Thanks guys for the advice.  More to come...

Jeff

http://www.bostik-us.com/1100-fs-fast-set-urethane-sealant

Ex factory, the scuttle/wing seam is not sealed.

On many restos, I used acrylic sealant and also 2pack sealant used in aircraft maintenance as both can be painted over. Both with mixed results. The acrylic sealant (painted over) tends to shrink with age and will crack one day. The 2pack sealant stands a lot longer but also cracks one day as the scuttle/wing joint is somewhat flexible. This allows water to enter which will not dry out...

Nowadays I don´t use sealant any more. Get the seam as close as possible and penetrate it with primer and paint before you finally paint the whole car. After the paint has cured completely, apply cavity wax into the seam. A syringe works best. Repeat this once a year and you´ll have no more problems here.

The same applies to the wing/front panel seam.

Spray the inner wing with a heavy coat of cavity wax and fit wheelarch liners. The best investment against rust on a mini front end!!!

Cheers, Diddi

Thought I would shoot this one our to the group about seam sealers - especially as it relates to the scuttle and wing gaps.  Just had new BMW wings installed on my Mini and now at the stage to seam seal the underbody and attack this part of the car.  Talking to several of my UK friends, they say the scuttle and wing should have a gap with no sealer to let water esscape - not sure about that.