Ok, thus far, the only thing I regret about buying my 2011 cooper was that I bought it at the start of winter This season has been record breaking for the northeast with the amount of storms and snow accumulation we've received as of right now. I've been noticing very many fine scratches (not swirls) on the black roof. I can't tell if these are caused by not using a micro-fiber towel when detailing (before this dreaded cold set in), or if maybe it was caused by using the snow brush to clean off the car after a storm. They don't appear to be too deep, my fingernail does not catch in them when I run it across, however some of them can be a couple of inches long. They deviate from your typical swirls because they're not in a circular pattern, rather they're pretty straight in appearance. The snow brush I've been using is your typical "made-for-cars" snow brush with an ice scraper at the opposite end. My main concern is whether or not come spring/warm weather, I'll be able to buff these marks out of the roof. This is my first new car and I absolutely love it! I know its hard to do, but I want to keep it in as best shape as I possibly can, and these marks are aesthetically displeasing to me Anyone have any advice/tips or similar experiences with similar marks (other than swirls) on the black roof? And will I be able to get them out w/out having to take it to a professional?

 

DO NOT USE A SNOW BRUSH!!!!!

minis have European paint that is very very soft and you truely have to baby it if you want perfect paint. The good news is that the snow brush will leave very very fine scratches and will buff out pretty easily. Also because of all the storms it is very tempting to run it through the car wash but this is another big NO! if you want to keep your paint scratch/swirl free.

Its hard to say what put the scratches in the paint, if you run it through the car wash i will put money on it thats where its from. Also, to wipe the snow off your roof just use a glove or the brush its self but DONT let it touch the paint. then to get the remaining inch off just drive it around your neighbor hood.

Im pretty **** about my paint and BABY it, my car is all black so its a nightmare to keep it perfect. This dam salt is killing me, i havent had a chance to detail her the way I want, I know the dealership didnt do much more then put micro scratches all over my paint Next time it gets above 45 hear in NJ im spending a day getting her perfect. I HATE THIS TIME OF YEAR.

 

European paint isn't any softer than any other paint. Every car delivered to the US is subject to the same EPA restrictions and uses the same paint type as domestic models.

With that out of the way, I will tell you exatly waht put the scratches in there. You did. Whether is be using the brush, your choice of materials when washing/drying/detailing, possibly using automated car washes, whatever. If you want to maintain a black car to perfection it is going to require a lot of learning and changes on your part. It IS possible to keep a daily driven black car perfect, I've done it, but it's hard.

Spend some time at autopia.org, change your methods and materials used, and you'll be stylin' in no time.

Side note about salt, it does NOTHING to your paint or chassis in temps below freezing. Salt becomes active above 32 degrees. Bascally, if it's an extended cold period, don't stress about it. As soon as it warms up, head over to a local car wash that has the high pressure wand and a brush and use ONLY the high pressure wand set on the rinse cycle. All you're trying to so is get the heavy crusted stuff and the salt off. Don't worry about making it pretty. yes, this means your car might be ugly as long as it's snowing, but trust me, you'l be MUCH happier come springtime when you have to spend about 12 ours less time making it perfect again.

 

I'm not sure about the soft paint issue. IIRC Richard has posted about some makes having softer paint than others.
Maybe Richard will see this and give his expert thoughts.

 

BMW, AUDI, Porsche, Roll Royce, VW, Lambo, and a few other high end companies use water based paints now for environmental reasons , which are softer than solvent based paints previously used. Im pretty sure all the other car manufactures are going to following suit, if they haven't already. This is because Europe has jumped on the Enviro Friendly bandwagon much more aggressively then the US & Japan.

Also, im not too sure about that salt activates at 32....best get it off asap.

Eddyboi, Just be glad its your roof and you have a sunroof, will be a pretty quick and easy job.

I love black cars, and even more so when they are kept perfect. To keep your paint pristine (even for your roof) its time to invest in some good wash gear. (and do not run it through a car wash! you can if its a touchless) And not the type you pick up at walmart. Make sure you use a good wash mit and a bucket of really sudsy soap (the bubbles wash the dirt away) Make sure to continuously dip the mit in the bucket (i highly suggest you purchase a bucket grit guard) rinse and dry with a high quality waffle towel, chamois trap dirt and can and will put scratches in your paint ...There are other forums to say how to properly wash a car, especially a black one.

 

It's a nit to pick, but the difference is the clear coat. Some clears are harder than others but the hardness of the paint is irrelevant.

The rest of my post still stands, however.

 

Very true, I suppose i should be more careful when i say paint when i mean clearcoat of all things to make "environmentally friendly".

 

Clearcoat is paint & should be treated the same.

I try to be as careful as I can during the winter months, but even though I am there are always fine scratches to polish out come spring. Sometimes I wish my car was a garage queen.

 

Thanks for all the feedback, definitely appreciated. As I'm sure most of you know wherever you're located throughout the country, we're getting slammed with a horrendous ice storm at the moment, which I just had to drive home in, but am proud to say that the mini exceeded my expectations in traction/handling

I never have, nor have any plans of ever taking my mini to a car wash because of the nightmares i've heard. I will invest in a good washing mit and proper drying materials. My main question still is, are these scratches that will come out with some wax/polishing without one of those electric polishers? Anyone have amateur experience in removing them?

 

Clear coat and paint are actually very different. If you rub cured paint with a rag it'll come off. Clear coat won't do that.

IME, not doing anything but rinsing with high pressure purified water is orders of magnitude better for your paint than trying to wash your car safely in a snowy climate.

