Last night my neighbor's MCS, which was parked about 100 feet from mine, was vandalized with permanent marker. Someone wrote "F*** You!" and "No one likes you because of your shiny Cooper." The also wrote "Oshen Deli!," which is a band name, so it must have been a youngster as I did an internet search of the band name and only found it on 2 different results that were 17 year old girls' blogs that mentioned the group. One was in Seattle strangely enough. Anyways, someone obviously doesn't like MINI's. Upsetting that they didnt like it so much that they did that. And scary that mine was parked so close but didnt get touched. Maybe it was personal then, he is a colomnist of some sort, I dunno. Its just sad to see a MINI defaced like that.

 

I hope it was dusted for prints, dammit! It may have been the result of a negative review he wrote???


Clover

 

stupid teenagers!!!!! is it okay? can it all be easily removed?

 

Dusted for prints? Seattle cops dont have time for that sort of thing. It was just discovered this morning, so I do not think that he knows if or how to remove it. Any ideas? He may have to get repainted.

 

That's enough to make an owner go postal on someone's a$$!

 

i use rubbing alcohol to get permanent marker off my desk at work when my lovely coworkers let their kids terrorize my office.

But i'd assume rubbing alcohol on a car wouldn't be a good idea?

 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??????? Like I said when my new Cabrio got keyed to the tune of $2500 - KEEP YOUR MITTS OFF OTHER PEOPLES CARS....urgggggggggggggg

Lucky yours didn't get touched - whew.............

Donna

 

Yeah, that is pretty stupid! I had "cool car" scribbled in my dusty rear glass once. Another time there was a hand prints on the rear side glass...that of a small child! (oddly, both occurances happened at the same parking garage.) Pretty harmless stuff, but if it had been someone w/ a chip on their shoulder it could have been far more disturbing. For this reason I'm on my very best behavior in and around my neighborhood...don't want to give some idiot a reason to act up.

 

...but people like people who vandalize other people's stuff, right? Some people really need their asses kicked, that's for sure.

 

He should defintely give a claybar a try. It can't hurt, and was originally used for paint overspray, so it may remove the marker.

Ken

 

yah ok more like stupid vandals...adults do the same thing sometimes.

Sorry to hear about this....but it seems that permanent marker would be much easier to remove then keying i would hope?

Best of luck to your neighbor.

 

It shouldn't be too hard to remove. Keep in mind that the marker didn't penetrate the paint. It just needs to be removed. Experiment with alcohol on a Q-tip in a small area. Worst case scenario, get a good polish and buff it off. Clay bar is a good suggestion. I've actually used Semichrome, which is a metal polish, to buff out small scratches. (Although there are probably better products.) It leaves the clear coat a little dull, but I can buff that out with auto wax/polish. It may take a little ebow grease, but I don't think you'll need to repaint it.

 

No need to use abrasives like clay. Bug&tar remover or WD40 won't hurt the paint and will dissolve it instantly. Vegetable oil or alcohol + a lot of rubbing takes it off too. Needless to say, after using oil the car must be washed.

 

Where in Seattle? I live in Belltown and fortunately wont have to park on the street.

I personally would try a Phase 1 type polish (Mothers') or "Scratchout." The marker is probably sitting on the surface of the clearcoat and a polish with just enough ebrasive to remove scratches might do the trick.

 

I was just going to say WD 40! Any thing that is considered a solvent will do it also, just make sure it's a gentle solvent!


Mikey

 

In Magnolia (which has the worst auto theft rate in Washington, by the way). I used to reside in Belltown and did not have problems there personally, but sometimes garages are worse than street parking as crimes can be permitted in privacy. The garage next to mine got hit pretty bad regularly by vandals and theft. My wife's Eclipse was stolen last year and never found, and another neighbor's Toyota was stolen a few months back. I am scared for my new MCS thats on its way because it is pretty decked out. Thought about using a car cover to keep it out of the eye of thieves and vandals, but its hard to keep a car clean in Seattle and I dont want to be putting a dirty cover on a dirty car and damaging it. I'm scared for my MINI now

 

There was a BIT of irony in that statement, Jeff. I see nothing wrong with claybarring or trying a dab of WD40. :smile:


Clover

 

ouch, sorry to hear.

i would use some claybar and wax to get it off. should come off just fine.

 

Someone decided to steal my "S" badge off my hatch 2 weeks ago!


So I just debadged it all (still pisses me off though that fact someone stole it)

 

I had a couple of kids, (friends of my kids) threaten to key my car and slash the tires on an internet blog.
I printed it out and sent the entries to their parents with a note that if a bird so much as s%^&t on my car they could visit their kids in jail and I woiuld personally sue them for damages.

The parents called me and said their kids were "just kidding". I repiled "I'm not" and hung up the phone.

Some times, people are just being :stupid" in a "no stupid" zone.

 

Donna

 

Awesome

 

Tell you what.... if someone did something to my car like that and I knew who it was... forget it... they would be completely #$%^'d... Nothing directly as in harm or monetary, but something indeed....

When someone messes with me, I hit them 10 fold...with something they will have to deal with for an extended time... give them occupation and some un-needed stress to occupy their mind since they have nothing better to do....

 

I'll add another vote for clay bar. It should come off pretty easily. Make sure they re-wax the part that was clay bar'd.

 

No way dude. Best way to get rid of perm marker is to write over it with dry-erase marker, then wipe away.