# Cambridge Autogleam vs Mini Cooper S WC50. #248 - HD Video



## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

Good afternoon...

Firstly dont forget to add us on facebook  


Second of all a bit of blurb on the WC50



> MINI's 50th birthday celebrations continue with another special edition model. This time it's the MINI WC50 which marks the 50th Anniversary of the Cooper Car Company winning the Formula One constructors championship. The two guys behind the wheels were legends Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss who took first and third spot in the overall championship.
> 
> The WC50 will be very limited in numbers; only 250 units are to be produced from the Oxford plant, with 100 reserved for UK customers (This has now been raised to 500 cars to include the US market. Officially MINI does not plan to export the car anywhere else outside of Europe so markets like the US and Australia are probably not going to get it.
> 
> ...


The fun part is that these are 'hand painted and finished' in Connaught Green.

For most people the sound of a hand painted car is a good 'higher class' thing... but as most detailers will know it just means more polishing for us 

The Connaught Green is non metallic and actually pretty soft and on this car.. very thin! 80-90um so I didn't chase every single deep mark which was frustrating.

On arrival at 8am

































Usual wash process:
Acid free wheels
Megs Hyper wash foam
Megs Shampoo wash










Clayed with Souns mild blue. Quite a lot of contamination for such a new car










Polishing was done with Menz IP3.02 in some areas, Menz 203S in others and then refined with Menz 106FA on a DA polisher.


















Before









After









Before









After

















The vinyl stripe was polished as well which brought out lots of dirt as you can see (sort of) in this 50/50 shot.

Top half polished and cleaner / bottom half un touched and actually quite dirty.









Polishing took ages for such a small car. I was applying Blackfire paint sealant to each panel as I went round and buffing off after 5-10 minutes. When the whole car was complete it was then given a coat of Vintage wax.










This was left to cure for a while while the wheels were sealed and tyres were dressed, plastics dressed and glass cleaned.

And the finished shots...















































































































Thanks for looking.


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## asik-banget (Jul 2, 2010)

wow, little sweet car, with flooded wet paint.
good job boss ^^


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## horned yo (Feb 10, 2009)

really loved the video. The car is stunning and so is the detail. Is the zymol wax worth every penny in your opinion


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

horned yo said:


> really loved the video. The car is stunning and so is the detail. Is the zymol wax worth every penny in your opinion


Yes if your using it for business..

No if your thinking of just getting a nice wax for your car.

I only charge £35 - £55 per coat so for the customer to upgrade I'd say it is worth every penny.


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

First class job guys, finished article is stunning:thumb: Great write up & video


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

As above :thumb:


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

slrestoration said:


> First class job guys, finished article is stunning:thumb: Great write up & video


Thanks... the videos take a bit of fiddling to edit together but its a nice little extra 

Planning multiple cameras and angles for the 599GTO detail though lol


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Certainly worth the extra fiddling mate:thumb:
A lucky man getting to work on that AWESOME , are the 599GTO's done in ceramic clearcote? Spent last week on a 612 Sessanta finished in ceramic. . . A real task, but very rewarding!!!


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## CJR (Nov 4, 2010)

Fantanstic job and a great video!


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

slrestoration said:


> Certainly worth the extra fiddling mate:thumb:
> A lucky man getting to work on that AWESOME , are the 599GTO's done in ceramic clearcote? Spent last week on a 612 Sessanta finished in ceramic. . . A real task, but very rewarding!!!


I'll look into it... The job is in a couple of weeks time.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

slrestoration said:


> Certainly worth the extra fiddling mate:thumb:
> A lucky man getting to work on that AWESOME , are the 599GTO's done in ceramic clearcote?


Yes they are :thumb:

Great work Nathan, always amazes me how long it can take to do a mini considering the size of them, so many little details to them


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

Clark @ PB said:


> Yes they are :thumb:
> 
> Great work Nathan, always amazes me how long it can take to do a mini considering the size of them, so many little details to them


Exactly... Annoying flipping little things lol.

