Damn, I know there's something in here already on this subject, but I've not been able to find it again, so now I'm asking.

I just finished my first wash on my MINI, and all went reasonably well, except for a few hiccups before the wash. (Ok, ok, one or two during, as well.) I ended up polishing, which I wasn't sure I was going to do, used Eagle One's new "nano-wax" stuff, which was time consuming, like any hand wax, but worked pretty well, one section at a time, without leaving hard to remove white gunk on my trim pieces.

However, I noticed right away, that my side view mirrors had swirl marks on them. Just the tiny kind, you know? I'm not sure if I put them there, or if they already were there, and it doesn't really matter. I just want to get rid of those swirls, without making things worse. I tried using some chrome polish (very mild stuff), and using a non-circular motion technique, like I used for waxing the rest of the car. I was able to get SOME results. (They LOOK better, but those fine lines are still there.) I feel there is likely something better out there, that I'm not using, but should be. I'm mortified that my poor MINI's side mirrors are already showing "age". Arrgh!

I have some Mothers clear plastic polish and protectant, that I plan to use for the gauge covers, but I don't see why it would be any better (perhaps not worse?) than the chrome polish/protectant. I've also considered using the Eagle One "nano-wax" (I forget the name, it's new) for the side mirrors (would "fill" the scratches), but this particular wax isn't highly abrasive (if at all!), and I want permanent removal of the swirls, without removing the mirror suface by accident!

So, gang, what do you recommend?

P. S. Since the Eagle One wax didn't end up leaving unremovable gunk from my chrome bits, I ended up using it FOR my chrome bits, which seems to have worked out very well. That's why I'm thinking of using it for my side mirror "glass". (Is it really a form of glass, like my rear-view mirror? I don't think so, because my rear-view mirror is "swirl" free.) With effort, the Eagle One was OK at removing water spots during the waxing process, but I think I'll need to look to something else next time I wax.

P. P. S. Wow, the hatchback gets dirty fast on these cars! (Yeah, I know, I've been told.) I'm wondering if a California Car Duster is recommended, or is this likely to cause unintended scratches? (Maybe an in-between wax spray product would be better? Or both?) God, this car is going to make me a nutcase!

 

Oh, I've got the heated (warmed) mirrors, which stay warm'ish, even when the car is turned off (which seems weird, and somewhat wasteful of my car battery's charge, but oh well). I don't know, but that certainly might affect which method I decide to use on polishing/waxing the swirls out of my side mirrors, and even how I clean them later on a regular basis.

 

You want to start with making sure that the surface is very, very clean. Then work with the least abrasive product that might be able to do the job.

I'd try:

1. A cleaner-wax-polish combo. (Standard Walmart wax - Meguiars touch 'o gold or similar). This might do it (it's a stretch) but maybe...
2. A paint polish (very lightly abrasive) aka: paintwork cleanser.
3. I'd probably try Meguiars Scratch X here... It is a light rubbing compound with other stuff (the "X" I guess). It will hand buff out a lot of smaller paint-only scratches with only 1-2 minutes of hand rubbing. I love this stuff.
4. A fine cut compound (3M fine cut)
5. A medium-cut compount (3M medium cut)
6. A coarse compound (I don't even own a can of this because I'd be scared that I'd rub through the paint... I leave this to the professionals... then I make sure I trust them before I'd let them use it - some Moron with a rotary buffer and a can of compound can seriously destroy your finish!).

The key is to do it in small steps.
1. Apply product and rub for 30 seconds.
2. Buff Off.
3. Examine
4. Repeat if necessary 3 or 4 times
5. If product #1 didn't work, move to product #2 and start back at step 1
6. If you had to go past product #1 to get the marks out, go backwards through the products to polish out the scratches you just put in with the most abrasive product. Ex: If you had to go up to a medium-cut compound to remove the marks, buff it off, treat with fine-cut compound, then treat with Scratch X, then treat with paint polish then wax (with your normal wax) to protect.

 

BillyB, I'm curious if anything worked. I discovered some scratches after this winter, I tried to clean my side mirrors w/ from all the road grime, etc. to be safe (so I could see LOL) and unlike my other cars, the MINI mirrors don't appear to be glass -- they other cars don't scratch.

Doesn't bother me for the most part, except at night when the headlight glare really illuminates the scratches.

 

Mine are scratched too, apparently from the factory.

<Bill_Gates> It's not a bug - it's a Feature! </Bill_Gates>

 

ScratchX will be a good bet, I've fixed many a friends cars with that stuff.

 

I've not gotten around to trying any serious products on my side mirrors. I did try some plastic polish type compounds, which didn't seem to work. I've not tried Scratch-X. I had intended to try an actual glass polish/cleaner compound, but I'd have to order something like that online, as I've not found any glass polish anywhere locally...which seems strange to me, but just seems to be how things are.

In the meantime, I've learned to live with the small scratches. Now I have other scratches elsewhere on the car that I'm more concerned with. I probably won't deal with them until just before I put the car for sale.

Are these MINI side mirrors actual glass, at least on the surface, or are they some kind of all plastic design...including the reflective surface? I can't tell from looking at them. They look sort of...thin to me, and remind me a lot of the fake looking chrome coating used on the "chrome" exterior extras...which seem not to have any real chrome on them at all.

 

I'm guessing they're not actual glass, as I've been able to wash the side mirrors on my other cars while dirty in the same fashion without any scratching....which is why I tried it on the MINI.

 

I tried the Meguiar's ScratchX today, didn't work I'll live w/ 'em. Next time I'm in my dealer I may see if they can replace the mirror itself only, not the entire body, and what it will cost.

 

Edit - sorry, thought you were talking about the paint, not the glass

Don't replace the mirror! Try 3m swirl remover or 3m hand glaze, I have found that both get rid of the fine swirls and leave the paint smooth and glossy.


mb

 

ah, yes, the mirror / "glass", not the paint.....