# BMW Mini paint issues, pepper white, strike-through??



## woodybeefcake (Oct 12, 2008)

Hey all,

It' not my car (for once eh? haha), it is my friends 2006 Mini Cooper.

I had a look at it the other day. Sorry about the poor iPhone pic quality but its all I had.

In case you can't see the pepper white paintwork has a load of feint black marks on it...

Some rub off if you rub hard enough but some just don't. The paintwork only has a protection applied by the dealer to 'protect it', I'll use that term loosely.

They don't wash off, and what I want to know is, will a good polish and wax solve the problem?




























Onto problem number two, has the paint here been 'burnt' away?










All comments welcome!

Oh and a pic of the car!


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Firstly I'll say the pepper white paint is very thin 60 -70 microns average. Secondly its to hard to tell from your pics but the fact you have picked some off give me hope. 

Give it a gentle machine polish and it may just be dirt trapped under their 'protection'

Have you tried claying it?

The black looks to me like marring/severre holograms, worth a polish. The black is thankfully normal paint thickness (110-130) on these.

HTH


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## woodybeefcake (Oct 12, 2008)

I haven't actually got a machine polisher, and have only had a go once! So I won't be going that far! I could clay it though!


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Then clay and either lime prime or srp by hand should help:thumb:


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## andy-mcq (Sep 26, 2008)

il take a look at it jay if you can get me to see it lol


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

If its dirt in or on the paint, Carlack NSC might drag it out. I was amazed at what it managed to drag out of my paint :thumb:


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## HEADPHONES (Jan 1, 2008)

My wife's got an 06 pepper white.

Get loads of black/yellow specks fused to the paint on the rear too.
None on any other panels.

I reckon it's dirt and brake dust that gets sucked back onto the rear and rusts onto the paint.
Very stubborn but does come off after alot of gentle claying.

I've tried protecting with
TW Gloss Gaurd
Carlack NSC
Collinite
Srp
Weekly TW wax it wet.

All fail to prevent this stuff welding on.

Unless I wash it every 2 days, claybar is needed after a month to keep it speck free.

I gave up on perfection now and just live with it and just clay twice a year


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

HEADPHONES said:


> My wife's got an 06 pepper white.
> 
> Get loads of black/yellow specks fused to the paint on the rear too.
> None on any other panels.
> ...


Try a decontamination system (Aquartz IronX)


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## HEADPHONES (Jan 1, 2008)

Just read up on iron cut.
Don't know why i didn't read those threads:wall:
Seems like just the ticket :thumb:


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## TOGWT (Oct 26, 2005)

*Caring for White Paint*

There are approximately 10-20 different colours that are mixed with white to produce various shades. The colour formula for white paint is a mix of red, yellow, green, blue and black in various percentages to arrive at the required 'tint' colour (i.e. arctic white, brilliant white, etc) Ultra violet radiation sometimes places an emphasis on the yellow and creates a tarnished look, in a similar way a red paint turns to pink due to the red oxide content in the paints colour formula (this is more pronounced in older style paint like single pack acrylic or cellulose based paint rather than modern clear on base 2K pack paints

With all vehicles a regular routine of cleaning the paint surface is important; more so with light coloured paint as dirt is more noticeable than on darker colours. Clean paint surface with a chemical paint cleaner and / or detailer's clay and then use an abrasive polish to remove any oxidation. 
Most people may think white paint won't show paint defects when clean, actually it will, you just have to look harder than darker colour paint like a black car; but they are there as the light will refract as opposed to reflect. A level clear is just as desirable on a white/silver or light colour vehicle

*Paint Hardness *

The enamel paint finishes on vehicles from the 50's and 60's era were as tough as porcelain. But rightly due to environmental concerns, those high percentage petroleum based paints have been generally superseded, resulting in the softer water-based paint finishes of today and the unavoidable orange-peel seen on many new and re-painted vehicles.

Today's paints, unfortunately, rank somewhere near the bottom of the scale of hardness, especially single coat black / red paint the exception being white single stage paint, which is 7 on a scale 1-10 and CeramiClear, when compared to all the materials your paint can possibly come in contact with (always bear that in mind).

*Mohs scale of Hardness*

A system of measurement to establish a guide as to the relative hardness of various materials, Mohs scale of mineral hardness was devised by the German mineralogist Frederich Mohs in 1812, selecting ten minerals because they were common or readily available. The scale is not a linear scale, but somewhat arbitrary.

