So I did both of the doors yesterday, to be exact just front-lower-quarters. I was trying get rid of all the littile bits of nasties down in the nether regions just behind the front wheels. First of all the clay did get rid of 99% of what it was supposed to, but after a few minutes of lubing and claying and repeating it became apparent that it wasn't going to ever become smooth. So was I too impatient, using wrong technique or clay (Maguires), or do I have unrealistic expectations of what clay can do? Regardless I'm wondering what to do next (for those like me without a PC)? PS I'm not a complete failure at claying the rest of the MINI
How long did you work the areas? On most cleanish MINIs I spend an hour or so to do the whole car. Some areas go quick, other areas take longer. QD is a good lube, but for really bad areas, or if I'm doing a whole MINI, I use soapy water as the lube. Soap seems to have better cleaning abilities, and it's WAY cheaper. If your car soap says 1 oz. soap per gallon for a normal wash, use 2 oz. soap per gallon. I dip the clay in the mixture, plus use a MF towel to keep the area worked flooded. Before I clay, I also always do a spray/wipe of a mixture of 1 part alcohol to 1 part water. This ensures all wax is removed, and it helps with tar and other road gunk, then I clay. Mark
As to what to do next, what products do you have? If you have Amigo, that would be first. Then Epic. Mark
Sounds like you need some kind of tar remover or the like. I'm not familiar with the Primo products, but Griot's (Griot's Garage) makes some stuff that should help you right out.
Yeah... depends on what you're trying to remove with the clay. If you have visible spots of tar, etc. then you need to use some kind of remover for that. I use WD40 with good results. Then, after all that stuff is gone, clay will remove the microscopic (but feelable) bonded contaminants if you use it properly.
I did do a spot treatment of WD40 on one black speck but it didn't make any difference. Next time I'll try the soapy water and clay. I always wonder how people mixed/applied soapy water when using clay. I figured if I mixed the car wash liquid inside a trigger sprayer I'd have nothing but a LOT of bubble action going on in their. I have Epic, BG, and Hydro but no Amigo (I think I'll get some). Mark, I noticed on the Prima site that it says that Epic is wipe on/wipe off. I've always rubbed it in, otherwise I'm going to use an entire bottle. BG is truly wipe on/wipe off. How much Epic do you apply and do you rub it into the surface with a MF pad?
I'm not sure what the difference is between your "rubs" and my "wipes"... not a very precise term. I would say I "wipe" Epic on (I definitely don't "rub it in"... because there is no "in"), but I wipe it on VERY thin. Does this mean i wipe the same area more than once when applying? Sure. But I'm not using elbow grease to "rub it" like I would a polish. I use a Prima Skinny MF applicator which absorbs a little Epic and helps spread it thin and even. Sometimes I use the black pad on the PC on large areas... but without a roof, my MINI has so little are to cover, the PC seems like overkill most of the time... I can apply Epic in 10 minutes without it... A bottle of Epic would easily last me 10 years of twice-a-year applications on my MINI, at the rate I'm going. If you have black specks that are standing up to WD-40, I'd try some tar remover next.
I use a bucket for soapy water/clay, flooding the area with a MF cloth. If you don't have the Prima Skinny applicator pads, order some with the Amigo. It says wipe on, but you do rub it, a little goes a long way. I'll use about a finger nail size blob of it to do 1/2 the bonnet, or about 1/4 of the roof. Mark
I wonder if the black specks are dirty Cosmoline(snot). Cosmonot would get rid of it. I'll do a test on some clear coat later, and let you know if it works. By works I mean not strip the clear coat. Mark
Paul and Mark, thanks for the tips on the Epic, yes I use the skinny blue MF pad for Epic & BG application. Somebody should do a video, not to compete with Richard, but rather to highlight how to 'wax' a MINI by hand. There's so much stuff out there about using a PC but not much, especially Prima-centric, about how to polish your MINI 'the old fashioned way'.
I have an idea about that very thing, it's percolating in my cranium:idea: One trick I do when using a skinny pad, is give it a light spritz of QD first, it helps the product spread on the pad. Mark
Nice tip. I was also thinking, if the Amigo is a bit of a sealant, which I currently don't use, when it comes time to applying the Epic it might go on a bit smoother. Hopefully that 'idea' will eventually come to a boil :ihih:
Amigo, no sealant properties, but it does help a little with getting Epic on, as the surface is very smooth/slick when applied. Mark