So I've had my pepper white MCS for a little over 3 years now. It was when I was living in San Francisco when I began to notice little rusty specs on my car. At first I thought it was part of the paint (it must have been the "pepper" in the pepper white), but soon it started feeling really bumpy and I realized I had a problem. One frantic trip to Mini SF, and the SA assured me that it wasn't serious...it was just "industrial fallout" and it would come right off with a claybar. Now my car was COVERED with this stuff. I parked right on a Muni line (a cable car/subway public transport kind of thing) and I was about 5 blocks from the beach. It was a constant battle with the fallout. I'd clay, and a week or two later i'd start seeing the specs again. It ended up being so much work that as long as I got the bulk of the fallout off, i was happy... a few little stray specks here and there didn't bother me too much once I'd spent 8 hours claying every nook and cranny on my car...

Anyway, I moved back to Louisiana about a year ago, and I don't see anywhere near the same level of fallout on my paint. I only have to clay once or twice a year. The problem I'm having now is that every tiny little spec on my paint is driving me crazy! I clay the car until its nice and smooth, and still I see a few specs that won't budge. Am I being too obsessive in thinking that I can get every single bit of fallout out of my paint? Are these pieces stuck in there for good, or am i just not trying hard enough? Its not anything you can even see from a foot or so away, and the paint feels glassy smooth, but I know they're there...haunting me. I suppose I could spend 30 minutes on each little spec, ,but that would probably take me a week or two to finish, and i'd probably rub a hole through the clearcoat...


i don't think i'd have this problem with a darker car. fallout just really stands out on the white paint (i guess the trade off is that i don't have to worry about swirl marks quite so much).

am I being unrealistic...should I just get over it and have fun driving my car, or is there something else I could do that I'm not thinking of? i'm still pretty new to the whole detailing thing (the mini is the first car I've had that I've really cared about), so I wonder if I'm making some amateur mistakes...

 

i doubt you can rub a hole through the clear with most claybars out there.
did you try any mild polishes like ScratchX, or even some CleanerWax?

how about some real stuff like Prima line from DP? (Swirl and Amigo and such)
www.detailersparadise.com

 

If your MINI isn't garaged, then a car cover may be your best bet--but they have issues too. Industrial fallout includes anything in the environment that settles on your paint and bonds before it can be removed. Clay is great for removing these contaminants, and there's no way to rub a hole through the clear, unless you're using contaminated clay. Clay itself is pretty mild--yes it does come in different aggressiveness levels, but even the most aggressive that scours the finish doesn't feel gritty. It's not shaving any clearcoat so no worries about damaging the paint with new uncontaminated clay.

Pepper White is a great color but it also suffers from "staining" that other colors don't have problems with. Besides the fallout you mentioned, chemical stains and drips are pretty common on PW--so watch where you drive!

Finally, if your car is not garaged, then you might as well accept that the car will get dirty. Claying often isn't bad--but you will need to wax more frequently.

If you have a good coat of wax put on a freshly clayed/prepped surface, then industrial fallout shouldn't be much of an issue. If you're washing frequently or QDing and not letting the contaminants sit on the paint and bond, you can reduce how often to clay.

With my last MINI garaged-but a daily driver, and Quick Detailed twice a day--I was claying once every 2 years. Don't let the contaminants sit on the paint and bond--then you don't need to clay.

Richard

 

mm gotta take the advice of richard. i too have those little rust specs on my car. :impatient mainly the rear hatch area. but i've gotten used to it. ill clay bar it here and there when im bored and not busy at work.
even with all the effort taking it off, it's still easier to maintain than the darker colors. so all in all. im still happy with my pw mini.