[silver]

My 2 month old F56 MCS has started to collect light scratches on a few of the body panels and the black gloss boot lid opener, the scratches are in different directions, originally i thought it was the hand car wash I took it too but seems weird the scratches are in different directions, they'd be in one direction you'd expect when the car was wiped down. I guess this could happen by people walking past my car, but I dont really leave it anywhere people walk past it all the time?

More worrying...corrosion spots have started to appear on the rear left panel and the boot lid. Ive attached a pic.

Its going back to mini today to look at the bodywork.

Any thoughts on this? has anyone seen this happen before. Someone has suggested it could be the paint cracking which would look like scratches..

How easy would the scratches be to polish out?

Thanks

 

[derekh929]

I think it depends on condition when you got the car as dealer prep can be very bad, also not all mini paint jobs I bet are hard like the two we have had paint very hard.
Surface scratching on lacquer coat could well have been caused by local hand wash but hey not everyone want a motor with zero swirls as some want just a car that looks clean.
Would I take my new car to hand car wash no not personally but then I have OCD towards my cars not all of us worry that much, but having seen the mess of the water used for 3 cars at the local shopping mall and the rag they were washing it with I'm not surprised to see surface scratches you see that would be able to be polished out.
A decent wash mit MF needle one from asda with fresh hot water with half decent shampoo is also that is needed for a safe wash with car, but take of the worst fist with power washer or the like.
As for the spots rust, have you been grinding or someelse been grinding close to the car ? as looks very like what I had on BMW particle's that had melted into top layer so had to get dironizer product I used IronX from Car Pro and that dissolved the fallout particles with a few goes, looks very similar to what I had , and hope that is what it is rather than rust coming from panel

 

[Blat7Chris]

The spots look like contamination, either tar or iron. Both easy to remove with the right detailing product (Tar remover or IronX). The scratches look like they will need the attention of a machine polish, but should come out without to much issue.

 

[silver]

Thanks for the replies. It's been supaguarded by Mini so i would expect the hard wax coat to protect against "elements"

I am hoping the scratches will polish out easily enough. I have cover on the bodywork so I am hoping Mini can make it right again.

I would usually hand wash it myself but took it a couple of times to a car wash which is supposed to be one of the best around. I dont have easy access to a outside tap as i live in a flat.

Lessons learnt. Wash it myself somewhere, dont trust anyone else with it.

 

[Blat7Chris]

Sorry I don't have the faith in dealer applied supaguard that you do. I am a sad detailer, and won't let my dealer even wash the car before delivery.

For rust spots to break through the paint from the body there would be bubbling of the paint long before the rust shows, so this has to be a contamination on the paint from the elements, and therefore simple to remove. Get it done before it does damage the paint

 

[donnaj1dlh]

Looks like iron fall-out to me. As suggested above, IronX (IronOut) etc are brilliant. Try that first.

 

[donnaj1dlh]

. I dont have easy access to a outside tap as i live in a flat.

Lessons learnt. Wash it myself somewhere, dont trust anyone else with it.

Might be worth considering getting a detailer to apply a ceramic coating to your car then? Makes maintenance a lot easier/quicker. I got mine done (although I'm pretty OCD anyway) and I find even a downpower of rain can be enough to clean it!

 

[silver]

Ordered some of that.Thanks!

 

[derekh929]

A good point is very few of these coatings a proper scratch resistant even though some may say they are , still need careful maintained, I have applied supaguard in past myself cost me about £10 for kit and its the prep before coating that dealers are not good at and the key to the base to put the coating on to how long it lasts IMHO.
Having a ceramic coating on last 4 cars it certainly helps especially on the plastics and wheels save loads of cleaning in future

 

[silver]

Might be worth considering getting a detailer to apply a ceramic coating to your car then? Makes maintenance a lot easier/quicker. I got mine done (although I'm pretty OCD anyway) and I find even a downpower of rain can be enough to clean it!

How much was it?

 

[donnaj1dlh]

Depends really.


I had mine fully treated with GTechniq products, including the plastic trims and alloys. I used Crystal Serum/EXO which can only be applied by an accredited detailer. You can get GTechniq C1 which can be bought/applied yourself. Five years lifespan as opposed to the CS's seven year guarantee. Mine cost £705 for the MINI and £830 for the Boxster.


There are other brands out there but I really like the GTechniq. You can still detail on top if you so require but the Serum actually chemically bonds to the paint making the surface harder and more resistant to scratching, bird lime etc etc. CS can only be wet sanded off, hence why it has to be done by a professional.


You can see my photos here (both cars were treated the same)


https://www.facebook.com/amdetails/...3682799&hash=4701731709520161000&pagefilter=3
https://www.facebook.com/donna.henderson1/posts/10156215996070501


I know some others on here have use similar products........

 

[jeremybingham]

Little oranges rust spots like this are often caused by train brake dust. If you park in or near a station that's your answer. It needs to be polished off quickly.

 

[silver]

Update:

So it looks like someone has driven around the rear left wing of the car and scratched the panel, boot lid, steel window trim and the black gloss pillar (Thanks very much) It has to been a high SUV or van to do it.

I've taken it to BMW and apparently the boot lid isn't covered under cosmetic repair (wasn't told this when i purchased it) so I'm going to have to get those scratches sorted myself. They don't look too deep, and I've given them a quick once over with some X2 scratch and a microfibre cloth and they've come up pretty well already so i think with an hour of elbow grease i can fix them myself. Then get it properly waxed and polished.

But.. the black gloss pillars and the black gloss boot handle scratches don't seem to be shifting with the X2, any recommendations?

Thanks

 

[derekh929]

Little oranges rust spots like this are often caused by train brake dust. If you park in or near a station that's your answer. It needs to be polished off quickly.

Yes train station car park can be culprit, but I would advise never to polish out until fallout practicals fully removed or you will risk marring your top coat seen it many times before and learned a hard lesson few years back with similar

 

[silver]

Depends really.


I had mine fully treated with GTechniq products, including the plastic trims and alloys. I used Crystal Serum/EXO which can only be applied by an accredited detailer. You can get GTechniq C1 which can be bought/applied yourself. Five years lifespan as opposed to the CS's seven year guarantee. Mine cost £705 for the MINI and £830 for the Boxster.


There are other brands out there but I really like the GTechniq. You can still detail on top if you so require but the Serum actually chemically bonds to the paint making the surface harder and more resistant to scratching, bird lime etc etc. CS can only be wet sanded off, hence why it has to be done by a professional.


You can see my photos here (both cars were treated the same)


https://www.facebook.com/amdetails/...3682799&hash=4701731709520161000&pagefilter=3
https://www.facebook.com/donna.henderson1/posts/10156215996070501


I know some others on here have use similar products........

looks amazing! i noticed a lot of swirls and marks on the mini before you had it done, was this something you did a while after purchasing it? i presume they polished it all up before they treated it?

 

[Blat7Chris]

Black plastic trims polish just like anything else. There are special plastics polishes for head lights which work ok, I have also used brasso once when had deep scratches on black trims on a VW, which worked ok.

 

[silver]

Black plastic trims polish just like anything else. There are special plastics polishes for head lights which work ok, I have also used brasso once when had deep scratches on black trims on a VW, which worked ok.

I'll give this polish a go, nothing is too deep that i don't think will polish out..

Thanks all.

 

[silver]

Thanks for the help on this.
It's been back to BMW and had a machine polish. Seems to have removed the worst of the scratches. Also replaced the black gloss boot pillar as was only £25.

Used some Iron X on the areas showing signs of rust spots and it all came off no problem.

Thanks for all the sound advice.