TRUE very true !

 

Did my headlight rings, side grills, and gas cap over the weekend. At first install I was very unimpressed but as they have dried completely I am very impressed with the outcome. I am going to take them off tonight and respray them as well as doing the the door handles and then I'll post some pictures.

 

Tip for the handles:
Instead of using masking tape to tape off around the door handle, use 3x5 note cards or envelopes. Slide the cards or the envelopes in between the rubber moldings for the door handles and the body panel. I then taped newspaper around the area to avoid overspray onto the door/window/etc. After I sprayed the handle, before the paint dried I pulled the cards. This left a seamless transition between the door handle and the body panel without the need to use little pieces of tape to form a curvature around the door handle.

 

Did you pull those cards immediately, or did you let it sit and get a couple of coat on there? This has been the hurdle in actually doing this on mine...

 

I pulled the cards immediately....but once the handle has had a chance to dry, I re-card the handle and shoot it again to build up multiple coats. I think multiple coats as mentioned before is the key to durability with this type of paint. I think I am on 3 or so coats. Using the cards in order to "mask" off from the door panel is very easy to do. The black rubber "seal" or "grommet" of the door handle is very pliable and has just enough clearance for a 3x5 card. I ran out of 3x5 cards and started using envelopes. Whatever you use needs to be thick enough not to bleed through but thin enough to fit. The best part of using the card is you can even use them for the inside masking of the door handle where it was very hard to precisely tape off. I simply curved the card to fit in the recessed area where your fingers go "the cup" and slid in between the rubber molding and and painted surface. Like I said, I cannot imagine a way to create a more perfect line from the painted door to the rubber molding of the door handle. I tried taping off first. Little pieces put together in an overlapping method to form a curvature. It was pretty good looking, but I am a pefectionist. The cards allow a perfect curve and there is really no way to screw it up.

 

Very nice! Now when I have time...

 

+1

 

Plasti-dipped my roof too, I did it last weekend, I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow

 

please excuse my poor, long lost scoop


and trim piece...
notice my antenna? haha

 

nice I would like to see more of the roof to see if it is like mine. My roof seems like it is suede or something.

 

that looks really good mini_chili.
the same thing happened to my hood scoop but i ran back a 1/4 mile down the free way and picked it up (dodging traffic) now it is Zip-Tied to my hood
p.s. our cars are almost identical besides rims and some options haha

 

I spent an hour driving up and down the road looking for my scoop, but to no avail.
I'll see if I can get some more pics tomorrow. I'll use my sisters nikon instead of my phone. I need to do 1 more thick coat. I was running out of paint and the can started sputtering and spraying big drops so one side is smooth as glass while the other looks more suede-like, similar to your pics
also, I began with 4 cans w/o spraying the sunroof, and I barely got 3 coats so I ran to the store and got 2 more which got used up. I decided it wasn't worth one more trip for that 7th can that night
-Nick

 

Did you lose your scoop and your right front wheel flare??or is that off for some other reason? Seems like nothing wants to stay on your car Lets just hope your rear spoiler is happy where he is or this could start getting expensive!

 

Hey MINI_chili,
Did you plasti-dip your door handles? If so, how does it seem to hold up?

 

you should plasti-dip where your wheel flare should be

 

Wonder how many layers or cans it would take

 

actually the spoiler was the first thing that became loose on the car...
fixed that problem with some JB Weld filled everything nice 'n good, it just gunna be near impossible to remove it w/o breaking something.
some of the flare's clips were broken (I assume from a pothole while turning (my tires are wider and taller than stock)) but the flare did come off at the same time as the scoop

not plasti-dip, I used a matte spray paint(which I had also used for the headlights, and rings, and the grilles), it was only meant to be temporary, but it worked well. the passenger handle gets almost as much use as the driver, but hasn't chipped, the diver handle had some water get under the paint, and chipped at the edges
I re-did the headlight rings and grilles w/ plasti-dip and they're holding up great
(I'm waiting to do the handles b/c I want to put an LED in the handle, so I figured I'd wait until I take them off)

I had actually thought about it, but figured it would be worth it to just buy the $12 replacement

 

more detailed pics:


rough(er) side



the roughest part (I was running out of paint) and my antenna delete!



smooth side. please ignore the dirt (constuction site nearby)











in the sun it doesn't look quite as grey as it does in this pic, it's just like the drip-rails

 

MINI_chili nice job Yours came out much better than mine. Perhaps I was spraying to far away. I may just redo the roof come next Spring.

 

thanks!
I sprayed about 7-8 inches away and moved quickly, and covered the whole side reallllllly think near the end, I think that was the key to making it smooth. It was so thick that I used just over 2 cans for the final layer (or atleast I would have, had I not been running out) and I didn't even spray the sunroof!
another thing I did different was I didn't remove the drip rails (I just didn't think it was worth it), I taped over the outside and sprayed over the inside (I can post a pic to show what I mean if this isn't clear), then as soon as I finished spraying each layer I ran my knife along the center, so pulling the tape off wouldn't pull off the roof. and for the front, I just kinda pulled the the rubber front piece forward and sprayed under it. 1 more thing I did was I used adhesive on the bottom of my wing mount and once I got it all lined up and made sure the wing fit correctly, I took it off, but left the mounts and sprayed the mounts in with the roof

 

the next thing I'm plasti-dipping is the letters on my tires white (BFGoodrich KDW...)
I may end up using something other than plasti-dip I remember reading something about what MSFITOY used for his tires

 

I did find that you have to throw out all you knew about spray painting out the window. I redid my headlight rings to make them thicker and get the edges better. What looked the best is when I sprayed close and laid it on thick. You may want to experiment before going at the real thing. I did find an Ace Hardware here that had all the plasti-dip colors but I don't want to get carried away. I also found a company who sells factory MINI/BMW paint in a spray can so I am trying to decide if the rings and such would look better EB.

 

who is this?!

 

I second this question, a link to the paint company would be great

 

Wouldn't yall like to know!!! Muahahahahaha!