[chilihead]

Ive had my CR/W MCS exactly one week. After a very careful wash I noticed a few light scratches had developed. I managed to get in a few miles and have now totalled about 350.
I was horrified after the first major outing to find a stone chip on the bonnet that had gone right through the paint.
The next day I applied some autoglym super gloss protection to try and avoid this re-occuring. I went out for a about a 30mile trip. Came back - checked the bonnet and have yet another smaller stone chip on the bonnet that once again has gone right through the paint.

There must be something wrong here? Ive also noticed more light scratches have developed after the second wash. I have been as careful as possible when washing. Ive driven a lot of miles in many different cars over the years and have never seen paint chips/scratching occur like this. My 5 year old fords paint is still looking mint.

Ive also noticed the infamous ticking sound when sitting at traffic light while in neutral and the clutch out.

I have made a lot of sacrifices to get this car and am now wondering if I have made a mistake.

Ive got a warranty appointment at the dealers this friday but the thought of having to have repairs done so early is rather worrying.

[craigsyboo]

Quote: Originally Posted by chilihead

I have made a lot of sacrifices to get this car and am now wondering if I have made a mistake.

Join the club!! I have a Black Eye Purple Cooper and the swirl marks and scratches were evident from the second or third time I washed it - would never get a car that colour again, must be pretty much impossible to keep it pristine.

[dino_smith]

I have a Hyper-blue MCS and the first wash with new sponge & cloths produced loads of sirl marks as well, luckily they only show up in certain light conditions & at certain angles.

i've used a light polishing grit to remove some of the marks, but I don't want to do the whole car.

REHW's MCSC in hyper blue also had swirl marks visible @ the trackday, maybe it's a problme with the paint process, i'm going to speak to our paint quality engineers here to find out what to do(we make/paint spoilers & bumpers for OEM trackfit).

haven't got any stone chips luckily.

maybe it might be worth speaking to your dealer as the car is so new

[ImaVunDerBrah]

Unfortunately I don't think its a paint problem. Despite efforts to wash by hand, use very specific products & keep mine waxed, its entirely covered with swirl marks. I have some really nasty chips through the paint as well. MINIs just have either really thin or really poor paint.

[rainbowdreamer]

Chilihead - sorry about your problems.

craigsyboo - noticed your signature. Is your new MINI that badly buit?

[Pepper-Cooper]

Stonechips are unfortunately a part of any motoring experience, and are not exclusive to MINI owners.

When washing you car, I would suggest a that when you first hose the car down, you do a very thorough job. I'm particulary anal about this, as sometime small grains of sand are left, and when you wash you car, the cloth/mitten or whatever you use, pics up these grains in one sweep. I mean you don't wash you car inch by inch. I bought a high presure water machine just for this purpose and spend about 20 minutes thorougly spraying off the car. I would also suggest to wash the exterior metal parts first, top to botton... and only then proceed to the black plastic part, as these are the areas which are more prone to collect these grains of said, especially just on the lower lips of the wheel arches. Further suggestion - also spray off the inner wheel arches.

My 2c worth...
Pepper-Cooper

[chilihead]

This is really bad news that the mini paint seems to be a problem for a lot of people. Had I known this I would have reconsodered my purchase.

Pepper-cooper, I know stone chips can happen but I have had enough cars over the years to make a fair comparison, and there is something not right here.

[phil.tun]

Sorry to hear your bonnets taken a blast but I am also paranoid about stone chips / car park door dings etc. Over the past 16 years I have had 10 brand new company cars. I drive an average of 30k per annum and can comfortably say, stone chips are a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I did 60k in an escort and it went back without a chip, 90k in a mondeo that went back looking like it had been shot by a 12 bore. 90k in a 406 without a chip, 60k in my current 406 and a bonnet that looks like a dartboard surround!
Our baby: Chilli red Cabrio Pepper + loads! Has now covered 3.5k, we collected her on July 7th and touch wood have not a blemish.
I wash her at least once a week, but take care to blast the grit off first. I use a very soft sponge and ring it between wipe and back to bucket.

Don't despair that your new toy has had a couple of dings, if your dealer won't play ball you could call "Chipsaway" or one of the similar companies. My neighbor bought a brand new Volvo Cabrio and collected 5 chips in the first 2 months. Chips away did the business and you would never know!

Roll on that sunshine!

Phil

[craigsyboo]

Quote: Originally Posted by rainbowdreamer

craigsyboo - noticed your signature. Is your new MINI that badly buit?

