Detailed Driven - 2004 Mini Cooper Full Detail

A Mini transformation - just completed.

A good friend of mine has been having a rough time of late and a recent shoulder injury meant she couldn’t keep clean her pride and joy, a 2004 Mini Cooper.

I’ve wanted to feature a full detail on my channel for a while, as most jobs these days tend to be maintenance cleans or full valets. Plus I wanted to feature the right car - and help out a mate.

Although most of this is sped up, this video includes pretty much the whole 2-day process (with the exception of the interior clean), from exterior wash and decontamination including clay bar, through to paint correction, machine polish and a final wax coating. The faded trim was also restored.

The process:
Rinse
Wheels, arches and tyres - Bilt Hamber Surfex HD (diluted) all-purpose cleaner and Autowheel with a range of brushes from EZ Detail, Autoglym and Chemical Guys
Citrus pre-wash - Klassic Kleen Citrus (diluted) in a hand sprayer
Pre-wash - Bilt Hamber Autofoam with hog’s hair brush to clean inside intricate areas
Contact wash - Chemical Guys wash mitt and Bilt Hamber Autowash
Chemical decon - Autobead’s Glue & Tar and Iron Fall-Out
Physical decon - Bilt Hamber clay bar
Paint correction - DAS6 Pro, Lakes Country orange pad, Menzerna heavy cut compound
Machine polish / refinement - DAS6 Pro, Lakes Country black pad, Menzerna 3-in-1 polish
Protection - Autobead Wax
Trim - Gtechniq Trim Restorer
Glass - Gyeon glass cleaner
Tyres - CarPro tyre dressing

I managed to move most of the fine scratches but the paintwork is nearly 20 years old so I wasn't aiming for perfection. It didn't look to bad on collection, but the closer you get you can see all the swirls. The faded trim responded well to Gtechniq C4 - it's expensive stuff but well worth it.

The trim restorer just needs to cure overnight, so first tomorrow it will be collect by (hopefully) a happy owner.