A nice pebble decided it liked the pepper white color soo much on my front bumper that it took with it a pea sized chunk of paint. Will the dealer provide touch up paint or service to fix this? What are my best options?

 

The dealer will tell you to purchase a "Paintstick" (Actually is a set of 2, color base and clearcoat sticks) at your dealer's parts counter for $16-$20. The color code for the MINI Pepper White is 850 (I know because I own a Pepper White/Black Cooper).

Also get some flat head toothpicks and be sure to order a bottle of langka:

www.langka.com

Langka is rubbing compound that will help you smooth out the "paint blob" left behind when you first apply the touch up paint with the toothpick.

Do a search in the "Detailing 101" forum for touch up paint instructions and directions.

Buy the MINI OEM paint sticks because I find the paint match to be excellent for both Pepper White and Chili Red.

You are in luck. Pepper White and Jet Black are the easiest and most forgiving colors when it comes to touch up repairs. Pepper White "Covers up" a lot of little inconsistencies in the paint quite nicely and also since PW is a solid color, you don't have the problems associated with touching up metallic paints.

 

Oh and get a clearbra...

 

I've gotten a number of stone chips on the front of my CR/W, so I just picked up a tube of touchup paint from my dealer the other day. Don't know if they "provide service" - I didn't ask and they didn't say. The paint was just under $20 and I used it last night. Worked fine. BTW, I see the touchup paint now also comes with a bottle of clearcoat, too, to apply after the paint dries. That's kinda cool. (whoops - I see the above poster mentioned that while I was typing this . .)

I've read some posts on another board about poor color matches using MINI touchup paint to match a metallic finish. The non-metallic CR was fine, though. Your PW probably will be, also.

 

Metallic finishes are harder to touch up because of the metal "shavings" tendency to reflect light and be positioned differently from the rest of the surrounding paint.

This is why I avoid metallic paints.

 

I thought most people didn't go with the clear bra because the cost didn't justify the occasional touch up? Doesn't the clear bra also limit your options of using touchless carwashes during the winter seasons?

 

The MINI paint finish is very beautiful but also very fragile and vulnerable to rock damage. This is true of nearly every new car sold in the world today. Blame this to the environmentaly friendly water based paints that have the worst resistance to chipping.

A Clearbra IMHO is the best $300-$400 you'll ever invest in your car. Sure it is not a 100% bulletproof solution but it will go a long, long way in protecting the front end of your car. Some people say that clearbras are an "eye sore". I say to them, "Rock chips are 100000000000000000000 times the eye sore clearbras are".

It is frustrating and time consuming to be touching up rock chips all the time. I personally don't have the time or patience to be filling up pock marks in the finish. Besides that looks lousy.

Repainting a car every couple of years sounds fine and dandy but in the long run it will cost so much more than investing a few hundred $$$ one time only for a clearbra. Respraying a car automatically kills the resale value. Just ask any used car appraiser or any one that works in the car sales industry.

The choice is yours. Clearbra protection and peace of mind, or spending your life filling up ugly rock chips in your paint finish.

 

Most dealers have a someone who specializes in repairing minor scratches stop by for touch up work.

 

Not at my dealer - I wanted a few small chips touched up and the only thing I could order from the menu was a $1000 total bonnet repaint....

Needless to say I will be learning the art of touch up myself soon....

Bill