Keeping Chilli Red paint spicy!

[MissMININI]

A friend told me that he had seen many chilli red Minis around that have visibly 'duller' colour due to their owners not taking care of the paintwork. I see what he means, as my Mini is so vibrant red that in the sun its almost an orangey-red colour. Obviously with rain, etc, paintwork will dull over the years, but is there anything I can buy to keep the chilli red spicy?
I'm not sure if I'd need a wax product, or colour guard or clean it less....Any suggestions?

[MissMININI]

Armor all..is that available in halfords and the like?
I was wondering if there was anything specifically that Mini sell to protect the red paint?

[mini33]

I peronally have a chilli 2 - i am perfectionist when it comes to her looking shinny so i sware by autoglym - i wash with AG shampoo, then dry of, then polish with Super resing polish, then aqau wax.

The bueaty of Aqua was is you can dry you car whilst using the wax if you dont want to polish in between - also works great on the black trims.

I wash her most weeks & a polish & wax normally last me 2-3 weeks sometimes 4 dependant on weather & roads used. As the wax is semi permanent you only have to reapply when the water bedding effect dispurses or a improved apperance is reqd.

Yeh defo dont do in the sun & never let the suds dry

Also a lot of people sware by Meguiars but i peroanlly wasn't that impressed but that my prefernce.

Also you could use AG extra gloss protection to seal your paint work

[Ant FR]

if your looking after red heres my current procedure.


Wash with a mild shampoo like Mk5 Very Cherry,
Use a lambs wool wash mit to avoid scratching paint.
Dry with a drying towel not leather to avoid further abrasion.
Cut gently with a compounder like 3M.
prep paint with a pre wax cleanser like Dodo juice Prime Lime.
Use a good wax like Dod juice Rainforest rub ( pricey at 40 pounds but i am moving over to the better stuff at 89 pounds a pot)
then seal it with a Quick Detailer such as Dodo juice red mist.


Clean it weekly and when possible garage the car.

my paintowrk is like glass but thats due to hard work, but the car looks so fine when its done the comments make it all worth it.

[MissMININI]

Wow, that sounds like a lot of dedicated cleaning! I will definately look out for those products, it's the glass like paintwork effect that I am looking to maintain.

[F1_Shark]

You can always have a respray. Expensive, yes.
Car cover, carnuba wax and never use polish.
Watch out for low flying seagulls...some reckon they're F15s.

F1_Shark

[Ant FR]

Quote: Originally Posted by MissMININI (original)

Wow, that sounds like a lot of dedicated cleaning! I will definately look out for those products, it's the glass like paintwork effect that I am looking to maintain.

heres a pic of my paintwork this morning after some light rain, excuse the ***** photo as used iphone, but you get the idea.

[MissMININI]

I love it! Going to go out today and see if I can get some good products for it. I'll update on it later.
Thanks again for the help!
(I'm with you on the camera quality of the iphone...i always think that the photo looks better before it takes than when it actually saves on mine )

[MissMININI]

UPDATE: I was in luck, as Halfords had a 3 for 2 offer on all car cleaning products.
So I decided to get the Autoglym shampoo conditioner, AG aqua wax and AG alloy cleaner spray.
Which of the following should I add to these:

-AG Super resin polish
-AG extra gloss protection
-Dodo Juice Red Mist Quick Detailer- also, can someone tell me at what stage I use this product?

I am also going to buy the Dodo Juice Prime Lime Pre wax cleanser.

[mini33]

As stated above i would go for the SR polish only - does me good enough - i have a bottle of extra gloss but dont use anymore as happy enough with the aqau wax

I am yet to investigate the dodo products

[MissMININI]

On another note, what's best for keeping the wheel arches nice and black?

[MINIAC]

Quote: Originally Posted by MissMININI (original)

On another note, what's best for keeping the wheel arches nice and black?

Not cheap but ... Black Wow

[mini33]

I use my aqua wax as found this is best & last's longer - if not get yourself some turtle wax black in a flash - best o get from Asda rather than halfords as cheaper!!!

[Ant FR]

Quote: Originally Posted by MissMININI (original)

On another note, what's best for keeping the wheel arches nice and black?

mk5 California Dressing - amazing stuff.

Have a look here, its a guy off the SEAT site who is a hardcore detalier, a lot of the prooducts are what pros use, and not stuff you would find in Halfords if you know what i mean

Rubbish Boy's Carnauba Wax Shop

[MissMININI]

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations.

I'm just waiting for it to stop raining over here so that I can actually put all this stuff into action and post some pics of the end result

Still, can anyone tell me where to fit a quick detailer into the routine? I don't know what it's for...but people have been raving about the Dodo Juice one!