# Original 1995 Mini Cooper: Gleammachine-Essex based professional.



## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

I was recently graced with this rather special commission, a 1995 Mini Cooper with original paint and a mere 488 miles on the clock from new. 
Having been parked up in a garage for many years, with various covers over it, the car was an outstanding find for my client, all rubbers and trim in tact with just the rear silencer box needing replacement, no doubt rotting from moisture within.
Where the car had been covered, it had left its mark on the paintwork, and evidence of someone attempting some hand polishing with good old T-Cut or alike. 
The paint depth readings were all healthy and averaging 140 um, being mindful of the originality of the car, a sympathetic approach was taken to the machine polishing side and clearcoat removal was kept to a minimum whilst removing a good 90% of the defects, and restoring the paintworks gloss and clarity.

Typical defects below with some before and after comparisons.

A brief comparison video.











The machine polishing was completed over the course of several days, followed by:

***Paintwork primed using Carpro Essence.
***layer of Britemax Vantage & then a further layer of Zymol Atlantique.
***Rubbers and plastics treated with Gyeon Tire.
***Britework polished with Mothers metal polishes.
***Alloys sealed using Collinite Insulator wax.
***Finally a wipedown with Koch Chemie Quick Detailer.

*Finished Results.*

















Thanks for looking, comments welcomed and appreciated.:thumb:


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

Don't make 'em like that anymore

Greta find & fab work to restore it to as new condition :thumb:


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Cracking car - lovely work Rob


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## fozzy (Oct 22, 2009)

Beautiful example, cracking job there buddy


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## dave-g (Nov 14, 2009)

amazing find for someone there! lovely colour and example of these.

fantastic work mate, great finish.


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## chongo (Jun 7, 2014)

Nice little car that Rob. Never seen a blue one like that before, is it a special addition? 

you done a great detail on that one mate:thumb:


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Stunning :thumb:


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

That's a great job.


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## Boostaholic (Dec 12, 2014)

Lovely job on a rare car strange the roof isn't white though?

Im after a classic mini but the prices and my fear of rust is putting me off :lol:

As said top work bet the owner was happy :thumb:


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

That's lovely


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Bristle Hound said:


> Don't make 'em like that anymore
> 
> Greta find & fab work to restore it to as new condition :thumb:





James_R said:


> Cracking car - lovely work Rob





fozzy said:


> Beautiful example, cracking job there buddy





dave-g said:


> amazing find for someone there! lovely colour and example of these.
> 
> fantastic work mate, great finish.





tonyy said:


> Stunning :thumb:





Bill58 said:


> That's a great job.


Thanks chaps :thumb:



Boostaholic said:


> Lovely job on a rare car strange the roof isn't white though?
> 
> Im after a classic mini but the prices and my fear of rust is putting me off :lol:
> 
> As said top work bet the owner was happy :thumb:


The owner did say he considered painting the roof white, but then decided against it. Turns out the original owner opted for the body coloured roof, opposed to the white.



chongo said:


> Nice little car that Rob. Never seen a blue one like that before, is it a special addition?
> 
> you done a great detail on that one mate:thumb:


Thanks mate, as far as I know its not a SE, the colour is Tahiti Blue.



WHIZZER said:


> That's lovely


Thanks Bill.


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## unique detail (Jan 26, 2012)

Rare to find one with that mileage Rob looks better than new now..top work.


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Do love these things, great job and super cute car


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## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

Beautiful example, probably better now than when it left Longbridge!

I've always wanted a Tahiti Blue one :argie: 



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

Just stumbled on a programme about the Mini on ITV4 

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk


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## TonyH38 (Apr 7, 2013)

What a superb example, and a fantastic job done.


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

Lovely in every respect:thumb:

Chris


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## Mumbles (Nov 7, 2011)

Stunning finish, love that colour!

Great work.

Chris


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## Prkns (Oct 9, 2016)

Beautiful. Awesome work!

Just makes me want to get a real Mini even more!


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## JayMac (Sep 4, 2016)

Class looking, what a find!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

Koch chemie's detailers ph is 2.5. Doesn't it damage LSP?
Great work:thumb:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

unique detail said:


> Rare to find one with that mileage Rob looks better than new now..top work.





stangalang said:


> Do love these things, great job and super cute car





Natalie said:


> Beautiful example, probably better now than when it left Longbridge!
> 
> I've always wanted a Tahiti Blue one :argie:
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk





TonyH38 said:


> What a superb example, and a fantastic job done.