Hmm sounds like I should do a bit of research on the Ceramic Clearcoat finish then. Not too sure what it needs yet. Just booked for a 'whatever needs doing' type detail.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

jedi-knight83 said:


> Exactly... Annoying flipping little things lol.
> 
> Hmm sounds like I should do a bit of research on the Ceramic Clearcoat finish then. Not too sure what it needs yet. Just booked for a 'whatever needs doing' type detail.


Wouldn't worry about it too much mate - it's not as if it's going to be like Diamond and impossible to polish. Look at even the hardest paints out there (Audi/Lambo etc), you can still correct major defects on them with the right pad, polish and technique.

These ceramic clearcoats are just a massive pain in the backside - no harder to scratch than any other finish but just a bit harder to polish than "normal" paints :lol:


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Clark @ PB said:


> Look at even the hardest paints out there (Audi/Lambo etc), you can still correct major defects on them with the right pad, polish and technique.
> 
> These ceramic clearcoats are just a massive pain in the backside - no harder to scratch than any other finish but just a bit harder to polish than "normal" paints :lol:


Exactly, just that extra little bit of a workout for your skills!!!


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

Clark @ PB said:


> Wouldn't worry about it too much mate - it's not as if it's going to be like Diamond and impossible to polish. Look at even the hardest paints out there (Audi/Lambo etc), you can still correct major defects on them with the right pad, polish and technique.
> 
> These ceramic clearcoats are just a massive pain in the backside - no harder to scratch than any other finish but just a bit harder to polish than "normal" paints :lol:


Yeah what is that all about... I did a Lambo SL... rock hard paint to polish.. Literally 3 or 4 hits of FCP to correct what appeared to be mild swirls.. I thought.. yep that will last a while. (all finished down and IPA wipe as yes I know FCP has TONS of fillers in it)

Next visit... the dealer in 1 wash had managed to put loads of scratches back into it. :buffer:


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## Sportspack Mark (May 24, 2007)

cracking job!


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

very very nice


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

jedi-knight83 said:


> Yeah what is that all about... I did a Lambo SL... rock hard paint to polish.. Literally 3 or 4 hits of FCP to correct what appeared to be mild swirls.. I thought.. yep that will last a while. (all finished down and IPA wipe as yes I know FCP has TONS of fillers in it)
> 
> Next visit... the dealer in 1 wash had managed to put loads of scratches back into it. :buffer:


It's frustrating! Can think back to a solid black gallardo and a TTS,both rock hard to polish but marred even with brand new MF's!


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

Clark @ PB said:


> It's frustrating! Can think back to a solid black gallardo and a TTS,both rock hard to polish but marred even with brand new MF's!


lol... been there... done that  Flat black Aston Martins though lol


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## ianking (Jun 6, 2007)

Great job there.

I done a WC50 last year for a friend after it was delivered from the dealer with shocking swirls. I would agree with you 100% that the paint is really soft. Very suprising as the factory paint on minis normally is very hard.


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

ianking said:


> Great job there.
> 
> I done a WC50 last year for a friend after it was delivered from the dealer with shocking swirls. I would agree with you 100% that the paint is really soft. Very suprising as the factory paint on minis normally is very hard.


Um... this wasn't the softest I've worked on by a long way.

I know they are massively over priced for such a small car and a friend had no end of problems with his mini and ended up giving it back to the dealers .... but I've got to say I quite fancy one actually. Something about them still that I find quite fun.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

not able to view the video at work, but those pictures look great... nice work lads


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## jedi-knight83 (Aug 11, 2006)

Doh....!! Just had a call to say its been to the dealers 

Marks all over the doors on both sides where they have worked on the handles!! 

Back to Tunbridge Wells I go!


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## steview (Sep 23, 2010)

Great work guys love your videos


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