I have had my MINI for about 7 months and I starting noticing a couple of paint chips on the bonnet. I spoke to a friend at the dealership and he let me borrow his touchup paint but I have been waiting for the weather to co-operate. I am probably going to try and do it this coming weekend.

That being said, I have a couple of questions.

First of all, I am surprised by how many chips I found when I looked on Sunday. I probably had 7 or 8 little chips. I don't remember owning any other cars where I had this many chips. Is there anything I can do to prevent this (which is not too expensive, I don't think I can afford a clearbra at this point)? Is there any reason my car is getting dinged so bad? I don't drive on dirt roads, most of my driving is highway during the week and some city on the weekends.

What preparation do I need to do before repairing the chips? I am obviously going to wash my car, but I am thinking of claying it and re-waxing it. Should I wait until after repairing the chips before claying and/or re-wacing?

Does anyone have any general tips? I have been advised to do it a little at a time and just walk away and let it dry in-between layers, which I am planning on doing.

The thing I got from the dealer has what looks like a clearcoat as well as the paint. Is that recommended/not recommended?

Any and all responses are appreciated.

Cheers,
Rick

 

first off, i've owned my MINI since 9/03 and my bonnet has only one or
2 very tiny chips that i haven't even touched up. the first step is
prevention... stay at least 3 seconds behind the car infront of you.
that alone will dramatically reduce the amt of chips on the front.

also, before it gets too bad, invest in 3M xpel clearbra, especially the
bumper. that's where most of the chips occured for me on my
dealer -painted aero kit.

if you're going to touchup the car, just clean the area with alcohol and
don't wax/clay for at least a couple of weeks. clay will actually remove
touchup paint if you're not careful.

as far as tips... there'a nother thread on langka, but if you want to do it
my route, basically use a toothpick with the tip flattened a little (just tap
your table top or something) as your applicator and use small amounts
(dots) to apply onto the chip. let dry for 15min and apply more until you
can get it pretty even to the surrouding paint. then let dry for a week.

use some ScratchX and apply with a cotton towel wrapped in something
flat. use that as your polish/sander to flatten the touchup to the
surrounding paint. it takes practice to get it right, but you should be
able to get it pretty close. take your time. let it dry for another week
and wax.

 

Yep, what Ken said. I have TONS of chips on my bonnet. Ohio roads are terribly rocky. There are little rocks all over the place from the road disintegrating from the potholes. You get behind a truck, and they kick them up all over the place.

 

my poor mini has has a couple of paint chips..
they doin work on the road and stripped them down. WHY..now i go the long way to work. bit too late tho..but at least im preventing more from appearing.

 

This was my first aftermarket purchase coming out of the showroom. On top of the Mods I have bought, I am glad I got this first. On more than one occassion it has done its job especially with Chicago doing so much road/highway construction. Do it to protect your MINI and for the piece of mind. Plus, I believe a new vendor is now available in NAM for the clear bra and is offering a discount to NAM members.

 

Thanks for the tips!

I have the MINI touch up paint kit with the paint bottle and a clear coat bottle. Sounds like I can skip the clearcoat as long as I keep things waxed?

 

or, you can put 2 dabs one of each (base coat and clear) onto a pallet
or yogurt cup and mix them together evenly and apply at once.

 

Thanks for all the tips.

I am going to do this in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the hint about mixing the paint and the clearcoat as well, kenchan.

I am going to have to think about investing in a clear bra

 

np and good luck with those touch ups, rick!

 

I highly recommend the clear bra. 13000 miles and not a single chip.

 

So with the Xpel Clearbra on can you actually wash/wax over it or are you forced to take it off first and then do your detailing? It doesn't look too simple take on and off.

 

you can't take it off, just wash and wax like the rest of the car. Don't polish it with paint polish though, use plastic polish

 

I'm surprised that Mini's paint chips easier than any other car I've owned : (

My car is 7 months old & has 4K miles on it- It had more chips than my 8 year old Jeep Wrangler!

 

Ah that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

 

You *can* use M80 on it with the PC. I did this last week and it turned out great.

 

I find clay is the best thing to use on a clearbra if you have something stubborn that won't wash off of it. I had these rust-colored spots on my mirrors for over a year and nothing I could do (I even tried WD40) would remove them. Long after I gave up, last spring I claybarred and the stains disappeared.

 

Can I see a pic of a MINI with clearbra in place? TY

 

You can look in my gallery. My CR has it, PW does not. The first pic in the gallery is the most recent and the best angle to see the clearbra, but you probably still can't dectect the line... it's 18 inches up the bonnet. Also covers the entire bumper area except for the chrome. It's also on the side mirror caps.

 

That is great! Where did you get it done? How much was it? Why doesn't your PW have it?

 

Thanks... yep, I love the clearbra. Smartest mod I've done (and I've done many).

I had it done at ProForm in Ellicott City.

It cost $900 for the entire vehicle (besides what I already mentioned, the door edges are done also). That's a lot, I know. But it's the 3M product and the installer is regarded as the best in the field.

The PW doesn't have it because I'm nice enough to pay for the car but not nice enough to throw in the clearbra for my fiance. She actually doesn't want one on hers and it's stayed incredibly chip-free so far. Her commute is pretty safe but my commute is full of dump trucks carrying stones and what-not.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I paid about the same, and it was worth every penny because both the product and workmanship are guaranteed for like 10 years.

 

Where is proform located in ellicott city??? I'm in Hunt Valley and I'm around Ellicott city often and I've never heard of proform? Oh yeah who was the installer also???

 

Answered in PM. However, if anyone has used this shop before and can remember the owner's name, please help.

 

Hello folks: this is off subject but I couldn't find a suitable thread so I figured I'd try here. I have a scratch approximately 3" long on the buffed silver interior panel directly above the glove box. It isn't deep but I haven't had any luck removing it with mild abrasives. Any recommendations?