Yep...in spite of what some folks think, once this stuff drips out and dries on the wheel arches the damage is done. It stains/discolors the plastic and while you can temporarily make it look better with dressing etc., you can't make the discoloration/stain go away. The only solution at this point is to replace the wheel arches (which was eventually done on my Mini).

Of course the solution is, and has always been, to properly clean it from beneath the crevices and seams under the hood/bonnet BEFORE this dripping happens. And at long last, it looks (hopefully) like Mini is now prepared to do this as a matter of course.

I could be wrong but I suspect this is one of those problems that really isn't a problem in England or most other northern climes...simply because it doesn't get hot enough to melt the cosmoline and make it run like 5 weight motor oil from under the bonnet. Maybe this is the reason it's taken Mini so long to recognize that they need to thoroughly clean this goo from the new vehicles it imports into the US...especially the southern US.

 

Just got back from Southern CA yesterday and today I got my car washed to get all the bugs and dirt off. As I was inspecting my nice clean car I noticed cosmoline drip stains in new places. Now I have two streams running down the front bumper. It's on the clear bra but it's still annoying. I was in 100+ degree weather all last week and I guess that really made the cosmoline pour out. Good think I'm dropping my car off at the dealership on Tue so they can take care of it. I'm going to take some pictures before they start so I can compare what it looks like after.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/84242111@N00/4918581421/

 

Hi .. new here. If the Cosmoline is not dried, put a little WD40 on a clean white cloth and wipe if off ...

 

I bought some Cosmonot from from Octaneguy a couple of weeks back.

Hope to get some time this week to put it to use. I'll try to post some before/after pix

 

Just got a call from my SA: "Um, yeah we're going to need to keep the car an extra day. The body shop wasn't able to get all the cosmoline off in 2 days. In my experience, I've never seen a case this severe before."
I didn't realize it was that bad. But I think my trip down to Southern Cali last week exacerbated the problem. Hopefully they'll be able to get it all out. If not, I'm definitely going to try the Cosmonot and elbow grease method.

 

Whoo hoo! I just got my car back and they managed to get all the cosmoline out. More importantly, they also replaced both front wheel arches, front skirt, and the side skirt on the driver side. Now it looks like a 2010 MCS again. w00t!

I'll post some "after" pics later.