[planeguy]

I was weary of getting bonnet stripes, so I ordered some vinyl "cling" type stripes. I did not want adhesive on my car or a pemanant application because of paint fade.

I left my stripes on for only about 3 months, when i removed them I had what appeared at first to be a ridge of wax around the periphery of where the stipe was. but after striping off all wax, a light swirl remover and clay bar the surface is absolutely smooth but visually there is a stripe ring on my bonnet.

I looked through all the forumns before and after, because I was afraid of this. and all I have heard anyone say is that there is nothing a wax job didn't fix. This is not my experiance! BEWARE!

Has any one else had this happen? advice?

[Paul]

Doesn't sound good.

Yours is the first complaint I've heard, but I dont imagine many people have removed their stripes yet?

[AidenL]

I think all colours fade, maybe not much, but definitely a little with exposure to the sun. It may be surprising when more people peel off their stripes, what they will actually find underneath........

[NEMINI]

I don't imagine many people will want to take them off, why put them on if you are gonna remove them

[planeguy]

The reason I didnt get them was because I was undecided about the pros and cons. The fact that they are not painted on means that the stickers would fade (epecially the black ones) or otherwise look bad in 5 years. I found out as I was doing my research before hand that "UV" protected vinyl graphics are only a 5 year application according to my local sign shop. I plan to own the car for at least 10 years. So i was reluctant. With good reason!

[NEMINI]

Well I certainly understand they may not last as long as the paint will but there is nothing stopping one from reapplying them one they look too degraded for their tastes.

[masher]

You are probably going to be best to get your bonnet polished with a liquid cutting compound and an electric polishing mop.
Best bet is to go to your local bodyshop and see if someone will do it for a "drink". It shouldnt take long to do and you will be amazed at the result. Polishing tecniques and products are very advanced now, so you will have no worries about damage to your paintwork.
The paint used now is very durable you would be suprised at how much can be rectified without having to resort to painting.
good luck!

[moorlockx]

>>>The paint used now is very durable.......<<<

You haven't owned your MINI very long, have you? This is paint that's so thin it chips at the mention of the word 'rock'. This is also paint that bird droppings will discolor in less than a day. I'm surprised more people aren't having a ghost stripe problem.

[masher]

Quote: Originally Posted by moorlockx

>>>The paint used now is very durable.......<<<

You haven't owned your MINI very long, have you? This is paint that's so thin it chips at the mention of the word 'rock'. This is also paint that bird droppings will discolor in less than a day. I'm surprised more people aren't having a ghost stripe problem.

I have owned the mini im driving at the moment for a year but my previous mini was owned from the start of production.
As for bird droppings yes it will discolour the paint but the process i mentioned earlier will remove this, that is unless you leave bird droppings on your paintwork for quite a few days.
The chips issue wasnt raised earlier and i agree with you on this, but the question was about restoring the paintwork back to its original shine and depth.
Unfortunately bird droppings and the like are now much more toxic due to the polluted and insecticide world we are now in.
The polishing process i described earlier will remove a lot of blemishes , swirl marks and discolouration from paint.

[masher]

"you havnt owned your mini for very long"

Not this one, but i know my way around a bodyshop rather well.
And i know my paint rather well too!

[planeguy]

after looking at these "visual ridges" my best guess is that the intense uv and heat of summer has caused the paint to liquify or leech out form beneath the stripe. since the clear is not ridged at all it must be beneath the clear.

masher or anyone else hear of paint becoming soft in heat? I would think that heat/uv would only cure it further

[sugster]

I'm sorry to hear of your paint troubles.
I'm not too sure what you mean by 'visual ridges', but it doesn't surprise me that you can see a difference between where the stripe was and wasn't. The UV component of daylight will have caused a small amount of degradation to some of the pigments in the paint and since the human eye is very sensitive to small differences in colour, you will see a stripe effect. Boundary effects are always going to be the most noticeable.

Its probably not too much to worry about though since the part which was under the stripe will now start to fade, given a few months (not sure what the weather is like in Kansas) the stripe effect will probably have vanished. If it never goes (and I guess you'll always know where to look) you could also apply the bonnet stripes back again! I doubt polishing would have much of an effect as the fading has probably occured below the clear coat - never know though, could be worth a try if nothing else works!

As an aside point in the factory after the top clear coat is applied, the whole painted body is passed through an oven at temperatures around 120°C to fully crosslink the polymers in the clear coat. Once this is done the coating should not 'sag' or 'flow'.

I think if other people, especially those in nice sunny parts of the world, removed their stripes they would see something very similar. (and probably a lot worse for the older cars )

[planeguy]

I will try to get pics, but if you can imagine painting over say a piece of fishing line. That would cause a ridge in the paint. This looks just like that except is absolutely smooth, so it must be beneath the clear.

I feel my best option may be to just put on pemanant stripes.