The hardness of a material is measured against the scale by finding the hardest material that the given material can scratch, and/or the softest material that can scratch the given material. For example, if some material is scratched by apatite but not by fluorite, its hardness on Mohs scale is 4.5

_An adaptation of that scale;_

Talc =1, Carbon Black = 2, [black paint pigmentation] and Copper = 3, Platinum = 4, Iron = 5, Glass = 6, Quartz or Titanium dioxide = 7 [white paint pigmentation] and Topaz = 8, Corundum or Ruby = 9, Diamond =10

White paint is a 7/10 on the Mohs scale (Titanium dioxide) although hard and soft is a relative terms; you can scratch the hard surface of vehicles paint with a soft towel by the application of enough pressure. Both pressure and mechanical stress are defined as force per unit area. These two forces are the subject of Newton's third law of motion; the law of reciprocal actions

_[: to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction] _

How can a hard clear coat be so easily scratched? Force acts through a body that has a surface area; if the surface area is really small while maintaining an equal force, the pressure becomes astronomical and the object under pressure capable of penetrating the surface of an otherwise tough material. That's why a micro fine thread that is twice as fine as silk and a 100 times finer than a human hair, in an otherwise soft towel will scratch your paint. And the same reason a mosquito can penetrate a rhino hide with its proboscis (stinger).

White paint tends to turn grey with time (an unsightly grey film) which is due to road dirt becoming ingrained in the paint, a chemical cleaner and a polish will normally rectify this. The 'yellowing' is paint oxidation caused by ultra violet radiation; it takes time and neglect of the paint for this to occur. Clean paint surface with a chemical paint cleaner and then use an abrasive polish to remove oxidation.

With all vehicles a regular routine of cleaning the paint surface is important; more so with light coloured paint as dirt is more noticeable than on darker colours.

Most people may think white paint won't show paint defects when clean, actually it will, you just have to look harder than darker colour paint like a black car; but they are there as the light will refract as opposed to reflect. A level clear is just as desirable on a white/silver or light colour car
There are approximately 10-20 different colours that are mixed with white to produce various shades. The colour formula for white paint is a mix of yellow, blue, green, red, and black in various percentages to arrive at the required 'tint' colour (i.e. arctic white, brilliant white, etc)

Ultra violet (UV-B) radiation sometimes places an emphasis on the yellow and creates a tarnished look, in a similar way a red paint turns to pink due to the red oxide content in the paints colour formula (this is more pronounced in older style paint like single pack acrylic or cellulose based paint rather than modern clear on base 2K pack paints

*Paint Surface Cleaning *

Tends to turn grey with time (an unsightly grey film) which is due to road dirt becoming ingrained in the paint, a chemical cleaner and a polish will normally rectify this. The 'yellowing' is paint oxidation caused by ultra violet radiation; it takes time and neglect of the paint for this to occur.

White paint is subject to rail dust like every other paint colour; the only difference is that the rust stains show more redily than darker colours.
Vehicle manufacturer studies have shown that failure to remove environmental contaminants, like imbedded rail dust, acid rain, industrial fallout and other environmental contaminants from paint film can cause premature degradation of the paint system.

*Schedule:* annually, dependent upon environmental conditions and vehicle exposure but more often on light coloured paint. To optimize the reflective properties and appearance of the paint surface, it is best to regularly remove both imbedded and surface contaminants and road dirt and oils.

*Decontamination*

_Signs of Paint Surface Contamination-_ 
•	Dark coloured specks 
•	Brown or Orange (rust) coloured stains or specks 
•	Yellow stains 
•	Small metal coloured flecks 
•	Rough texture 
•	'Water spots' or marks 
•	Surface etching 
•	Oxidation 
•	Paint 'stains'

AQuartz Iron Cut is a one-step, highly effective car paint decontamination that can be used on car paint, wheels and glass cleaner (safe for all wheels including painted aluminium and alloys) beyond what can be removed by washing or by using detailer's clay, Used for the removal of sintered (heat fused) metal particulates, this product has the cleaning power of sulphuric acid but with a pH of 7.0 by using a neutralised acid salt.

Neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base (alkaline) producing a salt and neutralized base. Common examples include acetic acid and sulphuric acid, when mixed with water cause an exothermic chemical reaction, which loosens the sintered ferrous metal particulates, which have been converted entirely to rust and disintegrates forming a miscible emulsion that can be rinsed away. It starts off green, then red and then to blood red. Allow to to remain in place for a minute, agitate and rinse.

If you are familiar with detailing clay, you know it is capable of removing above surface contaminants that have bonded to the paint surface. This product is designed to remove what lies below the paint surface. Airborne chemical compounds and ferrous particles containing iron actually penetrate the paint and create corrosive compounds that eat deep into the paint's substrate. This is a gradual process that often is not evident until it's too late.


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