ok ok... deep breaths. deep breaths...

Facts:
It was a terrible install. Exposed roofs and uneven cuts.

Facts:
From over 5 feet away it looks great.

Facts:
Mirrors aren't uniform either, which makes it less serious that the roof isn't lined up in the center

I'm feeling better about the roof now. It still looks totally cool from a distance. I'm starting to overlook the flaws.

 

Damn the bad luck... you got a bad set of mirror caps, TOO ?!?!

Kidding.

 

Lol. Nah... Apparently the mirrors don't come uniform. So why should I sweat it?

I'm going to just save a little at a time here and there and about a year from now I'll try to get this roof redone.

Does anyone have any ideas on how much it cost to get the Cooper Flags vinyls removed from a roof?

 

If you decide to take the vinyl off the roof, you can DIY. All you need is a blow dryer, some Goof Off or Goo Gone, and some patience.

In about a year, you might have gotten over these imperfections. Wait and see.

Ps. now you're going to make me look at my mirror caps and see if they are off-centered. And I just replaced mine two days ago because the original ones were starting to yellow a bit from the sun.

 

Lol. Well they seem to be just a random pattern of checkers.... no real perfection in the uniformity. I think they come like that. I had to really look to notice though.

 

[quote=msduncan;2393033]Lol. Nah... Apparently the mirrors don't come uniform. So why should I sweat it?

I'm going to just save a little at a time here and there and about a year from now I'll try to get this roof redone.

If you don't mind another voice - I think your MNIN looks good! Had you not written about the roof being offcentered, I wouldn't have thought a thing about it. Although your opinion is the only one that really counts, (since it's your $$$$) but honestly, people, myself included, look at your whole car, the overall effect. It is very good-looking! And all "perfect" beauties have a flaw. It's what makes them unique!

 

Thanks CJP!!!

I've calmed down and accepted it. From 5 feet away you dont notice. Showed it to some coworkers and they didn't notice anything at all (and I didn't say anything).

In fact several of them that totally turned their nose up at checkers suddenly loved it in person once they got to see it. So I'm back to being happy.

It was a bad install job by comparison to others...but nothing I can't live with.

Now I'm concerned because my boot badge holder seems to be lost in the mail from Cooper Flags. :9

 

Glad to know you feel better about it !

 

Happy to read your last post msduncan. And there's always next year to get the perfect installation you and your MINI deserve.

Will keep fingers crossed for you on the postal front.

CROC 411

 

I am glad you are feeling better about everything. They looked to be having a tuff time with the install. They were working on it when I stopped by to pick mine up from getting tinted. Sorry to hear they don’t do roof graphics as well as they do window tinting. I think it looks good, I would not have noticed with you pointing it out.

 

Yes I saw your ride there Ace. It looked awesome!

Do you go to the local BAMA dinner meets? (birmingham area mini association)

I'm planning to attend monday.

 

For what it's worth, I think the checkers look good, and were a good idea. I also didn't notice the off-centeredness... until you pointed it out. Now it's going to bother me, so much that I wish I was there to help out fixing it (though I have ZERO skill in that area!). Unfortunately, time to head on back, be rational with the guy, and get compensated for the time/trouble. He should make that right - and that likely means re-doing the job. Chances are you can get vinyl from a sign shop less expensively and he can reinstall, or something. That install is wrong, and your installer should know it. Sorry it didn't work out - again, for what it's worth, it DOES look really good on the car. Think of the uniqueness of it!

OK, that's a shameless platitude meant to help you feel better. I wish it had worked for you.

 

Thanks, and yes I plan to be there Monday. Looking forward to it.

 

Ok if it does continues to bother you and you can't live with it even if you try, I suggest doing it yourself in a different manner. My Mini roof (see below) was completed with only $60 worth of materials and had more than enough to do it again if I wanted. Instead of a full roof panel, they are individual squares outlined in pinstripe. Nothing against Cooper Flags or any other vendors. it's just when I started thinking about it, I thought "I can do this for less money myself". I mean a full roof installation is what at $350 by the time you have ordered and paid for install?

