Just a little over a month and Isabella brought the Mini Cooper back. I didn’t screw up! No worries. Her neighbor at work decided it would be a good idea to do some painting outdoors on a windy day, leaving white paint over the left side of this Cooper. I’m glad she came to me so fast, since the paint didn’t really have a chance to bake in the sun. The good ole’ clay was all it needed to get the overspray off. But with the Mini’s soft clear, the clay left marring on the paint. I had to follow it with a finishing polish to rid of this, and topped the paint off with an all natural Brazilian wax.

Water spots is something that bothers most people. What happens when you have water deposits on the surface that doesn’t get removed is that the water ends up evaporating, and the minerals are left on the surface, eating away at the clear coat. If it sits for too long they become water spots ‘below the surface’ which means a heavier polish needs to be used in order to cut down the clear coat to level it off. This C280 has been getting automatic car washes for the life of its ownership, one thing that every car should not ever have to go through. The car received a one step polish, bringing back the gloss to the black finish, topped with a sealant. As this was a one step polish, the cut of the PO85RD was not aggressive enough to remove the etchings entirely. The interior got pampered with a Leatherique treatment and Einzette for conditioning, bringing back the original tan luster.

Here’s a great example on what I can do to a car in ~4 hours. The car came in COVERED, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. It was a simple all-in-one job in which I usually lean over to grab the Optimum Poli-seal, but after doing just the hood, and a little change in my evening plans, I opted to give Eric’s car a little bit extra free of cost. Instead of the AIO, I went with Menzernas PO85RD and topped it with Menzerna’s Sealing Wax. Honda’s soft clear coat allowed the finishing polish to rid a lot of swirls. On to the pics!

Isabella’s brand new CooperS came with what we call holograms… or buffer trails right off the lot. Seems to be a common problem for a lot of “new” cars as well as cars that has just been painted at body shops since the trails can only be seen in the sun. I started with Meguiars M205 to remedy this problem, but it was dusting quite a bit, so I switched over to Menzernas PO85RD after the first panel. The entire car was then topped with Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection as a LSP. I’m really digg’n this car.

Two jobs today. Mr. Chiaki went with the yelp deal that I have listed, with the addition of a clay bar treatment (much needed). I went with a medium grade clay since the paint was heavily contaminated, followed by Optimum Poli-seal (All in one, mild polish/cleaner/protection), topped with Menzernas Sealing Wax since I feel that poli-seal doesn’t give the slickness that I’m happy with. I touched up the headlights a little bit but nothing too crazy for free as Mr. Chiaki also brought his wifes CooperS in the same morning.

Enjoy!

Steve : Here’s ___$, work your magic on it.

HAH. I put in a little extra work since he’s a returning guy (and a neighbor). Steve’s mom Miranda is such a clown I couldn’t stop laughing when she came to pick it up.. and even gave me a box of cookies.. and an autographed picture! ahhhh. Anyways. The car had minor oxidation starting to build up on the surfaces, which means they brought it in at the right time. The hood, roof, and trunk were covered in some kind of tar which was removed by clay, and then polished to remove all oxidation & (most) swirls. Not too shabby for a ’99!

P.S… RAIDERS!!!

Took a while to figure out a time that worked for the both of us, but I got Gungun’s beatle in Thursday night just before she went to give her volunteer services (kudos!). Exterior had a much needed wash, but the main work was all on the inside. Bits and pieces of scraps, crumbs, monkeys, and dust were everywhere. Luckily the car is a convertible ‘cuz I would’ve suffocated from being inside there for so long! Enjoy!

Excuse the lack of before pictures. Sean dropped the car off early in the morning, and for some reason, Californias’ Mid-August weather decided to be especially gloomy. So I just went straight for the wash, and brought it in under the halogens to find an abundance of swirls. The car went through a 3 stage polish. Being a black colored car, one must progressively tone down the level of polish/pad combo in order to achieve a buffer-trail-free finish. After the 7 hours of polishing, the car was sealed with Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection.

Gotta’ love a women who takes care of their cars! Angie is a good example of one. Her car may be new but this Subbie is a road runner! It’s been up and around the Oregon trail, through the mountains, down the coast, to Pandora and back. Angie was most interested in proper protection that’ll keep the car as pristine as possible, as long as possible. This all comes down to paint preparation. Started off with a thorough pressure wash including the undercarriage as she mentioned it’s been through the snow, followed by a full clay job & polish to ensure a well, smooth & clean surface for sealant (F* UPP) to bond to. The interior was touched up, conditioned, and lathered with a UV protective coating.

That’s weird, Ford’s color code name is just ‘Black’ haha. Steve brought this car in pretty much straight off the lot for some proper sealing. That’s a smart man right there. A good layer of protection will make his life much easier in keeping the paint immaculate. It’s funny ’cause Steve turned out to be a neighbor who lives literally a minute away. What a cowinkeedink!