Finally got round to my own vehicle!
At the end of last year, I oddly decided I didn’t need my Transit Custom van and instead wanted to get a vehicle that I’ve wanted for years. A Mini Clubvan.
Its something about the character of the Mini Cooper Clubvan that just makes me smile, I suppose its because I’ve always liked the original 60’s/70’s Mini Clubman but I needed something that would be a little more reliable and comfortable on todays roads.
Unfortunately, trying to find a Clubvan within my budget was impossible, so in the end I opted for a Mini Cooper ClubMAN - Its basically just the same but with seats in the back.
The first week of ownership was a little tricky, finding ways to be more efficient with what I carry, in the van, I used to carry everything possible but now I had no choice but to scale down, massively.
Almost 6 months in and I think I’ve finally nailed it, a perfect balance of efficiency and organisation that allows me to carry out everything I need to do with careful planning an preparation and saves me carrying around basically a garage-worth’s of products and useless stuff I’ll never use.
The Clubman (Barkley) isnt in the best of condition, being 13 years old, its certainly got a few scars but it always comes up nice after a good clean.
I use the Mini Clubman to test products, for example, the bonnet has been decontaminated, polished and coated with a graphene-infused wax to test its durability - the rest of the vehicle however, is coated in a mish mash of different coatings - some are dying but most have given up completely.
Bit of a breakdown:
The Mini’s wheels were slowly turning black from brake dust, the inner barrels of the wheels have clearly never been cleaned and dispite my limited efforts so far, are still covered in baked-in brake dust
The bumpers and trim are protected by a silicone-based coating which has been on for 4+ weeks and still going strong
The paintwork on most of the vehicle is in a fair condition for its age, but there are the odd scratches and dents - particularly on the roof.
The interior is actually fairly clean so I wont be touching that today
The exhaust is cleaned regularly but I’ll be going over it again with a foam polishing drill.
Fortunately the weather was just cloudy, and no rain was forecast - but this is england so we will see!
Would you believe the wheels are supposed to be silver? They look grey currently.
The wheels are coated with iron fallout remover and whilst that dwells, the tyres and arches are scrubbed.
I should really consider taking the wheels off and fully cleaning them inside and out but at the same time I really want to try the Mini to some new wheels in future so I’m not sure if its worth the hassle.
Once the wheels are cleaned, I coat the lower half of the vehicle in a citrus degreaser to help remove the traffic grime and other contamination
The front bumper is coated with a bug remover which doubles up as a bird poo remover which I used on any areas where the bird have bombed the car. Which around this time of year seems to be a busy time for pooping birds.
The citrus degreaser and bug spray is fully rinsed off the vehicle before we make use of Bilt Hambers AutoFoam Snow-Foam to further break down the grime.
Not a thick snow, but very effective.
I love a thick foam that looks like whipped cream but a wetter foam actually does a better job of loosening dirt and grime.
After the snow foam has been fully rinsed, the contact wash gets done. Thoroughly washing the car with Car Shampoo to remove any remaining dirt. Its also a good time to ensure the door and boot sills are clean and additionally dried if required. I used Koch Chemie Auto Shampoo, its gentle and slick but does a good job and doesnt dry out too quickly. Handy on warmer days.
I very regularly wipe the door and boot sills on the Mini, so they didn’t really need much attention, but nonetheless I hit them with a detailing brush and a Multi-Purpose cleaner to pick up anything I’ve missed before.
I don’t know what it is, but I just like a shiny door sill when I get in my car!
With all the different products being tested on the car, some of which are failing, I decided to coat the Mini in Koch Chemie Protector Wax and its one of my favourites.
It provides an approx. 3-month protective layer to the vehicle for excellent hydrophobicity and really helps to bring out the gloss on a vehicle, particularly on darker cars.
It’s also really satisfying to see your vehicle become hydrophobic in an instant.
Rinsing the Protector Wax off is almost as satisfying as applying it.
What you’re left with, is a glossy car with amazing water beading.
Drying the car becomes less of a task, a towel dry as much as I can see before hitting the intricate areas with an air-blower and microfibre cloth.
Valet Chem’s tyre shine to the rescue on the tyres.
This silicone based product makes the tyres look new again, its not the wettest of slick look products but this is excellent stuff for a layer of protection that lasts. Also very good on bumpers
Lastly I use a metal polish and a cone-shaped foam pad to get the exhaust looking shiny
The end result is a Mini Clubman that I can proudly drive again without people telling me to get a real detailer to clean my car!
