On the Dragon trip I used a new kind of sunscreen that said it was "instant-dry." On Sunday before driving home I soaked my arms pretty well since I anticipated being top down in the sun for most of 10 hours.

The next day I was cleaning up the MINI and came across a bubble about the size of silver dollar, in the clearcoat of the painted surface on the river's door panel. As I was wiping the surface with Prima Slick the bubble ripped and peeled off like a thick plastic skin. Weird thing is, the paint stayed on the door and it looks fine. But now I have a big spot with no clearcoat and it looks like hell.

I started thinking about what might have caused this and it seems it was the sunscreen I used. It has a high alcohol content (that's what makes it dry so fast) and it looks like the spot that bubbled is right where my arm touches when I have my arms in the lower, highway cruising position.

For those who know how I like to keep MINIBee, this has been pretty disconcerting for me. I contacted a painter to see if he can repair it and will go over there at some point to weigh my options. It may have to be painted. An OEM LY door panel is $400!

Anyway, the point of this is to warn you about "instant-dry" sunscreen. Be careful with it on your painted surfaces.

 

Sorry to hear about that. Shortly after purchase of my MINI I had a bottle of sunscreen leak in the glove box. It too bubbled the plastic so it may not be just the fast-dry kind. Fortunately mine was all in the inside so the mark is not seen with the door closed.

 

thanks for the info.

i think i would just take the door panel off and have it repainted.
or even paint it myself and then add a clearbra in that area just in
case for next time.

 

Thanks for the warning - I DO use that, but I don't like it much cause of the overspray - I was just worried about wasting it - not destroying the finish!

What I also use, and prefer, and now will use exclusively, is hte sunscreen that comes as a stick, kinda like deodarant...
You don't need to wipe it on with your hands, and you don't waste any.
It's stupidly expensive, but I think it works the best. I use the Neutrogena stick. Have a couple - one's in the glovebox, another in the side pocket.

Was in the car 5 hrs this past Monday motoring back from the Cape, and just got a little bit of tan - not a hint of burning!

And I do hope your poor car winds up looking like new - I am dealing with a bit of damage from a stupid run-in with a garage door handle - minor, but horrible!