Side Marker/Under Hood
#1
10-24-2016, 11:10 AM
Side Marker/Under Hood
Hello All,
1.) I'm planning to wax our 2016 Countryman for the first time this afternoon. I usually use Collinite 476 on the paint and 303 on the plastic trim. However, the side markers on this Countryman are different than our other MINI. At first glance they appear to be a satin anthracite-like finish, but upon closer inspection I realized they are plastic. Do you guys wax this part of the MINI or use a plastic protectant like 303?
2.) When we got home last night I popped the hood to clean a bug off using a detailing spray. (Since it's not waxed yet, I didn't want to leave bugs on it.) When I did I saw a clear sticker over a vin number on top of the strut. I made the mistake of thinking this was just one of those vinyl protectant-type stickers, and I pulled it off. I realized I messed up as soon as I did it. It was protecting bare metal from the elements. I'm going to put a little clear bra material over it. That's no big deal. However, there was sticky residue all over it, so I attempted to use a paint cleaner to remove it. The paint was left looking dull, so I used a little Meguiar's Finishing Polish. That improved the situation greatly, but it's still dull in a place or two. I'm afraid of going through the paint/clear coat, so I stopped. I'm tempted to try a little more polish when I get home. Does anyone know why the paint dulled? Or has anyone run across this? It's not a terribly big deal. If I didn't point it out, I don't think anyone would notice.
1.) I'm planning to wax our 2016 Countryman for the first time this afternoon. I usually use Collinite 476 on the paint and 303 on the plastic trim. However, the side markers on this Countryman are different than our other MINI. At first glance they appear to be a satin anthracite-like finish, but upon closer inspection I realized they are plastic. Do you guys wax this part of the MINI or use a plastic protectant like 303?
2.) When we got home last night I popped the hood to clean a bug off using a detailing spray. (Since it's not waxed yet, I didn't want to leave bugs on it.) When I did I saw a clear sticker over a vin number on top of the strut. I made the mistake of thinking this was just one of those vinyl protectant-type stickers, and I pulled it off. I realized I messed up as soon as I did it. It was protecting bare metal from the elements. I'm going to put a little clear bra material over it. That's no big deal. However, there was sticky residue all over it, so I attempted to use a paint cleaner to remove it. The paint was left looking dull, so I used a little Meguiar's Finishing Polish. That improved the situation greatly, but it's still dull in a place or two. I'm afraid of going through the paint/clear coat, so I stopped. I'm tempted to try a little more polish when I get home. Does anyone know why the paint dulled? Or has anyone run across this? It's not a terribly big deal. If I didn't point it out, I don't think anyone would notice.
#2
10-25-2016, 09:01 AM
Hello All,
1.) I'm planning to wax our 2016 Countryman for the first time this afternoon. I usually use Collinite 476 on the paint and 303 on the plastic trim. However, the side markers on this Countryman are different than our other MINI. At first glance they appear to be a satin anthracite-like finish, but upon closer inspection I realized they are plastic. Do you guys wax this part of the MINI or use a plastic protectant like 303?
2.) When we got home last night I popped the hood to clean a bug off using a detailing spray. (Since it's not waxed yet, I didn't want to leave bugs on it.) When I did I saw a clear sticker over a vin number on top of the strut. I made the mistake of thinking this was just one of those vinyl protectant-type stickers, and I pulled it off. I realized I messed up as soon as I did it. It was protecting bare metal from the elements. I'm going to put a little clear bra material over it. That's no big deal. However, there was sticky residue all over it, so I attempted to use a paint cleaner to remove it. The paint was left looking dull, so I used a little Meguiar's Finishing Polish. That improved the situation greatly, but it's still dull in a place or two. I'm afraid of going through the paint/clear coat, so I stopped. I'm tempted to try a little more polish when I get home. Does anyone know why the paint dulled? Or has anyone run across this? It's not a terribly big deal. If I didn't point it out, I don't think anyone would notice.
1.) I'm planning to wax our 2016 Countryman for the first time this afternoon. I usually use Collinite 476 on the paint and 303 on the plastic trim. However, the side markers on this Countryman are different than our other MINI. At first glance they appear to be a satin anthracite-like finish, but upon closer inspection I realized they are plastic. Do you guys wax this part of the MINI or use a plastic protectant like 303?
2.) When we got home last night I popped the hood to clean a bug off using a detailing spray. (Since it's not waxed yet, I didn't want to leave bugs on it.) When I did I saw a clear sticker over a vin number on top of the strut. I made the mistake of thinking this was just one of those vinyl protectant-type stickers, and I pulled it off. I realized I messed up as soon as I did it. It was protecting bare metal from the elements. I'm going to put a little clear bra material over it. That's no big deal. However, there was sticky residue all over it, so I attempted to use a paint cleaner to remove it. The paint was left looking dull, so I used a little Meguiar's Finishing Polish. That improved the situation greatly, but it's still dull in a place or two. I'm afraid of going through the paint/clear coat, so I stopped. I'm tempted to try a little more polish when I get home. Does anyone know why the paint dulled? Or has anyone run across this? It's not a terribly big deal. If I didn't point it out, I don't think anyone would notice.
Underhood, the paint doesn't have a clear coat layer. You're polishing away whatever color coat is covering the metal. I'd look at getting the underhood are cleaned up with some pretty diluted APC, like P21S Total Auto Wash or Meguiars, and then leave it be.
#3
10-25-2016, 10:39 AM
If it's plastic, use the 303, otherwise you'll stain it with wax and get the wonderful white residue.
Underhood, the paint doesn't have a clear coat layer. You're polishing away whatever color coat is covering the metal. I'd look at getting the underhood are cleaned up with some pretty diluted APC, like P21S Total Auto Wash or Meguiars, and then leave it be.
Underhood, the paint doesn't have a clear coat layer. You're polishing away whatever color coat is covering the metal. I'd look at getting the underhood are cleaned up with some pretty diluted APC, like P21S Total Auto Wash or Meguiars, and then leave it be.
I didn't see the point in messing with the paint under the hood. It's not really noticeable. This plastic for the side marker is a different kind of plastic. I've used Collinite on shiny plastic for the past few years, and it hasn't left any of that white residue we're all so familiar with, so I may test the side marker on the inside where no one can see it just to see what happens. Collinite seems to work alright on untextured plastics, and I was just wondering what others were doing with the side markers.
#4
10-27-2016, 07:59 AM
#5
11-10-2016, 04:44 PM
clear sticker over the VIN under the hood
[QUOTE=MiniSuperCooper;4252722]Hello All,
2.) When we got home last night I popped the hood to clean a bug off using a detailing spray. (Since it's not waxed yet, I didn't want to leave bugs on it.) When I did I saw a clear sticker over a vin number on top of the strut. I made the mistake of thinking this was just one of those vinyl protectant-type stickers, and I pulled it off. I realized I messed up as soon as I did it.
It was protecting bare metal from the elements. I'm going to put a little clear bra material over it.
* Why not just clean it and put clear coat spray over that area instead, now that you have removed the plastic over the VIN number.
2.) When we got home last night I popped the hood to clean a bug off using a detailing spray. (Since it's not waxed yet, I didn't want to leave bugs on it.) When I did I saw a clear sticker over a vin number on top of the strut. I made the mistake of thinking this was just one of those vinyl protectant-type stickers, and I pulled it off. I realized I messed up as soon as I did it.
It was protecting bare metal from the elements. I'm going to put a little clear bra material over it. * Why not just clean it and put clear coat spray over that area instead, now that you have removed the plastic over the VIN number.