What can I say, I am always looking for a cheaper way of doing things.

 

H82WRK -- that looks amazing. Love the colors you chose too.

 

SWEET !!!

of course, you don't even need a step stool to do your roof.

Any issues yet with wax/polish build up on the edges of the vinyl ? I think that is the drawback to individual squares. Of course, at that price, you could always take them up, clean the roof really well, and reinstall.

 

Haven't had a problem yet, but I am a detail freak so when I am done waxing I use a detail spray with microfiber and it seems to get any residue up. I love my microfibers!!

Thanks for the compliments and you are right, no step ladder necessary!

I've wanted to do a checkerboard roof on my big Mini but can't figure out how to make it look right since I am pw on pw with a black sunroof. I would have to white out the sunroof and then overlay with black squares and that just seems like too much work and to try to get pw to match would be hard.

Just a pet peeve but it has driven me crazy that I can't buy checkerboard mirrors that match my pw, I just can't have a true white on my pw, I am too wierd about stuff like that. I would love to join the checkerboard roof/mirror/rearview mirror club but alas!

 

hey msduncun, just now saw this thread. The car looks great, and I can totally relate to getting worked up over little imperfections that drive me crazy. My wife has to live with me and my problem.

But, your car looks great!! Glad to see you are still enjoying it.

 

Yeah, I find it hard to mod PW also. Anything that is pure white just doesn't look right.

You'd almost have to do the checkers in a totally different color... maybe red and black checkers, for example.

 

How about Black on black -- glossy and matte?

 

Doesn't the vinyl from cooperflags come pre-cut? Wouldn't the off-center issue be their fault and not the installer's?

That being said, add me to the list of folks who didn't notice it till it was mentioned.

Your car looks great!

 

I had a thread a while back about checkering the mirror caps yourself, I'll see if I can find it. It's not too difficult, but is easier with a laser level (something to put a nice straight line on). You can get vinyl in 100's of colors so matching the PW would be easy, or leave the mirror caps PW and put another color checkers on (I did black on my silver mirror caps that way).



Use of the laser level (I covered the mirrors in clear food wrap for alignment):




Other fun things you can do with vinyl while you're at it - I got some silver vinyl and used it to keep reflections down in heavy snow:


I also decorated the side of the car for a show - removed it shortly after:


Removing the vinyl is really straightforward, heat with hair dryer and peel from a corner - or just wait for a hot summer day and peel it off. You can do this years later and it looks fine, only issue is if you had paint that oxidized or bleached, then you get a shadow effect (shouldn't be an issue). removing the stickum is usually a (stick the vinyl back on and peel it off" routine, but goo-gone can help with any miscreant stickies...

Replacing the roof actually wouldn't be too bad either, it'd just take some time. Get to a sign shop, ask them to cut you a bunch of squares, drop your line using the laser (a semi dark garage helps (also helps set the mood, wink wink) and have at it. Only issue will be getting the curves right at the edges. The antenna? I'd have removed it, vinyl-ed under, and replaced. No holes that way, no visible ragged edges.

Hope this helps, sorry long post, but you get the idea...

 

Holy smokes Dixon. That makes it sound like some punk kid can come up to my car in the summer and peel my top off.

That would truly suck.

 

ummm.. I don't know how to take that!

Yes, some punk kid could remove all the vinyl appliques on any car, but it takes time. Sometimes you get a corner up and the vinyl stretches, then cracks, and you have to peel the corner up again, it's not fast, it's just straightforward to do and doesn't require any special skills (other than not biting your fingernails so you have something to pry with!). Is your roof individual squares or a whole sheet? If it's a whole sheet that'll be more difficult since you have a large area and a long "line" of material being pulled, but it's still the same process: heat, pull carefully, and when it tears, find another corner and start again. For a whole-roof decal, it'll take some time.

 

Yeah it's a whole roof. I'll leave it on for a year or so and if it is still bothering me then I'll have it redone.