 

Polish is the only thing that will remove the swirls. You CAN do it by hand but depending on the severity and coverage you might HAVE to go to a machine. Porter Cable 7424 is the weapon of choice. Everyone and their grandma sells it. Autogeek and Autopia both sells great packages for beginners.

 

I'm definitely not planning to do any detailing until the weather gets warmer here-it's impossible otherwise. But it's not the swirls that I'm concerned about. There are swirls on the roof yes, as well as the rest of the body of the car. But these fine straight lined scratches on the roof are my concern. The swirls you can't see in every light, these scratches you can. Again, they don't appear to be deep scratches at all, which would lead me to think that they can just be buffed out.

 

Those are still swirls. They don't have to necessarily be round to be swirls. Same techniques and products apply.

 

Your getting ice up there already? down here its nothing more then misty rain.

yeah you should have no problem...as soon as the weather breaks im going to get my self the 7424 to get out everything the dealer did by "detailing it" i would Highly suggest looking at http://www.adamspolishes.com/ they are awesome, love there products and they have REALLY good explanation video's. I got a buch of stuff for christmas and am hooked....for my wax and polishing i think ill stick to auto glym but for everything else Adams rocks! i also got a foam cannon for christmas....now, that thing ROCKS! if your serious about car care i would highly suggest buying one

 

Ice like hell-when I went to drive home before, my doors were frozen shut, and there was a layer of ice all over the car. I had to sit (once i was able to get in) for like 10 minutes until it warmed up before I could actually drive. BUT on the other subject, maybe I'm not describing these types of marks well enough. I know the typical swirls, they're for the most part invisible on lighter color cars, you can see them on the black roof though. Those aren't what's bothering me. There are white colored scratches (swirls don't have a color to them right? they're just marks in the clear coat?) on the roof as well. They're mostly straight in appearance, they kind of look like scratches caused by fingernails on the paint when you go to pull open car doors, but a lot less clustered together. I wish I could take a pict of what I'm talking about, but the roof is still covered in ice :(

 

Hi there Eddyboi77.

I have a black roof, and I feel your pain. But there is help!

There is a product called Meguiar's Scratch X (available at amazon.com and elsewhere) that you may want to look at when it comes time for spring detailing. Also, Zaino's Z-5 PRO Show Car Polish for Swirl Marks and Fine Scratches might help. http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...ory_Code=Zaino

I use both Zaino and Meguiar's, and they are both excellent. Be sure to check out the Detailing 101 forum because there are lots of threads dedicated to removing fine scratches. You can also read all about the basics of cleaning and caring for your beautiful MINI.

good luck!

 

Thank you soo much! I love meguires line, so I think I'll take a look at that. I've browsed the detailing 101, they're definitely helpful.
So jealous of you being in West Palm Beach. I'm originally from North Lauderdale and am wishing I was down there right now

 

ANY kind of Nylon brush will scratch paint. Any time you have straight lines in the paint, it is from dragging something over the paint. My Wife used to take home bankers boxes full of files, she would put these on the trunk, then open the trunk & slide the boxes off. This would leave a nice arch of scratches in the paint. Drove me NUTS & took a while for her to understand she was doing damage.

Winter detailing can also do damage, as there is a TON of dirt, salt, & general crap every where.

My suggestion would be to stop using the brush on anything but the windows. I keep a MF (microfiber) towel in the car, & use that with my hand to remove all the snow. Yes, you can get some on your hands & up your jacket, but you are less likely to do damage. Don't forget, when you do this to a dirty car, you are dragging all the crap on the car as well. So try to leave 1/4in of snow left on the car.

Then since you are in NJ, call Phil over @ Detailers Domain for a detail, & your car will be BETTER then when you took it home form the dealer.

 

I agree, Car washes, even the best accumulate sand and dirt and other microparticles on the brushes or whatever material they are using which cause all sorts of abrasions on the paint. I don't have time but I still try and do periodic quick hand washes up here in the NE.

I use Meguiar's "Swirl-X" for the swirls... works marvels with the rotary.

 

If you are using a rotary polisher, get a good real polish. Scratch-X is more for hand use or a PC, & really it hides the swirls more then removes them. Trust, me, you will get much better results with a good polish.

 

You're welcome! This winter has been terrible for everyone, but especially anywhere north of the Florida border. I moved here from Buffalo/Rochester (NY) in 1991 after growing up there, so I know what you are dealing with. Blizzards, school closings, city closings, black ice, sliding all over the place, getting snowed in, the stores running out of food, . . . yuck! Sometimes I don't know whether hurricanes or blizzards are worse. We have had plenty of super cold temps here (30's!), but at least we don't get snow, and at least for today, the sun is shining again.

hang in there!

 

I've been dealing with this for three full winters now, and here in northern Michigan, we're talking 4 or more snowfall/salting cycles per week, from November through March. I use a pressure spray wash up to three times a week, and get down under as much as over. Yes, I get scratches, even in my black roof but here's my point- Not far away is a professional paint repair place, and for $100 they will buff out all the scratches. I drop the car off in the morning,and it's new when I pick it up. To me this is safer than my own amateur attempts at rubbing and chemicals.
They are sensitive to the thickness of the clearcoat, but as for that, I suppose one can only do this so many times before it's been worn through.
Anyway, my black roof will look new again some time in April. As careful as I am it is, I agree, easy to put scratches in it. Mine haven't shown the white lines you describe, so it's possible you may need to have that fixed, but it is amazing what can be 'polished' out.