Hello all,

My car is nearing 2 months old. with 1200 miles and its first oil change yesterday, i noticed (under the sun) thousands of swirls on the speedometer and odometer. (i have nav)...

I know personally i have not cleaned the interior yet as I have been extremely careful with getting in and out and what i carry in the car.

I do know the dealer cleaned the car during a recent repair service as a courtesy.

Is this common with all minis or should i bring this up to 866-askmini?

 

I have them too but I figured I caused them when cleaning. If anybody knows how to get rid of them please share

 

I have them as well. I know I have not caused the damage as I have never had this before.

 

Meguiar's makes a detailing kit called the "clear plastic collection". It's ideal for things like swirls in plastic gauge lenses, and it also helps with plastic headlights and tail lights if the scratching is minor. If you need heavy scratch removal on lights, use PlastX.

Also, the clear plastic collection is great for restoring scratched CDs, as long as the scratches aren't too deep.

EDIT: The items are a bit tough to find, so I've included links.

Clear plastic cleaner

Clear plastic polish

Clear plastic detailer

And for the heavier scratches on headlights:

PlastX

Cheers!

 

The Meguiar's works... We used to use it all the time on motorcycle gauges when i worked for Honda... Exposed gauges and cycle windscreens take a real beating, and the Meguiar's polishes them out. Takes a bit of elbow grease, but hey...

 

Yup. I have them too and was wondering the same thing.

 

That's great! Have you used these on your gauges? Just curious...

 

I got them as well. Came with the car. Sounds like you have the solution... I'm going to try that.

 

Not on the Mini yet, but on my last car, they restored the gauges to "like new" condition.

Just be sure you wipe them off with a microfiber cloth and not a paper towel.

 

Seconded. Yes, you should NEVER use paper towels on anything but the windows (and even then, some people still use cloth). Use soft cotton cloths for all steps and you'll do fine.

 

Novus #2 plastic polish works like a champ. I've used it on instrument clusters in the past and it is great stuff.

 

i have them and i have hated them since the moment i saw them!

 

Yep--I got it also. Use a high quality plastic polish, the one I use is made by 3m. And don't use paper towels, go with microfiber cloth.

The other place I have seen alot of wear is the black plastic A-pillar beside the windshield. If you have used a commercial carwash or or rough towel to dry your car, you will see scratches in the plastic. The 3m plastic polish works great on this area, as well.

Just try to be really selective about what you wipe or clean your MINI with (both inside and out).

 

The Meguiars products work well! I have been using them for the past 8 yrs and have not found a problem they could not fix...

 

I've had good success using Rain Dance liquid wax. It takes some elbow grease and sometimes several repeat coats but it does a good job. As someone else mentioned, use a microfiber cloth or 100% cotton (Made in the USA ONLY!) terrycloth towel to apply/buff/remove.