Noticed the paint on my hood, absolute black, is chipped. I know some have done invisible bras and am wondering if anyone has done anything else to prevent chipping?

 

Nope, clear bra is the only thing that will protect it from chips. Mini paint is very soft. I need to get my hood repainted for all the chips I have sustained. I will definitely do clear bra after!!

 

If you own a MINI, you either need to get your hood repainted, or you will soon. The clear bras do protect them, but I think they age poorly and look ugly themselves.

 

I have used this system when prepping a car for resale. The results are not concours car level, but fine for a daily driver. It's much cheaper than a respray and makes a nice difference. I don't know how well it holds up over time.

http://www.drcolorchip.com/

 

Very interesting. Thanks for the lead...

 

No other options? Very surprised and I am not sure if i would want a clear bra. Thanks for your input.

 

I have been looking into the same thing, but there is not much out there other than just regular vinyl, clear bra or a leather strap type.

From what I have found:

The Vinyl you can possibly get a matching color or even Carbon fiber but doesnt last very long, and is usually thinner. Which means you may need to replaced every 1or 2 year, and due to thickness the protection may not be as good.

The Learther bra works well, but it can trap dirt and moisture and can cause scratches over time from the caught dirt. and the rubbing.

The clear protection bra, so far seems like the best bet. It last longer, its thicker, and protects the paint from UV. You may see a line unless you cover the entire hood. I found the Clear Bra on Ebay with hood, bumper, lights, mirrors, and door cups for 220 shipped. Just need to put it on now.

The last option is to fill the chips regularly and then repaint every once in awhile.

You could always just not drive your MINI. But you'll be having much less fun.

Hope this helps!!

 

It does help..... when you install the clear bra please post pictures. I would like to see what this clear bra is all about. I may just opt to get the hood repainted in the future. Not drive my MINI? Now that's no an option. LOL

 

That's what's filling all my chips right now. Works OK, but with Chili Red, I've noticed it gets darker after a couple of weeks, of course so did the OEM paint. I'm sure it would work great on a black car!

 

I will certainly try to get some pics of the install and finished product. Just waiting for the weather to warm up, They recommend it to be 78F to apply. Oh also need to fill the 2 tiny chips before applying it.

 

Okay thanks eggmole. I didn't realize the paint on the hood chips easily. When I researched the CMS All4 that is one thing that never came up. I bought it used and have been driving it the last couple of months and have put almost 2k miles on it. I noticed the chips this past weekend and was annoyed of all the chips on the hood. With black it shows every imperfections.

 

Sorry you're having all the chips menehune. I would give Dr. Colorchip a try. It did a pretty good job for me once, and it's relatively inexpensive ($39).

I have to say that I have been really happy with the paint quality on our 2006 Cooper S. It has 78k mile, has never been in an accident or had anyting repainted, yet it only has a couple of chips on the hood. The bumper does have some tiny chip marks - probably due to being lower to the ground and the fact the car has been driven in snow with melting material thrown at it many many times. In our case the chips are not noticeable due to the white paint. This litle bugger of a car is holding up really well in terms of appearance, fun to drive, and reliability - we love it!

The CM is still chip free but it only has 4,000 miles. Hopefully the paint on the CM will hold up as well as it did on its mate...

 

You said it. Mine looks like crackled varnish on an old dresser.
At least Absolute Black is non-metallic, right? I have BRG which I hear is tough to match.

 

Depends on the type installed. There is some great stuff out there now. Xpel warranties their film for 7 years against yellowing or cracking

http://www.xpel.com/support/warranty/

 

@Davisflyer: I'll keep that in mind. I bought mine used and already had whatever the film is on it. From the service records and initial purchase extras, the owner paid the big bucks for everything, but they must have skimped/been cheated on the clear bra, because it's a mess. Really I would almost consider a complete repaint of the hood if it seemed feasible financially/aesthetically.

 

oh boy - the AB is metallic.

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

Great tip...Had my CM for 3 months now and just discovered my first paintchip :(

 

Just had my MINI washed. Boy the chips looked better dirty. LOL. Oh well... I will have to look into the clear bra but am waiting out on photos.

Stanislaus, can you post a picture what your bra looks like all yellowed and crackling?

Thanks.

 

I see alot of folks indicate that Mini paint is thin.
This may be, however, my wife's 2011 Nissan Juke
has many little chips (already) on her hood so I'm
thinking it's most newer cars.

 

Have you noticed paint chips on your MINI?

 

Oh yea. No worse than my 1999 Mazda pu truck though.

I'm just going to have the bonnet repainted in another year or so.
It's just one of those things you can't get too bend out of shape over
otherwise, it'd drive you to drink (more).

 

LOL.... you are right.

 

Menehune, you asked for it. Just know this hurts me more than it hurts you:
http://voxcrisp.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-post_09.html
Bright white spots are petals/pollen.

 

Oh my... Not the nicest bra I've ever seen
Can that even be removed without damaging the paint or is the hood going to have to be repainted anyway?