Paint cracked on my Mini's bonnet!
 

I am so bummed. I just noticed today that the paint on the bonnet of my beloved Mrs. Peel has cracked starting at just behind the right driving light all the way up to the top where the bonnet ends. I've been behind a lot of huge trucks recently due to the hurricanes in my area. I thought I had managed to escape having anything happen. Arrrgghhh!!!!:mad:

The crack is a hairline but you can definitely feel it with your fingernail. I'm going to go ahead & try the Paint Pen on a small section. I'm afraid that I'll probably have to take it to a professional. Luckily, Pepper White is a good color to have if/when something like this happens (harder to see) but it's going to drive me crazy until it's fixed. :cry:

I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly where this is. Are you sure it's caused by impact and not some sort of defect?

I think it was caused by impact because of the way that it starts at the front of the bonnet (just behind the right driving lamp) and goes back the entire length of the bonnet. The first half of the crack/scratch goes back fairly straight until about halfway up the bonnet, then it kind of curves over and ends right about where the right windshield wiper is mounted. It also becomes even thinner as it curves towards the windshield. There's even a very light scratched area going up the glass on the windshield. (And I do mean VERY light - I can barely make it out.)

From what I can see, it looks like something bounced off of the chrome area around the driving lamp before hitting the paint. The chrome area scratch can be felt but not seen. :confused:

This is so weird. I check the car often. It's kept garaged at home but is exposed when parked at work.

My goodness! :eek2: You are describing a really, really, really long scratch/crack. I have never seen such a thing before. It almost sounds like you were keyed by a vandal.

The best thing I can tell you is that where you "can't" feel it you can probably buff it out. But generally if you can feel it with your fingernail then it's not going to disappear.

Check some of the the threads here on scratch removal or check here to get started with pasic paint polishing tips.

imo, take it to a professional rather than breaking out the paint pens. A pro can deal with it properly and, although its a hassle, in the long run it'll be so worth it! You can leave this whole episode in the past with a proper repair.

Thanks, Brad! I had considered that someone might have keyed the car (especially since I work on a college campus) but the scratch/scrape is so 'fine' that I don't think that was it. Plus, anyone keying the bonnet would have been way to visible to other people. Too many people come and go in the parking lots for something like that not to be noticed. If it had been down one of the sides, I would have thought vandalism was the cause.

I remembered that I had a tube of scratch remover called (I think) GS27. Does that sound familiar? I had bought it previously to take care of some minor scratches on my Acura. I figured I could give it a try on a small part of the scratch. It actually seems to have covered it pretty well. Tomorrow when I have the car out in the daylight, I'll be able to tell how well it worked. Because the scratch is so thin, it might do the trick. Then I just need to re-wax the bonnet.

Wish me luck! :grin:

Lee Ann

That's definitely what I plan to do if my tube of scratch remover doesn't work. I'd rather have it done properly and, as you suggest, 'leave this whole episode in the past'!

Thanks!:smile:

Lee Ann

I once discovered that the mysterious right angle scratches (Imagine a capital L about 1 inch long and 1 inch wide) on my trunk were created by the woman who parked next to me... She would put her purse (a big one with metal corners on the bottom) on my trunk, dig around for her keys and then drag her purse off the side!

I'm trying to imagine how a scratch could be created along the entire length of the hood. Maybe someone jumped onto the hood and slid down? A branch that hit the windshield and dragged down the front? After hearing that your car spends time on a college campus, the keyed answer is sounding better and better...

I agree that my car could have been keyed but the scratch is SO thin that it doesn't look like any key scratches I've ever seen on a car. My sister found her RX-7 keyed down one side years ago and those scratches were wide AND deep.

I looked at where I used the GS27 today and it actually did make the scratch disappear. This leads me to believe that it can't be deep - GS27 wouldn't help if it was.

I don't know how it happened but, due to the bad weather we've had here from the hurricanes, along with all of the trucks hauling debris that I've had to drive behind, it could have been just about anything. :confused:

Lee Ann

This was most likely caused by a bookbag or purse or someones clothes (zipper on a jacket). If your college students are like ours, they will be leaning their fat a***s all over the cars in the lot to avoid walking erect!!

Your assuming that the type of BAST*%D that would do this to someone elses car would always use a key. Think creatively. It could have been anything sharp he/she had on their person: paper clip, tip of a mechanical pencil, a staple, an ear ring, a compass, an exacto knife.

I would get your insurance people involved.

are you sure it is a scratch?
 

I had something similar running down side of a car. Running finger over it, my nail caught and sure, I though scratch too. But further check revealed not an indentation in the finish but something on the finish....it was sort of a glue string. Like you is wrapped onto glass which was what got my attention...scratching glass is hard. (comments about soft Mini glass not withstanding)

A little abrasive use of GooGone and polish, followed by a re-wax made it go bye bye

I have no clue where the glue comes from, but have picked it up a couple of times now.

just a thought