Yes I'm afraid it is!!! My solicitor and I are trying our hardest to get the dealership to agree to me rejecting it, but they are putting up a lot of resistance!

A representative from MINI is meant to be coming up to look at it nerxt Tuesday, so fingers crossed....

[Frogeye58]

Hey all,

Paint chips happen to everybody. So do swirl marks if you're not careful. Try not to let these little things ruin the pure joy you get from driving a LBC. GET OVER IT!

[chilihead]

Quote: Originally Posted by dino_smith

I have a Hyper-blue MCS and the first wash with new sponge & cloths produced loads of sirl marks as well, luckily they only show up in certain light conditions & at certain angles.

i've used a light polishing grit to remove some of the marks, but I don't want to do the whole car.

REHW's MCSC in hyper blue also had swirl marks visible @ the trackday, maybe it's a problme with the paint process, i'm going to speak to our paint quality engineers here to find out what to do(we make/paint spoilers & bumpers for OEM trackfit).

Hi Dino_smith. Please let me know what your people say. I will update this post after my trip to the dealers on Friday.

[dantay999]

Stone chips are a fact of life and for this reason I keep well back from other cars at motorway speeds....have also invested in an ugly 'car-bra' for longer journeys to try to minimise the damage. I do have to say however that the darker the colour the more visable the swirl marks....my main reason for no going for black. I have found that Zaino polish is very good at filling minor swirls on BEP paintwork.

[craigsyboo]

Quote: Originally Posted by dantay999

I have found that Zaino polish is very good at filling minor swirls on BEP paintwork.

Oooooh, I will give it a go - thanks for the info!!

[dantay999]

Its the best i've found and its non-abrasive....smells of cherry too.

[MickyD]

Quote: Originally Posted by chilihead

The next day I applied some autoglym super gloss protection to try and avoid this re-occuring.

there's no wax/polish that will stop a stone chip, the only thing that will prevent them is either a car-bra (hate them personally), or the clear paint protections sytems where a transparent film is applied over the paint.

[dino_smith]

Quote: Originally Posted by chilihead

Hi Dino_smith. Please let me know what your people say. I will update this post after my trip to the dealers on Friday.

hi,

I spoke with our quality engineers yesterday and they both said that when you wash a car you will always get "micro-scratches", which show up more on dark colours, non-metallic black being the worst.

Their advice was that a 6monthly clean using colour magic will help to hide themarks, but continual use of any polishing agent like T-Cut will slowly remove the clearcoat layer causing the paint to gradually fade in sunlight.

As mentioned above, giving the car a good rinse to remove larger particles will help.

on a side note, if you want to see an example of soft paint that chips easy, have a look at a Renault Megane Coupe in black, they suck, I have to touch the paint up every 3months & it still looks rubbish

[chilihead]

Ok thanks Dino_smith. I will see what the outcome is tomorrow.

[chilihead]

After seeing the head warranty people at the dealership, they have conducted some tests on the bonnet and have admitted that there is a problem with the paint thickness. The scratch test also left a mark, albeit only just visible. They have offered to respray the bonnet under warranty. This work will be done at the dealership but to factory specification. Has anyone else had this experience as I am concerned that that the car is so new. At least it will fix the stone chips.

[tukansam]

Quote: Originally Posted by chilihead

After seeing the head warranty people at the dealership, they have conducted some tests on the bonnet and have admitted that there is a problem with the paint thickness. The scratch test also left a mark, albeit only just visible. They have offered to respray the bonnet under warranty. This work will be done at the dealership but to factory specification. Has anyone else had this experience as I am concerned that that the car is so new. At least it will fix the stone chips.

Make sure they remove the bonnet completely and bake the paint properly. If they don't you will get a repeat of the chipping problems.

[craigsyboo]

Quote: Originally Posted by chilihead

After seeing the head warranty people at the dealership, they have conducted some tests on the bonnet and have admitted that there is a problem with the paint thickness. The scratch test also left a mark, albeit only just visible. They have offered to respray the bonnet under warranty. This work will be done at the dealership but to factory specification. Has anyone else had this experience as I am concerned that that the car is so new. At least it will fix the stone chips.

Surely as the whole car is painted at the same time, then the paint should be the same quality and thickness all over? If the paint on the bonnet is substandard then it would follow that the rest of the car is substandard too. Admittedly you are less likely to get stonechips anywhere other than the bonnet, but it may scratch and mark more easily than "normal" paint jobs...

Personally I would question whether it should be taken back and the whole thing redone