# Refined Detail | R53 Mini Cooper S JCW



## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

:wave:

Hi everybody,

This Mini Cooper S JCW was to be prepared for sale. It was already a very tidy example, but it was decided an enhancement detail with C-Quartz ceramic coating would get the car looking it's very best ready for the next owner.

This was spread over several days back in August, and worked upon in free time at my unit.














































Nothing too horrendous, just a couple of weeks worth of daily driving use, and a pet wing mirror spider!

First up, prep the 3 buckets ready for action. Then clean tyres, arches and black trim with Bilt Hamber Surfex and wheels with Autosmart Smart Wheels:



















Further deep cleaning of the wheels using a sample of Auto Finesse Iron Out:










Then a liberal coating of Stjarnagloss Kokosnot Snowfoam to loosen up any grime on the car and pull of any loose dirt whilst I went about the grilles etc with a detailing brush & Auto Finesse Citrus Power:



















Washed via the 2 bucket method using a lambswool mitt and AutoSmart Concentrated Car Shampoo, rinsed, loosely dried and set about removing the fair amount of tar present with Autosmart Tardis:



















rinse, then clay with Bilt Hamber Soft clay. Re rinse, dry and pull into the unit.

The car wasn't horrendously swirled, but was suffering from a bit of wash marring and hazing, so I decided to crack out CarPro Fixer on a 3M yellow pad via the rotary to sharpen the paint finish up:




























Starting to bring out a great gloss to the solid finish:










Also attended to a light hazy scuff on the rear bumper:



















Gave the paintwork a thorough Eraser wipedown (technically not necessary with Fixer when using C-Quartz over the top, but still like to be careful) then deep clean the plastic trims with IPA:










The bulk of the trim was restored with ValetPro Dionysus Trim Glitz yielding good results:



















The excess shine was later buffed off with a microfibre once the bulk of the gel had soaked into the pores of the plastic.

The mirror base plates like most things BMW of this era were suffering from UV bleaching, so these were restored with G-Techniq C4:



















A subtle, but worthwhile improvement!

Tailpipes were polished up with Autosol and fine wire wool:



















Then the paintwork coated with 'original' CarPro C-Quartz ceramic coating:










Whilst this was curing, I set about the already very tidy interior. A thorough vacuum and dust down of all surfaces, then a light wipedown of the leather with Meguiars APC, and sealed with G-Techniq L1.










Buffed off the C-Quartz, polished glass with Autosmart Glass Glow and dressed tyres with Auto Finesse Satin tyre gel. The engine bay again was already very tidy so was wiped down with Autosmart Tango and Auto Finesse Finale.










and some gratuitous finished shots on another overcast day!














































Don't forget that as ever you can keep up to date with my day to day movements on Facebook and Twitter as many of the cars I work on never make it to DW!

Thanks for reading,
Rich @ Refined Detail


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Looking good Rich :thumb:


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great job mate :thumb:


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

Very nice :thumb:

Still love these superchargers :argie:


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Very nice Rich:thumb:


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## andrewst500 (Nov 2, 2008)

nice work


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## jlw41 (Jun 5, 2011)

Looks great Rich :thumb:


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great work..the next owner will be happy to have that kind of protection on the car..


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## Keith_Lane (Dec 9, 2011)

Cool little cars these, good turnaround!


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## skorpios (Sep 11, 2011)

Very nice and thorough job Rich!
Well done! :thumb:


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks guys for all your comments, appreciated as ever!


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## deni2 (May 4, 2011)

Very nice finish, :thumb:.


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## b3n76 (May 16, 2009)

stunning finish.Very glossy.


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## Black.MB (Aug 22, 2012)

Nice work, very good improvement:thumb:


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Should sell easily now. Looks nice.


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

Nice work


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

Great job!


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks guys!


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## 3R10 (Apr 14, 2010)

Looks better than brand new! Great job!


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Cracking work brought that lovely red colour up a treat. Paint work is looking super sharp and glossy.

See with the wing mirror base's was the choice of C4 deliberate. I have noticed the base plastic is different from the other trim and my normal trim coat - Auto finesse Revive did not work as good on them, as it did not seem to soak in as well. Is the C4 different/ better for this type of plastic do you know.

Many thanks in advance.


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Soul Hudson said:


> Cracking work brought that lovely red colour up a treat. Paint work is looking super sharp and glossy.
> 
> See with the wing mirror base's was the choice of C4 deliberate. I have noticed the base plastic is different from the other trim and my normal trim coat - Auto finesse Revive did not work as good on them, as it did not seem to soak in as well. Is the C4 different/ better for this type of plastic do you know.
> 
> Many thanks in advance.


Thank you! 

Yes the C4 choice was deliberate - as you mentioned the likes of Revive and many of the other 'gel' trim dressings don't tend to adhere to the base plate plastic at all well - either smearing and looking patchy, or only lasting for a couple of days or until the first dew / rain where it washes off and runs down the door!

I've been using C4 on BMW base plates and mirror surrounds for a while after running it on long term trial on a couple of maintenance cars that were suffering from UV damage and it's still holding up strong several months down the line with the initial single application :thumb:


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Something else I 'need' to buy then ha. Cheers.


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