Hi everyone!

First post so please forgive me if this is in the wrong section or has already been covered elsewhere. I searched through the history and couldn't find an answer to this question.

My wife ordered me some stripes from Mighty Stripes for my '11 Countryman S. I have watched a few videos about how to apply them, so the physical application part is not the problem. I am just curious if I need to remove any of the badges/trim on my car while putting them on. Specifically, the rear badge around the trunk handle.

Should I try to remove the trunk handle and try to put the stripes on under the handle. Or should I just cut the stripe around the trim?

Thanks for any help! We purchased our Mini new back in 2011 but I haven't really been involved in the Mini community, looking forward to getting involved on these forums!

Alan

 

Hi Alan,

Welcome to a pretty neat forum. I don't have the answer to your question but I'm sure someone will come along who has done this before. Off the top of my head I would say to run the strip on top of the handle but that's just my guess.

 

My 2012 came with hood stripes and I decided to add the boot and side stripes. When I received them I decided to start with the boot stripes, since they are shorter and easier to handle. My hood stripes are the wide spaced ones, so I would only have to deal with the CooperS badge. I was going to remove it and place it over the stripe, as looking at many stripe pictures, I didn't like the look of the stripe being trimmed.

To get a feel for installing them, I started with the left stripe, which would not require badge removal. I was absolutely amazed as to how difficult it was to install, due to the width of the stripe and the compound curvature of the boot. I had another person helping, so I could use two hands, while he ran the heat gun, but I just could not get it to sit right, without either having creases or being stretched to where it looked deformed. I gave up and have ordered a replacement for it and will have a vinyl expert do the installation of the next set as well as the side stripes. I have done vinyl work before, but found this to just be too tricky for my skills.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I was a little concerned about the hump in the hood, didn't even think the curve of the hatch would be a problem. I talked to a local vinyl shop and they charge $150 an hour of labor and a minimum of 2 hours. $300 is pretty steep for some $60 stickers.

 

That's too bad about the cost. I'm extremely fortunate to have a shop local to me that has only charged me $30 for install of my side stripes, but I'm guessing it would be a little more for the full bonnet to boot stripes.

 

I applied the 18" Rally stripe kit from houseofgrafx on our countryman. I removed both bonnet and boot emblems. Never applied vinyl before and took me 2 full days. (yes, slow, but I don't care. It was a fun and fulfilling 2 days.) I striped all the way down both bumpers and it looks great.

To remove the front emblem, I heated it up and used fishing line to cut around. There are pegs on the emblem that fit into holes in the bonnet, so you have to work your way around the outsides and then pry up. To reapply, I used 3m double sided tape.

To remove the rear emblem, you have to remove the liner on the inside of the boot because the emblem is held on with bolts.
Going over the hump is a pain, especially with 4 stripes. I put 1 inch tape down as a guide to keep the lines straight.

I'm installing new stripes on my r53 this weekend. They are pre-cut, so it should be an easy install.


Good luck

 

Thanks for all of the feedback. I'll probably wait until this weekend so I can find a friend to lend an extra set of hands. I will definitely be using the tape down the center tip to help keep things aligned.

Worst case is they come out looking crummy and I've lost some inexpensive vinyl and an afternoon of time.

 

I had mine professionally installed. But it is 22 inches wide with a 1/4 inch pin stripe. They go all the way down the front and back bumpers and over the roof. They cut around the mini emblems so tight you can't even tell. I agree that the gap doesn't look so good. For the countryman badge on the boot, they removed it and then reapplied it on top of the vinyl. They actually used a vinyl wrap material which hugs the countryman's curves beautifully. It looks like paint. Install was pricey at a little over $200 but worth the professional look. There are pics somewhere on the forum