I recently purchased a JCW hard top. *One of the options the dealer offered was to paint the black plastic over the wheels and at the bottom edges of the aero kit to match the body color (British Racing Green). When the car was delivered, this had not been done. *The dealer said they would fix it immediately and proceeded to explain that the option was to paint the part over the wheels, but that the skirt on the front would remain black as would a small part on the back. *The stated reason for leaving the front black plastic is because rocks, curbs, etc. would quickly damage the paint. It seems reasonable to leave a small strip at the very bottom unpainted, but leaving the entire front piece unpainted seems wrong. *It is distinctly possible that I misunderstood what the dealer intends to do, but would appreciate some advice and pictures from those of you that have this option and a sense for what to expect.

 

On some cars the black plastic looks incredibly cheap... on the MINI I actually find it quite appealing. I would leave the JCW Aero as-is with unpainted front/rear lip and fenders but that is just my opinion. I've seen some cars with the whole kit painted and I didn't like it - but it's completely reasonable for you to ask that it be finished that way.

 

I like the JCW aero kit better like this... with all the bottom trim and valances painted gloss black. Most people paint them body color but painting them black keeps the style of the aero kit and really cleans up the car.

I know I've posted this pic everywhere in the last few days but I love it!

 

Thanks, very helpful.

 

For 2012, you can now order the arches pre-painted. There is a separate line item for it in the JCW parts guide. The guide lists all the
JCW options and packages and even shows a picture of the painted arches.
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Thanks to everyone for your help and perspective. I spoke to the dealer and they are going to paint the entire areo kit.