# Mini Cooper Sportspack Detail



## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

This is my first proper try at doing a car detail, so thought I'd share my attempt with you in this write up.

I've wanted a proper mini for a very long time, and earlier this year, Chris and I decided that while we had the chance, we should go out and do the things we've always wanted to do. So Chris got himself a little trackday toy, and I got the mini I've always wanted.

I knew I wanted a Sportspack, but one of the latest ones with the silver roof, stripes, and interior was always a dream. I regularly browsed the Pistonheads classic mini section, but never thought the day would actually come when I might be able to buy one. Over the years, there have been numerous ones that have taken my fancy. They look stunning and probably the best in the Tahiti Blue, but I just had this impulse that I wanted a British Racing Green one. Then one day I came across one that I knew was perfect. It was quite a bit more than what I could really spend, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it. Chris and I talked about it lots and lots, and after much deliberation on whether I could stretch to the price, and if it was actually sensible to get another car, I gave the owner a call.

The next day we drove round the M25, and there she was. She was gorgeous. We gave her a good looking over, and generally she was in pretty good shape. The front scuttle had been done, so no rust there, but there was some bubbling along the bottom of the doors, and the drivers sill definitely needs looking at too. A test drive later, and the deal had to be done. The drive was completely different to my Fiesta, but it was so much fun. So after some discussions, the papers were signed, cash was counted, and the keys handed to me. Yay!!

Here she is after her first wash at her new home.


































It didn't take long for her to be named Molly and I've been driving her around with a big smile on my face ever since we brought her home. I joined up to the local mini club, and booked my ticket for London to Brighton too!

The first big mini show of the season was 27th March at Brooklands, and I was lucky enough to secure a stand pass with the club. Molly was clean, but I wanted to give her a really good going over before the show. It was a very long day, but here goes.

This is Molly before we started


































































Started by rinsing off and going over all the nooks and crannies with APC, and gave the wheels a coating of Bilberry too:


































A quick rinse off then Snow Foaming with Hyperwash through the hose foam gun... oooo bubbles!!


































Left to dwell for a few minutes before rinsing, then washing with Dodo Juice Born to be Mild and using the two bucket method


































I decided to take a few bits off to make polishing a bit easier, and also to give hidden areas a cleanup. Roof trim off. Was pretty gross under there.


















Was all better after a going over with APC. We also took off the wing mirrors and chrome headlight surrounds and gave them a going over by hand.

Once rinsed, I started off the claying with Meguires quick Clay kit.
This was the state of the clay after doing the roof.


















The car was pretty rough all over, but the worst panels were the two doors. Once the car felt all nice and smooth, I gave her another rinse down and washed again with the two buckets. The rinse bucket was much cleaner at the end this time!!

Washed and dried, she was already looking better.


































After a cup of tea, it was time to tape up ready for polishing.


















Very difficult to get any decent swirl pictures, but a couple to show you

















Started off with some Menzerna polish on the DA, followed by a refining with PoorBoys Black Hole.

A couple of shots of the difference, although really struggled to get any decent 50:50 shots.
You can just see here that on the right, the polished side is much sharper than the left.


















Once all the polishing was finished, gave her a wipe down with Menzerna Top Inspection. Now she was ready for some wax treatment.

I purchased a tester pot of Dodo Juice Purple Haze Pro before buying the mini with the intention of using it on the Fiesta. But as I was doing Molly, I thought I'd give it a try on her. I've been using Jeffs spray Carnuba wax on the fiesta, so going back to a pot was a lot more work, but worth it.

So, here's some final after shots










































































































And a couple at the show at Brooklands


















There's still so much I need to do to get her perfect. I purchased a boot liner kit at the show, so will get that in at the weekend. The wheels are pretty awful, so will get them refurbed at some point, and the interior carpet will be getting renewed soon too. I really need to look at her rust spots as I don't want them to get any worse. Long term, I'd really like to give the engine a complete overhaul. There was a very tasty one at the show that I'd love to be able to reach the standard of. It's going to take a lot of work to get anywhere near that though, but that will be my goal.


