One night I parked my pepper white MCS too close to the edge of the driveway at my parents' house. They live in a small town with private wells and the water is loaded with iron/rust, I believe. Well, the lawn sprinklers came on overnight and they sprayed all over my beloved car and now there are pretty broad rust stains on the boot and on the back passenger side of the car. It is not so bad on the side but it is pretty obvious on the boot; you can see it especially dripping down from the "Mini cooper" lettering (I can post pictures when I get to my laptop).

Is there anything that I can do about this? I tried washing the car with prima mystique but the stains would not come out. That's all I've done so far, any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

A light buff with polishing compound has cleaned up the exact same mess on my Silverado...

 

You can also try wiping down the windows and paint with some diluted white vinegar. I used that after one of my cars was doused with hard water (also a sprinkler fed from a private well.)

 

Use a clay bar with the lubricant that the manufacture recommends. The sprinkler left above surface contaminants (stuff on top of the finish.) No need to polish/remove any clearcoat.
I recommend Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit although any non aggressive claybar will work. If your car never has had the clay bar treatment, you'll be surprised how much stuff it will remove. Do the whole car while you are at it.

 

Your problem seems to be peculiar to Pepper White's......my first MINI was a PW and if a leaf got on the paintwork when it was raining it would leave a "rust" like outline which was the 'devil's work' to get clean....search on the forum...I seem to remember several discussions about the paint problems with PW MINI's...great color though....

 

Thanks for all the ideas! I just went out and tried the vinegar trick and it really diminished some of the worst stains. I think I will try lightly buffing or the clay bar this weekend when I have more time.

Minilla - I parked under a tree once and some of the leaves fell on my car, then it rained! The next day I brushed off the leaves but I was left with these leaf-shaped black stains all over the hood. I managed to scrub those out but you're right, it was SO hard. Next time I will just use the vinegar trick!

 

Mine is pure silver and it collects a lot of road stuff on the boot that doesn't wash off. Prima Mystique is very gentle without much deep cleaning ability. Claybar couple times a year has been the answer and also keeping it polished and waxed will help too, stuff doesn't stick or stain as easily.

I've seen some pepper white that looks yellowish. I assume that's contaminents and oxidation over time.