The chrome is really starting to tick me off. I wanted to buy the whole blackout stuff from lyle's but it started to look like a bit too much just to blackout my MC. So i was thinking....what if i just took off the parts, sanded them and painted them with some krylon and gave em a nice clear coat? Id like to hear all of your opinions on this matter. Any suggestions/grips/complaints/constructive criticism etc. i am open to anything you want to throw at me

 

the vinyl lasts longer and is less prone to chips.

but i did do a few blackouts myself using some rustoleum satin black without clear coat

 

I'd go vinyl, it won't chip like paint will.

 

Go with a paint called "plasitdip" it comes in a yellow can and you get it at Lowes or Home Depot. It will not be shiney though. It is a rubberized coating and does not require clearcoating and resists chipping really well.

 

Small parts are easy...i'm thinking of offering a professional painting service for trim pieces but would have to gauge interest first. Not sure where to start a thread asking? Paint and body stuff is a hobby of mine, mainly bike stuff but i'm slowly getting involved in Mini stuff now that I own my own lol. Painting my arches soon, and blacking out my own trim as well. I'll have to start a thread to see if anyone is interested. If I do things in batches it'll bring costs down. I can do anything from completely flat finishes, to full gloss, black or any factory color or anything really...you name it. Even the dreaded Joey Mod.

EDIT: If you do it yourself, make sure you clean those pieces REALLY well, scuff them with 600 grit or so to roughen up the surface, then hit them with a good primer, then color, then clear them. Even if you are using aerosol paint it should come out halfway decent.

 

not only that, but if you put on a thick enough coating, it will be really easy to peel off in 1 piece if you dont like it and it wont leave any residue.

I would say that plastic-dip is even more chip resistant than vinyl.

 

I say go for the spray paint...i did mine because I figured it was worth the try and if it came out horrible, then I could spend the money. Its very easy, satisfying, cheap, and easy to touch up if need (which I havn't had to do and I've had my stuff painted for about 3 months now and plenty of highway driving)

1. I grinded the pieces just to deshinny the chrome
2. Then used an automotive primer
3. Then Krylon Fusion for plastic
4. and finally a triple thick clear coat

It came out great and sure was cheap. I've gone on to paint my exhaust tip black with 1200 degree engine paint. Holds up amazing. Over the summer I gotta hit the muffler because that can still be seen...possible the control arms too.

I like self painting sooo much that this summer I'm going all out and painting my rims

 

hey thanks for the info. really helpful

what did you use to deshiny the parts?

 

Sandpaper. I used about 150-200 grit...anything less just roughed up the surface too much and anything more made it a lot more work.

Goodluck, and get a spay can gun adaptor. I did all mine without one and my fingers were sooooo sore after because those spray nozzles put a lot of strain on your fingers. I just got one (haven't used yet, but only $3 and fits any can and lifetime warrantee haha) to use for the rim project

 

Just painted my rims black (no pics yet though, camera is broken) using spray paint and they came out awesome. Sanded with 150 grit first then 400. 1 coat primer, 4 coats semi-gloss black (wet sanded inbetween), and 3 coats of clear. Took a whole day, but it was worth it.

 

hey checkercoop what clear did you use?

 

Krylon Triple Thick Clear Coat...i found all my paints at walmart it works well, and it like 3 coats with 1 spray (so surely I still did about 3 coats of this so I virtually have 9 coats haha