[TheInca]

Planetguy-

I know what your talking about. My MINI had bonnet stripes when I purchased him back on New Years and just recently I put on some silver shelby stripes. When they removed the bonnet stripes to put the new ones on I had this discoloration "ghost stripe problem"
When I got home I washed the MINI and then used meguiars scratch X several times and then Zymol car polish and the ghost stripe is barely visible. Only If I point out to people and you look real hard can you spot the "ghost" stripe.

[planeguy]

I do not have ghost stripes or discoloration though. Only a trace outline like a ridge but it is underneath the clear

[pyratio]

Quote: Originally Posted by planeguy

I left my stripes on for only about 3 months, when i removed them I had what appeared at first to be a ridge of wax around the periphery of where the stipe was. but after striping off all wax, a light swirl remover and clay bar the surface is absolutely smooth but visually there is a stripe ring on my bonnet.

--Hey planeguy, sorry to hear about your stripe problems. Did you talk to your dealer and see if they'd buff it out for free? I agree with the others, that the pros in the car detailing industry do have all kinds of chemicals and techniques that are unknown to us mere mortals. Maybe your dealer's detailer can help?

It would be great if Mini would apply something to the bonnet before applying the bonnet stripes so this wouldn't happen. I'm sure there's something out there to prevent those faint lines from stayng there after the decal is removed. I'm thinking of getting the stripes too, but I probably won't remove the them until they fade or get discolored wtih age. I'll probably face the same problems then.

Let us know what you find out. I'm definitely curious as I'll be getting a black MCSa.

--pyratio

[alexpalex]

Quote: Originally Posted by planeguy

I do not have ghost stripes or discoloration though. Only a trace outline like a ridge but it is underneath the clear

Below is one of my many replies regards to paintwork from earlier this year....



EU specification paint, which differs from the USA and Australia.

EU spec paintwork, which all European produced vehicles have is a water based two pack acrylic. This is produced in a way that is less harmful to the environment than the traditional solvent based two pack paints as here in Australia and in the USA.

I have been a vinyl applicator for 14 years, and have a very good technical knowledge of the materials from 3M, Avery and Calon. I am also accredited with 3M and also Avery.

In the UK about 10 years ago, this type of paint started making its way into the showrooms of all the European vehicles.

The company I was working for at the time, used to use Calon and Arlon materials on a price based deicision.

This material stripped the paintwork on numerous vehicles back to primer / metal.

The thing with the permanant acrylic adhesives on some material types is that they become part of the substrate they are applied to. This is fine for applications when they are never to be removed, but not on the bonnet or roof of your precious MINI.

As Ed at Cooperflags has said, he has never removed these materials from an application yet. I have and it leaves marks in the paint almost the same as embossing the text or shape into the paintwork. This is the residue of the adhesive that has become or bonded into the top coat of laquer. The only way to rectify this is to respray the contaminated area.
All the solvents and buffing in the world will not remove this.

Pearlescent and metallics paints are incredibly soft on European cars for upto 9 months after manufacture.

These are the reasons why I would not use or recommend, and also why your paintwork warranty is invalidated if you use certain materials on your paintwork.

3M, Avery and Mactac are aware of this, so are BMW, MINI, VW, Audi etc...

But at the end of the day, its your choice, your car. If you make the decision to use a material marked as having PERMANENT adhesive on your vehicle, then on you head be it...

I am no thaving a dig at anybody here, but unless you experience it first hand doesn't mean it won't happen.

Why risk it...

[vacooley]

I would NOT buff clearcoated paint. The problem is most likely (as stated in another post) fading of the pigment due to UV rays. You would have to remove all of the clearcoat to get to the colored pigment.

If it makes anyone feel better... My '99 BMW (also water based acrylic) paint actually got harder over time. It took about a year. I had an unbelieveble problem with chipping intially. However, the paint actually looks really good for its age now.

The Euro paints are just not as durable as the Jap or US paints. Keeping a good coat of wax on it is your only recourse.

[MiniDaze]

Can I just clarify here? Did you have magnetic stripes?
I was thinking of doing those to have 'flexibility' etc.
Now, I'm not so sure. (about any stripes)

Also...does anyone know who might see this.... Are there magnetic stripes out there
exactly like the S stripes? (the ones w/pinstripe edges vs. solid black?)

I really like the 2-tone 'black' stripes over the solid black ones.
Wondering what options are out there for magnetic stripes.
Thanks! :-)

[Lee Bradshaw]

Quote: Originally Posted by masher

"you havnt owned your mini for very long"

Not this one, but i know my way around a bodyshop rather well.
And i know my paint rather well too!

Someone else has mentioned things along these lines already but i'd like to add a bit.

German clearcoats are produced much softer than their US counterparts, and the theory behind it is that as europeans drive faster (by law) than the americans a softer clear coat is needed to prevent it being brittle and cracking with stone chips as easy. The downside of this is that it makes the clear coat much more succeptible (sp?) to minor scratching and swirling.

I have also been told by my dealer, although i never take anything he says as gospel, that BMW paint is now all vegetable based to meet environmental requirements, which makes it softer.

It also seems to me like they only put one very thin coat on!

I'm on my second Mini and although my indi blue one was a lot better than my black one, neither had the paint durability of my old Fords.