Most liked posts in thread: Detailing Tommy's MINI

Nice Chuck! You may have a second career there (or third or fourth), engineer types are never idle.

My A pillars need that treatment. I'll get with you on how to next time I see you.

Bryan

 

Nice work, Chuck.

Everytime I see one of the writeups (or when I spend 8ish hours on my own car) I chuckle at the guys I work with who think their car has been "detailed" when the guys come around with the power washer and spray wax every week and charge them $40.

 

I didn't know you could polish the A pillars. Learn something everyday. :yesnod:

 

Me too! Perhaps this can be a 5280 Garage Day item? http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&day=2009-6-20&c=2

 

Chucks lying, thats not my car.....oh wait....HOLLY CRAP IT IS!!!! :eek6: i swear the car looks better now then it did when i bought it! Chuck now get free oil changes for life! but of course now the car is detailed, mother nature has other plans for it..

 

Nice Chuck.

Tommy I think it looks the best I have seen it these past couple of years, better than new for sure.

You do have a nice dry spot for it, I hope. :frown2: We are getting some crap MINI weather here in Colorado. :cryin:

 

Great job Chuck:cornut:

Paul,(Blimey), your right about some folks not getting it about how much work it takes to really get a car looking it's best. When some folks ask me how much to detail their cars, they are aghast at what I charge, usually about $200 to do just the exterior. Like the detail Chuck described, I spend 12-14 hours, so I'm not making much per hour:rolleyes5:, plus the cost of product, investment in tools/towels, and the fact it's going to protect their car for over 6 months they are getting a much better deal, than the once a month production detail, that takes less than an hour to do, probably won't last a week, and likely comes with new swirls installed:crazy:

Mark

 

Nice write-up and results. For me though, since I tape off the trim, I have better luck getting the tape to stick before the Black WOW is applied, so I generally apply the WOW as one of the final steps. Just works better for me this way.

 

Nice work Chuck!! Sweet lookin ride you got there Tommy!

 

Man i didnt even recognize my car! i don't even want to drive it now.. i have had it sitting in the drive way under the cover allllll day...the rain sucks!

as soon as i saw it my jaw dropped, :yikes: how ever now chuck says that i cant race the car....and i wont :devil: lol

 

When you get a chance let's see some more photos.

 

Ha yeah no kidding, maybe if the weather shapes up! im so sick of the rain....of course it would rain alllllll weekend and then get sunny during the week.... im gonna buy some microfiber towles and try to dry her off today

 

I did a similar 'labor of love' this weekend to Augie, Holy crap it looks great! (pic's forthcoming). I didn't do the engine bay or interior and I racked up like 9-10 hr's

$200? Man thats a bargain for the work involved

 

Yes it is, but I have no time for a few months than to do our 2.

Mark

 

Hey guys here are some up dated photos of the car! enjoy!


out with the old.....



in with the new.....









and the new exhaust from the end of last summer...

 

Excellent writeup and work Chuck! Restoring MINIs brings me so much satisfaction. I wish more MINI owners would bring me their cars!

Regarding the issue of detailers. One thing to realize is that MOST detailers are Production Detailers. That's very different from the Quality Detailer.

Production Detailers are guys that primarily wash and wax your car. They don't address swirls other than to temporarily fill them with a glaze. They do this because it's fast and requires a special skill that most have never learned.

So when you pay a "professional" $40-$150 to "detail" your car, you are getting someone to wash and wax.

Enthusiasts will usually charge $50-$250 for a full detail..depending on their skill level. Some might do it for a pack of beer or maybe for free as they learn. Finding an enthusiast detailer is as simple as hanging out in the Detailing forums. In general they will do a better job than a professional production detailer.

I'm a professional Quality Detailer or Paint Polisher. I restore paint that's usually beyond what most people think is fixable and I charge between $400-$1,000 per car. For MINI's I charge $250 to try to get more MINI owners to care for their paint.

Recently I had a customer bring me his car to fix because his friend was a past customer with a G35 that he was selling. I think I charged him $550 for it. Turns out when he sold the car, he got $2,000 more than he expected because of the restored paint.

Richard

 

Not knowing about detailing or even where to start, what type of product do I use to wash "Chili" and then what's the next simplest thing to do. I can tear a car apart and put it back together but have never been any good with the outside. Chili is in really good shape and I'd like to keep her that way, protect her from the elements. Mark

 

There is a series of articles in the Library that are worth a read to get you on the right track. Library - Detailing Articles From there please feel free to ask any questions you have. The collective knowledge on detailing is very strong on Motoring Alliance.

 

You my friend are entering a whole realm of insanity.....

Check out Octane Guys's site, links on this site. Detailers Paradise and Griot's Garage

They can satisfy just about any degree of exterior care mania you care to engage in.

Be forewarned washing and polishing these little beauties can get quite addictive