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## SBerlyn (Nov 9, 2008)

Looks very tidy, Clare.

Is the centre exit exhaust standard on the Sportspack? I think it was but it looks different.

Hope to see it at another impromptu A127 diner at some point?

S


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Nice car, detail and write up, well done


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

SBerlyn said:


> Looks very tidy, Clare.
> 
> Is the centre exit exhaust standard on the Sportspack? I think it was but it looks different.
> 
> ...


No, it's an aftermarket exhaust. Not sure what it is as was already on the car when I got her. The standard ones are not centre exit.

We've actually recently moved to Wickford so the diner is about a minute away from us now! Would be good to get another meet there though.


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Absolutely lovely! Cracking deep shine off the green! :thumb:

They might be uncomfortable, bouncy, noisy, rusty and occasionally unreliable, but they're the best cars in the world!!!  :driver:

Good write-up too :thumb:


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## Whitey172 (Feb 4, 2011)

Cracking car and a really good write up.
Do you do many mini shows?


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## OGGYsri (May 12, 2010)

Very nice, I'll be doing my girlfriends Mini within the next week hopefully.

Did you replace the gutter trim? Or was the current one ok to go back on?

Thanks


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

Whitey172 said:


> Cracking car and a really good write up.
> Do you do many mini shows?


Thanks.

I've only done the one so far! But am booked in for London to Brighton next month and will hopefully get to some more in the future.


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

OGGYsri said:


> Very nice, I'll be doing my girlfriends Mini within the next week hopefully.
> 
> Did you replace the gutter trim? Or was the current one ok to go back on?
> 
> Thanks


Thanks.

I just gave the current one a good clean and was fine to go back on.


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

wee_green_mini said:


> Absolutely lovely! Cracking deep shine off the green! :thumb:
> 
> They might be uncomfortable, bouncy, noisy, rusty and occasionally unreliable, but they're the best cars in the world!!!  :driver:
> 
> Good write-up too :thumb:


He he! Definitely right there.


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## Whitey172 (Feb 4, 2011)

Did London to brighton last year, to be fair it was a shambles.
People started forming ques to get out from around 4:30 am, by the time we collected our pack and got away it was almost lunch time. Add that to an accident (non-mini) on route and we arrived in brighton after all the events had finished. Passed more mini's going out of Brighton as we were going in than we saw all weekend.

If you do any shows round the Midlands let us know will keep a look out for you


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## kempe (Jan 9, 2011)

Nice job there :thumb:

One thing how careful do you have to be when claying because of your nails?


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## Strothow (Oct 29, 2009)

Looks lovely!! :argie:


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## jpmcc (Mar 3, 2007)

Absolutely beautiful, I would love a sportspack to go with my R56 Mini and your green suits it perfectly


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## zippo (Mar 26, 2008)

Absolutely gorgeous makes me want to get another one. the wife laughed her head off when i told her i used to own one . Her parting words were _"Did the crowbar come with the car_". Cheeky cow I'm not that big


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## Phil1971 (Sep 3, 2007)

Very tidy looking example and love the cheeky centre exit exhaust.

You soon be tempted with buying lots of little treats for it !!

Hope you have lots of fun with it :thumb:


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## Nivaue (Mar 15, 2010)

Nice to see a girl detailing cars  One tip by the way, if you use black hole to refine and after that menzerna top inspection, which is IPA based, you wipe almost all black hole off


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

Great shine, gotta love BRG. Looks great :thumb:


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

I love minis and that looks a cracker, I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread as every time a read about a mini it just makes me want another one.


