13 replies to this topic

[roblightbody]

Hi there,

 

I bought a fully rebuilt Mini (1990 red Cooper) from Somerford about 5 years ago, although I think its rebuild might have been up to 5 years before that, and it may have been outside the whole time.

 

It was shiny when I got it, and after I got it I removed the bonnet stripes - and could only see a slight difference in the paint.  Its been regularly polished, but is outside except 5 months over winter when its carcooned in a garage.

 

Now a few years later, there's a dramatic difference - where the stripes were is still shiny, the rest is flat.

 

I've tried gently t-cutting the bonnet, and it improved things a bit, but not enough.

 

I'm assuming the paint is "old fashioned" paint - in that it doesn't have a clear topcoat.  What did a red 1990 Mini have when new in this regard?

 

Thanks for help, advice & tips.

 

- Rob

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Edited by roblightbody, 07 April 2019 - 12:45 PM.

[Midas Mk1]

Have a YouTube of the meguiars uk channel, they show how to restore faded pink to red using ultimate compound and their da.

:)

[Midas Mk1]

https://youtu.be/I3B4bMYRLgU

[roblightbody]

Have a YouTube of the meguiars uk channel, they show how to restore faded pink to red using ultimate compound and their da.

:)

 

Watching it now!  Looks good, thanks :)

[Steve220]

Put the t-cut down for a start! It needs a compound polish with a finishing pad.

[Daz1968]

I always claybar a car before any compounding to make sure no bits of contamination to scratch paint.
If car is painted in 2k then from experience it can be very hard work by hand. I would invest in a basic da polisher but compound choice can be difficult without trying an area. I have found the menzerna compounds very good but don’t go too harsh.
You could try some p6000 trizact as they leave a surface that requires very little polishing after.

[sonikk4]

Use a decent waffle pad on a mop and use Scholl Concepts S17+. That will polish that out nicely followed by a decent quality wax.

[Baldspeed Racing]

another vote for meguiars as its so good, dont bother with t cut buy once and get the job done

[roblightbody]

There's no 2 ways about it, that meguiars stuff is incredible. With no effort at all, it's brought the bonnet back to a brilliant shine. Unbelievable. I'll be doing the whole car tomorrow, then a good coat of wax.

Thanks for the recommendation.

[roblightbody]

Follow up, it's gone completely flat again, after maybe a month, and I'm pretty fed up!

I presume it's not got a top clearcoat lacquer.

On the scale of mini problems it's a nice problem to have, but still frustrating.

[GraemeC]

After mopping it with the meguirs did you add any protective products such as wax or a sealant?

 

Ultimate fix is (unfortunately) a respray as the paint has oxidised and broken down.

[Bobbins]

It's worth picking up a DA polisher, around £70 for something half decent. Then get your head round which products clean, which cut, which polish, and which wax ..... a common mistake is confusing polish with wax.

 

Start with polish because it's the most gentle form of cutting and only go harsher if it's not successful - a good Mequiars or Autoglym polish on the DA polisher should do the job fine, if there's any scratch marks left you can go for a harsher cutting/buffing paste or cream but be very careful particularly at the edges or you'll break through to the primer.

 

When you've finished wax it by hand with a hard carnuba content wax, I use Autoglym High Definition Wax, this is expensive but it'll add the protection you need. Without the wax coat it will return to a scruffy looking finish quite quickly. On going maintenance should be an occasional clay, hand polish and wax, it'll stay good for years.

 

In general with detailing products you get what you pay for ... and some are eye-wateringly expensive!

[roblightbody]

Thought I'd come back to my own topic.  I decided to take it to a classic car bodyshop near here and get some rust repaired at the back window, and then get them to do a full mechanical polish which they have now done, and the car looks fantastic.  I found a post on this forum that showed my car for sale at Somerford in 2008, so I now know the paint is at least 12 years old, I thought it was newer.

[roblightbody]

My Mini had ended up very flat again, so I followed what I had learned here (thank you for all replies) and did the following -

 

1.  Bought a small Mini-sized polishing tool with a variety of attachments to get into the annoying nooks and crannies (e.g. the bits around the wipers and washers where the paint is very flat and around the sunroof).  This polisher would be frustratingly small on a big modern car, but on the Mini it was ideal.

 

2.  Polished the car with Meguiars Ultimate Compound with the foam pad as recommended on the instructions.  I did try just using Autoglym Super Resin Polish for this stage, but it wasn't quite enough.  You could see this working as it was applied quite good fun.  Only a small amount of red came off onto the pad which was reassuring.

 

3.  Waxed the car with Meguiars "GoldClass Carnuba Plus Premium Paste Wax" as the video on this topic said a proper carnuba wax was ideal for non-metallic red paint.  I was really surprised by how easy this step was - the wax glided on easily and was a skoosh to wipe off when when it was dry.   I'll see all the bits I missed tomorrow no doubt.

 

Anyway, all of the car with the original Somerford (2008) paint is now absolutely gleaming - like new.  Unfortunately what's still letting it down now is the rear end, which was resprayed by a classic car specialist in 2020 - I'm quite annoyed about it... it sort of looks half-flat and not quite right.

 

Hope what I've done meets with approval from the experts here!

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