It happened today... just an hour ago....my first rock chip from a stupid and rude Chevy pickup. The rock hit my roof and left an ugly chip is a little under an 1/8 " and down to the metal. Thankfully, there is not a dent also. Will I need to have my roof stripped and repainted or can it be repaired so that it is not visible? Should I have the work performed at the dealership or use a really good body shop?

I can't believe my MINI already has a chip... it not even three weeks old and only 598 miles on it. I need to get my MINI fixed quiclky and correctly.

Thanks for the advise....
very sad... Marlow Main

 

You can re-paint just that spot, wet-sand it and re-wax What color is your roof? Either way, if it's dpwn to the metal you have to seal it before it starts to rust.

Sorry that happened to you, man.

 

My roof is white (except for the gapping little chip). Thanks for the advise and the support...

 

wait a chip under 1/8"? you mean like less than 2mm? i say just get
touchup paint and apply with a toothpick with the tip tapped flat.

let capillary action do its work. dont use the brush.

i have a bigger scratch from my first drive on my G35C. a dump truck
passing by on the other lane dropped a rock. nice 8-9mm scratch on my
front bumper.

 

Marlow Main, do not, repeat NOT take this to the dealer! You will end up paying hundreds of dollars to get this fixed. Instead, get yourself a bottle of white touchup paint and a bottle of clearcoat. Apply 2 coats of white to the chip. Top with clearcoat until the surface is higher that the surrounding paint.
Knock down the surface with 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, and polish to your satisfaction. Add wax to complete the repair.
Cost of materials: ~ $20.00
An afternoon bonding with your MINI? Priceless.

 

I am a little apprehensive about attempting the fix on my own. I do not want to make it worse. Where can I get the MINI white paint and the clear coat? It that something I can order from an auto parts store?
Thanks
MM

 

Wait a sec. Chip is barely visibile at 1/8". Heck ... Ken got it write, throw some paint on it.

However, if the chip is OVER 1/8", then the best thing to do is trade the car in on a new one. It will never be the same and consider it a lesson learned about getting clear bra for the roof

 

MM, relax. You are not going to do anything irreparable. The worst that can happen is that you end up with a boogery looking repair, which any competent detailer can make right very quickly.
Go to your local auto parts store and look at the touchup paints. Choose a white that is close to yours. If needed, ask to take a couple of bottles out to your car to compare. It doesn't need to be an exact match, just real close. You probably want a white that is a little brighter than yours, because the clearcoat will tend to yellow it out a little.
Follow the instructions above, and you will be a happy MINI owner.

You can do this!

 

blahahaha!!!

 

the dealer will have touchup paint. it comes in a base bottle and a
clear coat bottle. if you're not very fluent with applying paint and
want to do it in once step, you can actually mix the basecoat with
the clear and get a glossy finish.

get a small yogurt cup or something plastic, use the touchup brush
to put a basecoat dab in the cup, then put another dab of the clear in
the cup next to the base coat dab and mix a little portion of the dabs
with your toothpick and apply.

 

Thanks for the confidence and advise kenchan. I will give it at try. If it turns out badly, I guess I can take chows4us's advise and buy a new one

 

Here's a simple step-by-step guide to repairing chips which has worked well for me:

http://autopia.org/forum/guide-detai...nt-clinic.html

scroll down until you see the section titled " CHIP & SCRATCH REPAIR".

Have confidence and patience. Good luck,

Stephan

 

also, there is a product called langka that is for chip repairs...has anyone tried that?

 

I did and was very satisfied. The kit comes with everything you need to do the fix right, except the paint, which I got from my Mini dealer (and nothing that you would need to do it wrong). My first thought was to attack it like I would a paint chip on anything else, but NAM advise led me to the langka, and it is much easier, I think.