This is our brand new 08 Mini Cooper S, we got it with 7mi on it, in the pics it's got just over 200mi on it, owned it 6 days.


When we piced it up, I noticed the stripes were buffer burned, & there were buffer burns marks on the hood. Funny part is, it also has a few swirls. The interior had white finger prints on it, looked like buffing dust on dirty hands.

I had to leave work early yesterday, we have been having a house heater problem that has been hard to fix. So I was home waiting for the repair guy, & deceided to clean the car, as we had SUN!!!! & BLUE SKY! The Mini has already been through Snow, Sleet & Hail, in the 6 days of ownership.

It is AMAZING how dirty cars in the PNW get, this is less then one week & 200 miles!

My process.....

Foam gun, wash
Boars hair brush
Amazing Rool Off for the rims & tires
MF towel dry

No clay, it was smooth (remember just over 200mi on the car)

Matabo rotary 1200 RPM's white pad
Po 85 RD
PC white pad SP 5.5
1Z Metallic Polish
A few MF towels

1Z Cockpit Premium
MF towels

1Z Vinyl-Rubber Care + Protectant 'Tiefenpfleger on all the plastic & grills

Spent just under 2 hrs on it, I just wanted to remove the buffer burns & put on some sealant. I tried to remove the buffer marks with the PC & 1Z Metalic, but it didn't give me the finish I wanted, that's when I broke out the Metabo, & only did the front of the car.

I'm getting the whole hood done with Venture Shield, & didn't want to buffer marks to show, or to be there!

Before....



Got to LOVE BMW brakes, they DUST like CRAZY!





Buffer marks



WAX ON

 

WAX OFF

 

Interior

 

Great job Stealth; thanks for sharing. Few people actually know the perils of the dealer and their handiwork when prepping new cars. The good news is most of the time it can be fixed, but the best way to avoid it is t bring in a professional detailer that can do a new car prep correctly. People assume since it's a new car it doesn't need a detail I always get weird looks from the dealer sales guys. They always ask me" so dude, are you the perma plate guy" or " you charge that much; it's a new car". So the funny part is my response " you know that new black ______, in the showroom? Go take a look at the hood. It's going to cost the new owner 3 times as much as this detail to fix it." That usually quiets them.

 

Thanks Moe, I should have told them not to touch it, & just did it at home my self. What kills me is, they buffer burn the car, but some how leave all the swirl marks?

Yea, I've seen WAY to many new cars that need a good detail! The best is when they aren't even clayed!

It also kills me when people want a "perfect" detail, but then say the "guy down the street can do it 2 hrs for $150, why does it take you 10hrs & $500" It's the same as taking your Porsche in to Jiffy Lube, we all balk at that, but not at the cheesy corner detail shop.

 

Well, at least our 6speed community is getting educated. The reason the real detailers are sometimes put in price wars has a lot to do with our own detailing community. We don't really have a standard that the consumer can gauge. So, it’s luck of the draw. The great thing about forums such as this is the network of professionals aligning with consumers that NEED a service. So when a member needs a good detail, he/she posts here and gets valuable insight into who may be qualified to work on his/her car in the area. The community itself governs, promotes, and educates its members; 6speed is a great example of that. So stick to your guns and just educated the heck out of your clients. Soon you'll find clients are more than willing to pay for a job done right. All it takes is education and common sense

 

That is definitely the goal right Moe? It's just too bad 6speed in comparison is such a small community, our craft is going to take much more effort by many of us to properly educate a small percentage of the country.

 

great work! love the carbon pieces.

 

Great job and great pics Stealth

 

Stealth 993- It is amazing how much damage the dealer can do in such a short period of time!

I detailed a black Mercedes E55 for one of my clients and he brought it to the dealer for some service work a few weeks later. You wouldn't believe the heavy scratches they induced all over the entire car. It looked like they used steel wool to wash it. Needless to say, he was not very happy and had me fix it.

To make sure it doesn't happen again, he made up a sign "DO NOT WASH !!" in both english and spanish and puts it on the window when it goes to the dealer. I have seen this happen way too many times.

Great job making a new car look like it should look!

Cool car! I'm loving the carbon fiber trim pieces.

 

The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. As I long as enthusiasts keep reading, we'll keep writing and educating. I've seen a huge shift in consumer awareness and it's happened largely in the past few years. The future looks bright and shinny; no pun intended

 

Welcome to our (the detailing business owner) world. These are the guys that "can do it cheaper and quicker". The dealers are the biggest source of work for us. I just spent 12 hours buffing out a brand new black Z06 that the dealer prepped for the customer. When the customer called the dealer to complain they said they would re-do it. But when the customer asked who was going to fix the car, he was told the same guy that prepped it in the first place. That was the end of the conversation.

Great job fixing the car.

Matt