just wondering how long you could leave a colgan bra on your mini in a garaged situtuation. the mini is waxed and clean. thanks---jomo

 

Aloha, jomo!!

I don't have the exact scientific answer but under similar conditions, my colgan bra was left on for over 3 weeks without any detrimental effects.
It was garaged every night but was exposed to all of Hawaii's rainbow rain showers and tropical sun during the day
You shouldn't have any problems....just keep a good coat of wax on the bonnet

 

>>just wondering how long you could leave a colgan bra on your mini in a garaged situtuation. the mini is waxed and clean. thanks---jomo

Aloha and welcome to NAM,

Another idea is to leave a car cover over everything if the car will be left alone for some time-this keeps most dirt off the car. There is not much light that can hit the car in a garage so fading is not really an issue. The bra won't get stuck to the car if it is waxed and clean. Make sure nothing leaks or drips onto the MINI and gets caught under the bra.

 

Here is what the Colgan's official troubleshooting guide says about this:

What do I do when it rains?

We recommend the immediate removal of the bra if the backing material becomes wet. This eliminates the chance that moisture will cause paint damage. The bra itself is unaffected by water

What happens if I leave a wet bra on the car?

Usually, nothing happens. However, in etraordinary circumstances a car's finish may begin to absorb moisture. This can caue hazing, dulling, clouding, or whitening of the finish, but these effecs are often reversibe. Moisture absorbtion can occur if:

A wax, glaze, or "perma-wax" paint sealant has not fully cured or has been improperly applied

A recently painted or repainted vehicle in which the paint has not fully cured

A poor quality or improperly formulated paint was used

Paint ws improperly applied, because this extends the time required to fully cure

Under the last 2 circumstances, the paint may never cure completely


How does moisture harm a car's finish?

If a paint is susceptible to moisture absorbtion, it will absorb water vapor. The vapor then impedes teh normal reflectivness of the paint's surface. Heat increases the possibility of moisture absorbtion. Direct sunlight on a warm day will heat the trapped moisture and essentialy steam the paint.


Now here is Yucca's interpretation:

Don't leave the bra on all the time, but don't be too **** about it.

If it rains, take the bra off at a convenient time afterwards and allow it to dry. If it rains once, no big deal just let it dry. If it stays wet and rainy for a few days, go ahead and take it off.

Make sure the bonnet is at least clean before installing the bra.

Your factory baked on paint finish is highly unlikely to absorb any significant amount of moisture that would cause any problems, so don't get a crappy new paint job and then blame it on Colgan!

 

if i were you, id take off the bra while its parked for long periods.

i dont like to have moisture in the bra if there's any.

 

One more note: if your MINI has headlight washers, they do an excellent job of injecting washer fluid underneath the bra.