My 2005 R52 is Pure Silver in color. Two of the PDC sensors were bad when we bought the car, so I bought a couple unpainted ones from eBay, with the idea that I would use the Mini Cooper Pure Silver touch up paint to match them.

After spending the ridiculous $28 bucks on that crap, my conclusion is that that paint should be thrown away. Learn from my mistake here and don't ever buy it. Here is why:

1. The metallic bits in it are way bigger than that of the production Pure Silver paint. So it doesn't match in any way.

2. Even after thinning it and using a detail brush to try and cut down on the lack of "brushability" of this paint, you cannot go over it again. I mean, dab or drag the brush across whatever it is you're trying to touch up and you're done because if you try and go over it again it's already sticky and you just make things worse. Incidentally, I had sprayed on a nice clean layer of etching primer first, and it did no good.

3. Unlike good paints, this paint never smooths out and gets rid of those brush strokes as it dries. So it looks like a 4th grader tried painting something.

So at this point I removed all the paint from the sensor with some lacquer thinner. I then went to Home Depot in search of anything that might be a closer match. After trying all the silvers I could find there, none of them was even close.

I went home and raided my box of paint that I use on model cars. It turns out that a can of Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminum is an almost spot on match for the Mini Cooper Pure Silver. It's $7 at any decent hardware store.

I resprayed on the primer, sprayed on a couple coats of the TS-17 Gloss Aluminum, and finally a couple coats of Testor's Ultra Gloss Clearcoat Lacquer. I couldn't be happier with the results. Pics follow in the subsequent posts...

Even if doing stone chips, I'd still buy this paint and save the $21 over the touch up paint crap. Spray some in a plastic cup and use a detailing brush.

 

The first pic is the hack job on the left with the original, non-working sensor on the right.

The second pic is with the Tamiya spray paint, and so is the third pic in a bit better light...

 

And attached on the car.

The first image is the one I painted (right rear), and the second one is of one of the production ones (left rear). A nice match I'd say.

 

Watch when you paint these by hand. They are painted by the factory and ordered as such so that the layer of paint is even and not too thick otherwise the PDC senor will be distorted or will sense something is there and give a false signal .

Are you getting a false read or beeps when nothing is around ?

We also carry standard black ones that will not need painted, but then you will have the black dots. Vemo branded.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R52-S-Convertible-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Exterior/Body/Rear_Bumper/

 

Sigh, I'm not getting any readings, unfortunately. I took a chance and bought a sensor from eBay. Should have known better from feedback.

What's weird is that the system recognizes it, as I no longer get the failure beep upon initial switch to reverse, but I get no subsequent readings of any kind, regardless of how close I get to something. At least the annoying initial beep is gone.

My guess is that the cheapo sensor I bought uses a different frequency than the expensive ones, so maybe it's confusing the PDC brain?

 

Nope, it does not pick up the items around it because the sonar senor is now distorted. Cant paint them, has to be factory replacement or the non painted versions linked above.