Summit Detailing said:


> Lovely in every respect:thumb:
> 
> Chris





Mumbles said:


> Stunning finish, love that colour!
> 
> Great work.
> 
> Chris





Prkns said:


> Beautiful. Awesome work!
> 
> Just makes me want to get a real Mini even more!





JayMac said:


> Class looking, what a find!
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the comments all.



sm81 said:


> Koch chemie's detailers ph is 2.5. Doesn't it damage LSP?
> Great work:thumb:


Thanks, but not sure I follow you? Koch Chemie Quick Shine is a maintenance detailing spray that preserves the finish and doesn't affect the wax or coatings.


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## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

Gleammachine said:


> Thanks for the comments all.
> 
> Thanks, but not sure I follow you? Koch Chemie Quick Shine is a maintenance detailing spray that preserves the finish and doesn't affect the wax or coatings.


OK. I thought that you were using Koch Chemie FSE detailer.


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## Cy-Zuki (Feb 9, 2015)

Fantastic job and what a lovely colour!


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## youngwangie (Oct 9, 2016)

WOW Great job


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## gav21041981 (Sep 23, 2014)

Nice job. Rare find that one


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## TheMattFinish (Jul 17, 2011)

awesome work Rob! 
Do love the old school minis


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## Mrbeast (Dec 19, 2015)

Awesome!I loved!


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## B0DSKI (Nov 25, 2011)

Top job that Rob


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## macca666 (Mar 30, 2010)

Great job there Rob it looks stunning as others have said probably better than when it left the factory. 

The Tahiti blue looks stunning and I prefer the body coloured roof rather than white it makes it that bit different. 

Was there not anything needing done with the interior it would have been nice to see some interior shots I love the retro look of cars of that era :thumb:


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Lovely bit of kit Rob.
Looks really nice.
Got a 50's/60's original with 32k on the clock to dabble with in the new year and quite looking forward to it.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Beau Technique said:


> Lovely bit of kit Rob.
> Looks really nice.
> Got a 50's/60's original with 32k on the clock to dabble with in the new year and quite looking forward to it.


Thanks Scott, really enjoy working on these, make for a nice challenge and plenty of interesting curves and areas to tackle. Look forward to seeing the Morris next year :thumb:



Cy-Zuki said:


> Fantastic job and what a lovely colour!


Thanks mate.



youngwangie said:


> WOW Great job





gav21041981 said:


> Nice job. Rare find that one





mattthomas said:


> awesome work Rob!
> Do love the old school minis





Mrbeast said:


> Awesome!I loved!





B0DSKI said:


> Top job that Rob


Thanks Guys.:thumb:



macca666 said:


> Great job there Rob it looks stunning as others have said probably better than when it left the factory.
> 
> The Tahiti blue looks stunning and I prefer the body coloured roof rather than white it makes it that bit different.
> 
> Was there not anything needing done with the interior it would have been nice to see some interior shots I love the retro look of cars of that era :thumb:


Thanks Macca, the interior was unbelievably "as new" so little work was required in that area.


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## No_Fear (Oct 15, 2009)

nice little monster.great work


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## Mr Gurn (Dec 9, 2009)

488 miles..... thats crazy!

Brilliant job.... i bet thats worth a fair bit too!


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## Bigp (Mar 18, 2007)

Looks awesome! What a lovely original example.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

No_Fear said:


> nice little monster.great work


Thanks mate.



Mr Gurn said:


> 488 miles..... thats crazy!
> 
> Brilliant job.... i bet thats worth a fair bit too!


Thanks mate, I've no doubt this will only go up in price with the mileage and originality.



Bigp said:


> Looks awesome! What a lovely original example.


A true time warp moment detailing it.


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## getthewheelsinl (Apr 6, 2010)

Looks great - great job!!


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## Big Bru (Apr 27, 2008)

Love seeing these mini's amazing work as always!


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## phooeyman (Jul 13, 2016)

very nice, Shame the roof isn't still original factory white!!


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

phooeyman said:


> very nice, Shame the roof isn't still original factory white!!


The roof is original paint, just not done in the typical white like most, maybe makes it a rarity?


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## guth99 (Jan 1, 2017)

wow thats amazing results


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## robbo777 (Jul 31, 2013)

Very nice indeed, did you take any pictures of the underside ?


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## muchoado (Dec 5, 2016)

love it


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## ibiza55 (Feb 22, 2008)

A propper BL, AUSTIN ROVER MINI, not some BMW thing. Beautiful work, must of been very pleasing to work on.


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