Morris Minor Owners Club

bmcecosse wrote:Thanks again all - how come my red Mini never showed slightest sign of this ??

I'd guess it's due to the banning of cadmium in modern pigments. Apparently since then all red/orange pigments have had more trouble with fading.

Well, so a bloke who worked for a chemical company told me a few years ago. I'm no chemist.

Look on the bright side - you'll have a nice pink car in a few years time

It's my wife's car -so may suit her!

And you're the one polishing it....?

Exactly. All done now -looks fine in the sun today. Probably turned pink again by morning. I wonder if anyone has challenged Vauxhall in Court on this - the paint 'not fit for purpose' ??

If you moaned about it now they would prob give you a free car !!

Definitely worth discussing with your local Vauxhall dealer

bmcecosse wrote:Thanks again all - how come my red Mini never showed slightest sign of this ??

I can still remember when I worked at Cowley, there were racks full of small, about 6" x 6", metal plates standing outside the experimental department. Each plate was painted a different colour, presumably to see the effects of exposure to the elements.

I know red paint is well known for this problem but some seem worse than others. Back in the late 1980's I had a Manta (GM Vauxhall/Opel) in carmine red and never had any bother - it lived outside all year round as well. Later on (around 1996) I had a BMW 3 series in red with colour coded bumpers, these plastic bumpers and the door mirror covers were bad for blooming and need regular cutting to bring back the red colour.

Aye - saw a very 'pink' BMW today - the whole car, not just the bumpers!