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## ChrisJD (Apr 15, 2009)

Nivaue said:


> Nice to see a girl detailing cars  One tip by the way, if you use black hole to refine and after that menzerna top inspection, which is IPA based, you wipe almost all black hole off


Blackhole was used to refine the surface before adding wax, so the removal of any fillers wasn't really a problem. More concerned with using the Top Inspection to remove any left over residues before the application of the wax.

Chris.


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

lovely little car, looks great!


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Very nice..great job done..


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## Sportspack Mark (May 24, 2007)

Beautiful little sportspack  When I graduate I want one like this to go with my MINI clubman


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

Thanks for all the comments. It's much appreciated. 

She's in need of a wash at the moment, but will hopefully be able to get another couple of coats of wax on at the weekend.


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## Bayside32 (Apr 10, 2011)

I do love a classic Mini, looks lovely and BRG is a great colour.


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## Rew (Sep 26, 2006)

Looks a great car and some good work there. You will soon get used to the bumpy ride and getting cheeky smiles and admiring glances. People just seem to love em. I would say that the exhaust is most likely a Playmini item by the looks of it.

Here's Charlie, he looks very similar to Molly ( just scroll down a bit ).

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=18644


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

Rew said:


> Looks a great car and some good work there. You will soon get used to the bumpy ride and getting cheeky smiles and admiring glances. People just seem to love em. I would say that the exhaust is most likely a Playmini item by the looks of it.
> 
> Here's Charlie, he looks very similar to Molly ( just scroll down a bit ).
> 
> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=18644


Awww, he is lovely! Do you still have him? Great job you did there.


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Love it hun, great job. The colour is clearly back to life.

You been using Prime on the chrome? Seems to work wonders imo.


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

gally said:


> Love it hun, great job. The colour is clearly back to life.
> 
> You been using Prime on the chrome? Seems to work wonders imo.


Thanks.

Just went over the bumpers and headlight rings with Autosol. You mean Jeffs Prime? I need to replace the rear bumper as it's got a few dents in it, but might give the Jeffs a go on the front one if you recommend, and see how that comes up.


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Get the prime strong you'll wonder who you ever lived without it. 

Great paint cleaner before glazing/LSP and very durable to use in the shuts areas and on lights, side glass and epic on chrome/britework.


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## JC01 (Sep 6, 2009)

fantastic , im very jealous


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## pulsar-dobby (Aug 3, 2006)

That is absolutely gorgeous mate.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Molly looks lovely... good job!

Always like wee green minis.... they look the best...

Thankfully I have a WGM that I can see every now and again... i.e. Dennis!

:lol:

:thumb:


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Aw shucks thanks Cueball... 

I'm welling up here  :lol:


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## Rew (Sep 26, 2006)

FiestaGirlie said:


> Awww, he is lovely! Do you still have him? Great job you did there.


Affraid not and regret selling him big time but the offer was too good at the time to turn down.

When I let him go, he had a fully stamped service history book, all the bits and paper work with a massive 17k on the clock. Big mistake in hindsight.

I am now overcome with guilt.


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## maverick2702 (Feb 21, 2011)

love the original mini, and a cracking detail to boot. well done clare


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## FiestaGirlie (Jul 15, 2009)

Thanks for all the great comments guys. I think my first proper full detail was a success.



Rew said:


> Affraid not and regret selling him big time but the offer was too good at the time to turn down.
> 
> When I let him go, he had a fully stamped service history book, all the bits and paper work with a massive 17k on the clock. Big mistake in hindsight.
> 
> I am now overcome with guilt.


Oh wow! He was definitely a good one. Such a shame you let him go, but we all have to move on sometimes. I'm sure he went to a good home though.


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## toomanycitroens (Jan 14, 2011)

Beautiful car, looks great. Perfect colour for her.........


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## jb93 (Apr 5, 2012)

Bit of a revival, but wow :argie:


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## Steve220 (May 11, 2010)

Great cars and i'd love one again, but chasing the rust and the rott every weekend took it out of me


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## jamesgti (Aug 9, 2007)

Looks great fella.


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