Question about polishing a Mini Cooper

[piebald]

Hi,

I will soon give my Mini a full detailing program. I know most I probably need but still got a few questions.

1. Can I polish the bonnet just like on a normal car or can I damage the bonnet stripes?
2. Can I polish the part with number 2 just like normal paint? It seems that it is painted plastic, but I am not 100% sure.
3. How to get out little scratches of the chrome parts? Someone told me it's very thin and I should be very careful.
4. Can I put Wax/Sealant on the Headlights too? They are out of some plastic

[Jorge Sanchez]

Re: Question about polishing a Mini Cooper

1. Are the bonnets paint or vinyl decals?
If they're vinyl you could certainly apply wax onto the vinyl/bonnet decals to protect them and provent them from fading. 99% of the time those decals are non porous vinyl, so wax wouldn't stain them like the plastic fenders flares you have on the mini would. Just be careful on the edges if you wax over the edges and dont wipe off the excess wax it could dry and stain the side of the decals.

2. Same goes for the A pillar, but I would recommend using painters tape to cover the unpainted plastic pieces near them. You don't want wax to dry on them and stain the plastic or seals.

3. Removing scratches from the chrome grills tends to be a little more difficult than remoing scratches from paint. Most likey the grill is chrome plated and applying anything abbrassive could make the finish look even worse. Sometimes leaving it alone is the best thing to do.

4. You can certainly apply a coat of wax on the plastic headlights. This prevents them from discoloring and makes wiping bugs off a little easier.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Originally posted by piebald
Hi,

I will soon give my Mini a full detailing program. I know most I probably need but still got a few questions.

1. Can I polish the bonnet just like on a normal car or can I damage the bonnet stripes?
2. Can I polish the part with number 2 just like normal paint? It seems that it is painted plastic, but I am not 100% sure.
3. How to get out little scratches of the chrome parts? Someone told me it's very thin and I should be very careful.
4. Can I put Wax/Sealant on the Headlights too? They are out of some plastic

[piebald]

wow quick answer, thanks

so about the bonnet stripes, they are not painted. guess that it is vinyl then. i tried waxing them already and like you said the wax dried at the edges, got it off again though.

i wanna polish the car with the dual action polisher. so my question, will that be the same on the stripes as with the wax or can i damage with the machine+polish anything???

[Jorge Sanchez]

If you decide to polish the finish using a Dual Action Polisher the same tip would be applied. The way the Dual Action Polisher spins there no way it would burn through the vinyl, so your ok.
PM me if you have any further questions.

Originally posted by piebald
wow quick answer, thanks

so about the bonnet stripes, they are not painted. guess that it is vinyl then. i tried waxing them already and like you said the wax dried at the edges, got it off again though.

i wanna polish the car with the dual action polisher. so my question, will that be the same on the stripes as with the wax or can i damage with the machine+polish anything???

[sneek]

you could always just PM richard, the guys polished out a lot of mini's

[OctaneGuy]

Re: Question about polishing a Mini Cooper

Thanks Sneek for the forward--actually Mike Phillips told me about the thread today!

I talked to Piebald over on the MINI forum, but I will throw in my 2 cents as well, since I've probably detailed more MINIs than most people on this forum.

1.) The factory bonnet stripes can be polished with the PC using either the W8006 or W9006 pads. You should always be careful. I polished on some aftermarket rear boot stripes--even though I told the owner I didn't feel comfortable doing it, he asked me to, and it took about a minute of buffing to see the printed vinyl starting to disappear. So as gentle as the PC is, it will still remove ink from printed vinyl.

2.) The window trim is just a piece of plastic. It swirls very easily. You can make it swirl free with the PC by using either M80 or M83. The same goes for the mirror caps.

3.) Chrome parts, you're really not going to be able to restore that. Most of the chrome on the MINIs is very thin. The best you can do is apply a good metal polish like NXT Metal Polysh. It will pop and the scratches will be less visible.

4.) Yes you can apply M21 or Tech Wax to the headlight. I don't find it improves it or provides any level of protection, especially considering you have the Xenon lights which get very hot. But while polishing it out with the PC, it doesn't hurt the headlights by running the PC over it.

Originally posted by piebald
Hi,

I will soon give my Mini a full detailing program. I know most I probably need but still got a few questions.

1. Can I polish the bonnet just like on a normal car or can I damage the bonnet stripes?
2. Can I polish the part with number 2 just like normal paint? It seems that it is painted plastic, but I am not 100% sure.
3. How to get out little scratches of the chrome parts? Someone told me it's very thin and I should be very careful.
4. Can I put Wax/Sealant on the Headlights too? They are out of some plastic

[piebald]

alright, thanks a lot

[sneek]

Oops sry i knew i forgot to do somethings lol i am ultra ADHD