail her mini cooper. A big deal as it is her baby. She even named it! She had a custom trim that has a Rooster. Thus she named it Rooster.

Anyway, she has some swirls from the car wash. She no longer does the drive thru car wash but the swirls are still there. Any suggestions on products and techniques? I have not detailed a mini before. I have a UDM RO and of course PB products.

Let's see, I have Pro Polish, SSR 3, SSR 2.5, PwS, ExP, Natty Red and Natty Blue. The car is red so naturally thinking Natty's Red as the LSP.
 
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grisby1972

Helper
Late last summer I detailed a Mini. Minor swirls(most work was inside==really filthy)but the clear coat was very hard, anyway I used SSR2, PP, then Natty's Blue. I attached 2 pics to show you the results. Keep in mind that you should mask of the stripes. They are very thin. I used the PC on the vehicle but the stripes I did by hand, first using the PP very lightly then the Natty's.. Of course BnB on the tires and wheel wells. Oh, and as the last pic shows, be sure to mask off the vehicle, easier to pull off tape then to try to clean all that trim!!!

Good luck

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Poorboy

Poorboy

Founder
Staff member
remember to use fresh tape .. from there I might do a section with SSR2.5 and a finishing pad ... use moderate pressure and see where you stand after a couple passes. If they come out easy continue or back off to SSR2, if they are stubborn, I would first move up in the aggressiveness of the pad to a polishing pad and so on ....

now if you feel totally dedicated, you might do PP on the whole car first to get an idea how much repair their is to do
 
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grisby1972

Helper
I would at least tape the edges. Don't know what kind of trim it is. I assume its vinyl. I would not go over it with anything aggressive as an SSR 3/2.5/or 2, I would use PP first or a PWS/PWC, and that would be by hand.

IF you think its a heavy enough vinyl you could use a polishing or a finishing pad to go over it with a PP or even a mild SSR1. But without seeing it, you would have to be the judge of that.
 
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craig

Guest
Just a quick tip. Minis are made by BMW, which means they are painted by BMW :smt119 This means that the paint is quite hard, so dont worry too much about using SSR 2.5. I have detailed a Cooper & used SSR 2 & it took me 7-10 passes with a soft compounding pad to totally remove the swirls !. The car was also red, so i gave it a coat of Black hole with a soft finishing pad & 2 coats of Natty's red. The end result was really good :smt004. Hope this helps... Craig
 
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rossmeister

Guest
craig said:
Just a quick tip. Minis are made by BMW, which means they are painted by BMW :smt119 This means that the paint is quite hard,
Click to expand...

Kinda reminds me of those Direct TV commercials. "Don't wake up in a roadside ditch", or "Don't sell your hair to a wig shop." LMAO!
 
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Dudleydoright

Guest
I too have a 2012 Mini Cooper convertible that I need help with detailing. It has a stone chip paint protector on the nose that I somehow gets waxes accumulating on the edge. How do I clean it off? Do I need to tape it in the future if I am going to use my PC?
 
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