Customer from Fallbrook, CA - 2009 Mini Cooper JCW convertible - products?

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09R57

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I have a 2009 Mini Cooper JCW convertible that has been stored for several years.

I need to restore the Chili Red and get the best finish on it.

Feed back please
 
Re: Customer from Fallbrook, CA

09R57 said:
I have a 2009 Mini Cooper JCW convertible that has been stored for several years. I need to restore the Chili Red and get the best finish on it.Feed back please
Click to expand...

Welcome! Can you post up some pics and some more info on it? Also, do you have detail supplies or tools to do the work?
 
Hi John,

Welcome to AGO! :welcome:


I edited your thread title to add the name of your car and the words product suggestions so when people see you thread title they know what you have and what you're looking for.

Before I edited it it read,

Customer from Fallbrook, CA


And the thing is, on a forum people use the title to decide whether or not to >click< on the thread to read it to see what's going on. Your title read like a Introduction thread and some guys that are GREAT and typing out info to help you polish your Mini Cooper dont' always click on "intro threads".

Make sense?


First question

Do you have any type of polisher or do you normally work by hand?




:)
 
If you can wait until Spring...the it to a Thursday Night Open Garage at Meguiar's HQ in Irvine

You can pull your car into the Meguiar's Garage and get help from the Megs Pros, while using their tools and products

Sign-up at Meguiars Online
 
Thanks for the comeback and welcome. I'm not a professional detailer just a car guy with questions of how to restore and preserve the finish on a 2009 Mini Cooper, John Cooper Works, convertible. The Chili Red finish just doesn't look like I want it so I was looking for products so I can do it (or get it) done right. The only tool I have is a cheap one speed Harbor freight buffer I use on my SUVS and motor home.
 
09R57 said:
Thanks for the comeback and welcome. I'm not a professional detailer just a car guy with questions of how to restore and preserve the finish on a 2009 Mini Cooper, John Cooper Works, convertible. The Chili Red finish just doesn't look like I want it so I was looking for products so I can do it (or get it) done right. The only tool I have is a cheap one speed Harbor freight buffer I use on my SUVS and motor home.
Click to expand...

Well, you've got 2 choices: you can hire a local detailer that comes highly recommended and pay them to do it; or you can buy the products & tools from this online store + learn from the best.

I'm guessing you're up for the challenge and are going for option #2. The best place to start is by reading A LOT from this section of the forum: How to Articles - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum

Mike, and others, have provided some outstanding articles with tons of pics to guide the beginner. I think you may want to purchase a DA (short for Dual Action polisher) kit that includes compound & polish as well as pads. These machines are better suited for beginners as you may inadvertently damage your paint using a rotary buffer.

Here's a good, complete kit that would work for you, plus it comes with a how-to book by Mike Phillips: Wolfgang Porter Cable 7424xp Ultimate Polishing Kit

Also a good time to buy microfiber towels: Car Care Microfiber Towels, Microfiber dusters and microfiber Detailing tools

Could you post a few pictures of your car, so we can see what you're working with?
 
I'm guessing you ultimately want it to look like this? Does yours have the black stripes too?

watermark.php
 
That's it AC! I have the black star wheels seems to be the only difference. Now let me see if I can get a photo up.
 
09R57 said:
The only tool I have is a cheap one speed Harbor freight buffer I use on my SUVS and motor home.
Click to expand...


In the wrong hands a rotary buffer can do a lot of damage. When used correctly and carefully you can do amazing things with a rotary buffer.

The best news is unlike the old day, now days there are really GREAT compounds and polishes on the market as well as really GREAT foam pads available to make buffing with a rotary buffer a lot lot safer.


Here's an article I wrote for pads and backing plates for use with the PE14 but you can use them with any rotary buffer.


My recommended buffing pads for the Flex PE14



A Jewelling Machine
The 5.5" Gold Jewelling Pad with the 5" Flex-Foam HD Backing Plate is the perfect combination for the Flex PE14 for jewelling paint to perfection.

watermark.php





:dblthumb2:
 
IME, you will need the forced rotation machine to do the concave sections on the bonnet, around the headlights. And it sounds like your HF machine is forced.
Using a GG 6 on my MINIs, I lose rotation with 5" pads and it's worse with 3" pads. I have no problems on convex areas.

I know forum member DetailKitty used a Flex 3401 to polish her MINI R53, with no problems. (That machine is on my list for next year. )


BTW, the first pic posted by AC is a Gen1 (R52) JCW convertible. 09R57 has/is a gen2.
 
Another thing to look up is how to properly prep using tape to mask off areas you don't want to buff.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ow-tape-off-car-before-machine-polishing.html

Additionally, Mike just wrote a reply to a similar question and provided links to in depth articles: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...hniques-advice-needed-please.html#post1335339

You'll probably want to do that with your racing stripes too. I'm not sure if those are above or below the clear coat. Maybe Bus Driver or Detail Kitty can chime in with their experiences.
 
Definitely mask off the stripes, they are just vinyl adhesive. My stripes are opposite color, so they are white vinyl with black print edges. Polishing the print will remove the color.

I don't tape my seams, but I do tape all the plastic trim. Removing polish from the textured trim arches can be a pain. Make sure you clean the plastic before you tape so the tape will stick. Mask that convertible top too. In one of the links AC provided, is another link to a Mike Phillips article about protecting canvas tops.
 
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