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After almost 4 years, my original stripes are looking a bit tatty. The fronts of them are showing some white through the black where stones etc (I guess) have got them. Now the black stripes look nice (not what I ordered) but are really starting to bug me.
So do I:
1. Learn to live with it.
2. De-stripe (I'd really like to not have to worry about stripes anymore but after 4 years I'm wondering how obvious the difference would be.
3. Replace them.
a. with factory black
b. with factory white like I ordered originally
c. with one of the many, many aftermarket (some of which I assume share the foot print of the OEM's)
I'm leaning towards pulling them off and seeing how obvious the difference is and going from there but to be honest I'm afraid of just what I'd find.
Well, since you have to remove the old ones first you may as well do that and see what the car looks like both condition wise and aesthetically without them. But, take before and after pics so we can share your adventure and live vicariously through you!
__________________ 2006 MCS JCW
At a New Home: 2002 Pure Silver MCS, 2003 Electric Blue MCS
Other car: 1971 Triumph TR6 www.triumphowners.com/108
Yeah, I pulled the stripes off our '05 Cabrio and the slight color difference was gone after one pass with the PC/Swirl.
Since the only white on your MINI is the side repeater lenses, I would not use white as the main color of any replacement stripes. I'd stick with black with white pins. I might be tempted to go with the viper stripes or sport stripes if you wanted to try to change it up a bit. Still use the white pins, maybe seperated from the black. That would really pop.
We pulled the stripes off our Cabrio last year. The clear bra was over them 1/2 way up the bonnet, so the unprotected part had faded way more than the protected 1/2. We removed the stripes to the bra, then replaced them with new ones that were about a 1/4" wider, so that the part under the bra did not show. I had to use some WD-40 to get some of the residue off, then clayed the area, one pass with Swirl, one pass with Amigo, and you could never tell they were there.
Before
After
Couple months later we traded it in on our Clubman.
Don't be afraid. It's a car. Everything can be fixed. Worst case scenario-- it has faded a bit and you decide to just replace the stripes. That is nothing to worry about.
Heat up about 4-6 inches of the stripe at a time. Once you get the edge started (start at the edge near the windshield) pull slowly and evenly. Once you get that 4-6 inch section up, heat up the next section and pull gently and evenly again... repeat, repeat, repeat, done.
I actually got the boot stripes off in one piece. Anyone want to buy some slightly used, slightly stretched boot stripes? I'll toss in the multiple pieces from the front stripes for free.
I've removed one set of bonnet stripes and one set of boot stripes.... let's see, carry the 1, add the.... that is FOUR stripes. And never yet have I had one of them rip.
Heat it up and pull on it slowly. Works for many things in life.
Ok, before this goes any further of course ;) Dumb question: I don't have a heat gun, if I stole my wife's hair dryer - would that produce enough heat?
Yep... i've used the blow dryer and it works fine. Put it on low setting and keep it a few inches away from the surface. Keep it moving back and forth and you only need to use it about 15 seconds on each section of the stripe.
I used a blow dryer to remove a set of bonnet and a set of boot stripes. Piece o' cake.
Actually, I had an issue with one of them...mine have chrome pins so the backing is basically mylar, and really thin. I had to heat them really well to get them to pull up without shredding. But after I got the first one sorted out it was fine.
I highly recommend parking in the sun in addition to the use of a heat gun or blow dryer.
[Doomsday] 09 JCW | DS/B | Loaded | JCW big brake kit | LSD | JCW suspension | M7 C-Wing | M7 AGS-R intake | M7 Turbo Aerogel Heat Shield | M7 Velocity Throttle Booster | M7 Strut Brace | M7 Carbon Fiber M2 scoop | JCW Sport Stripes | Black Jack Roof | JCW shifter | Black driving lights | 30% tint
And never yet have I had one of them rip. 
