i.e. do you have a permanent mark on your hood?
Thank you.

 

Depends on how long the stripe has been on. I've taken stripes off that's been on the car for about 18 months and have seen no discoloration. However, I keep my vehicle in a garage. It is the UV rays that causes the non-vinyl-ed parts to discolor and so the area that was protected via the vinyl will look newer. Easiest solution? Vinyl wrap the whole car! ;p

 

I took off stripes a few months ago.... The hood itself had little to no discoloration. The scoop on the other hand, was ridiculous. The paint where the stripes were is actually the same color as the hood. The rest of the scoop is actually darker.

I bought the car used, but I imagine the stripes have been on there since day one. The car is an '07.

Best thing to do is to remove the stripes, cut and buff the hood and scoop, and see how it turns out.

 

I removed the stripes on my '08 after 4 yrs. There is definitely fading on the bonnet, but honestly it's not really all that noticeable to me. the bonnet is so curvy that doesn't stand out that much. My stripes were in such bad shape that the slight fading of the paint looks way better than the beat up old black stripes IMO.

BTW, my car is Laser Blue. I would think that some colors are more susceptible to fading than others....yellows usually show lots of fading from the sun. It may also depend upon whether your paint it metallic (like mine) or solid.

If it is faded...you can always re-stripe it. That was my thinking anyway.

 

We took our stripes off after 3 years. The vinyl was discoloring over the hood scoop, and the paint was discolored and pitted (the scoop). With all the rock chips (105k miles), we're thinking about getting the whole hood (bonnet) resprayed.

 

A few months ago I removed factory bonnet stripes from a metallic blue 2009 S with no problem. Slight difference until I polished the hood then it looked fine.
If the colour has changed and doesn't polish you could always put new stripes on. Good Luck

 

All polishing will do is remove swirls and other imperfections in the clear coat. It won't touch the paint. The paint under the stripes has been protected from the sun and everything else around them has faded.

 

one thing

if there is discoloration due to color fade - which will probably be worst on metallic green or any red - you are not going to buff or polish it out. remember the paint on the MINI is base/clear. the color is under a clear coat. You can buff the clear but can't touch the color. If the red faded ... there's not much that can be done. And it is a fact that these colors on a plastic part fade faster than on metal. plastic oxidizing under the paint? I dunno, where's a chemical engineer when you need one? Hence what you see on the hood scoops....

On the other hand I HAVE seen stripe color, especially black stripes, to be absorbed by the clear coat. When the stripes were removed a black shadow remained and that may buff out - you'd simply be removing the top layer of the clear with the discoloration.

I'm very aware of the entire situation. I had a 95 Miata - red - one of the last cars to be factory painted with single stage paint. If you want a model case for serious fade and the differences 'tween metal vs plastic parts find a first generation red Miata! I now have an 07-S in BRG with white sport stripes. Even tho my car is usually garaged (I don't work so it stays in the garage more than most cars too) 5 years of Florida sun has still been working on the stripes and the paint. My stripes are loosing some shine and show more water spots and I'm thinking of removing them ... but I worry about color fade too. What to do, what to do. I'll just see what the spring clay bar treatment does to the stripes ... hopefully I'll buy a year and maybe it is time to replace my ride . . .