I bought my MCS new in '06. The front of the car is in great shape. I detailed the car yesterday. After washing it I noticed the paint is flaking off of the lip under the bonnet...between the chrome grill part and the bonnet. The only way you can see it is in the reflection in the chrome. It looks yellowish where it's flaking off, so I assume it's the primer that's showing. Just curious if anyone else has seen this? You can barely see it now, but I'm worried it may keep flaking off until it makes it up onto the bonnet...which would be sad. I'm tempted to try to find a way to remove the grill and put some touchup paint on it. Is there a way to seal it off and prevent further flaking?

 

Because you bought new and know it was never in an accident, you may want to take it to your MINI dealer and see if something can be done under 'goodwill warranty'.

I don't think the factory paint would peel like that, but you may not have fatory paint. Some cars are damaged in shipping and repaired before being delivered to the original owner. The dealer probably would not know and MINI won't tell you unless something like this happens.

MINI can probably find out if your car was repaired before being delivered and may be helpful.
OR, maybe not.
It does not hurt to try.

 

My 2013 MC has paint "chips" on the bonnet....it will be going to the dealer shortly...a bit disappointed in the paint quality...

 

Thank you for the comments! Honestly, from day one I notice some spots that were missing white paint on the back of the roof...by the spoiler. I didn't want to mess with going to the dealer, because I assumed the factory paint job is the best paint job the MINI will ever have. I don't think it was damaged, because the part of the bonnet where it's peeling looks similar to the back of the roof where the painter missed spots. Even where it's not peeling the paint is thin, and the primer is showing. However, it doesn't concern me since you can't see it unless you really inspect it. I'd hate to have the dealer respray the car for something you can't see...yet. I'll admit I'm afraid if it continues it'll spread. I'll try to take pictures later. I'm mainly looking for a way to prevent this from reaching the area where you can actually see it. I can put touch up paint in that area, but I'm not sure if that would do anything to stop it? Maybe some kind of thin layer of glue? (Like I said you can't see this area really) I'll try to get a pic later.

 

Don't glue your paint man..

 

Sorry about the bugs. We've been doing a lot of driving. Anyway, if you look at the top of the chrome part you can see the reflection of the paint that is flaking. It looks like the chrome is flaking, but it's not. It the paint's reflection. Is there anything I can use to keep this from spreading. I don't care what it looks like. I can put a little touch up paint over it, and no one will see it. This spot is hidden. I just do not want to let it spread.

 

IMO... I would highly recommend bringing it in...touch up paint wont last.. Your problem is a bit more then touch up can solve anyways.. Any good body shop can fix that by repainting that area and blending it in to your original color.. You would be surprised how many MINIs have the same problem you have and just don't notice it... If you leave this unfixed.. You will risk the paint pealing much farther then that.. For now I would watch how you wash your car if using a pressure washer...lol.. goodluck!

 

I know this thread is old. I have not dealt with this paint issue yet, but I took it in today for an estimate. It looks pretty much the same as it did a year ago. It's been sitting in a garage...it needed a new engine, so I haven't driven the MINI for quite some time. However, I have my new engine in now!

Anyway, I wasn't terribly happy with these people I took it to...didn't get a good feeling. They swore up and down that the car had been repainted at some point. I ordered the car and bought it new, so if this is true, the dealership had to have done it quickly when the car came in. They acted like I was an idiot, because I don't see how the car could have been resprayed when I was getting email updates on where it was in the process of shipment. They were kind of rude about it...acting like my car had been repainted, and it was a terrible job at that...and I didn't quite understand what that had to do with an estimate.

All that aside, they're telling me the entire hood needs painting at the cost of $600. If the hood needs repainting then I think I'll try to repair it myself with touchup spray paint. Has anyone come across a shop that will paint a small section and blend? It just seems dumb to repaint a hood for something you can't even see. It took them quite some time to even see what I was talking about...that section of paint can't be seen anyway. Anyone know of a place in OKC that can repair this kind of thing without repainting the entire hood?

Thank you!

 

here's one of your problems

painting a section and doing a decent blend requires more labor than spraying an entire panel .... labor cost versus material costs .... it is a problem sometimes . . .

and some shops don't want to touch small jobs

first option is find another place to take a look.

 

I went to a place that is recommended by the dealer. He was a nice guy. He came out and talked to me about it. He said they could blend it. It would cost at least $100...depending on how far up the hood they have to go. He said my worst problem is the clear bra. He said the hood may need to be repainted anyway, because the clear bra can etch into the paint. Bottom line, he said the flaking may never go up onto the hood. He said not to worry about and repainting that lip won't stop it. If it's going to keep flaking there's nothing that can be done. He seemed to know what he was talking about, so I'll remove the bra this summer when it gets hot and go from there.