I am close to pulling the trigger on getting rid of the chrome on my MINI. I did not buy the car new so I didn't have the choice. The question is which chrome to get rid of first and how.

I have always loved the look of the m7 ultimate grills (upper, mid, and lower) but there's always the cost factor. I visited lyle's vinyl website and did some more research. Could I get away with doing just the upper and middle grills from m7 and blacking out the chrome headlamp rings (by lyle)? I figured that the bottom grill is mostly covered by my euro plate and could wait... ok or no? How difficult is it to replace the headlamp rings and install the m7 grills?

Then there is the question of the mirror caps...how much do the black ones run and how would the above scenario work out with the chrome ones still on (temporarily)?

 

I'm not sure how my method would do for the mirror caps, but for all the other chrome (except for the grill because that M7 1 is awesome) paint it all yourself...its much cheaper that way, gives personal gratification, and is very easy to touch up if anything happens...and if you use a good enough clear coat chips wont be any worry...i've had mine rattle canned for about 4 and half months now and I have not had any chips

Goodluck with any way you choose

 

for the mirror caps. you could paint them yourself i would think. Just scuff them up with some sand paper will stick. I would use a lacquer paint so its harder than enamel. but that should be to hard.

 

Thanks for the input!
so for the chrome mirror caps I should sand them down with a fine grit first and then paint over them?

 

on the grill installation- how hard will that be and what does it require tools wise, etc?

 

Fine grit seems to work really good for all the plastic chrome

As for paint I found a great set up that is really strong and easily assessable
All theses except for the heat paint on the chrome pieces



The clear is really tough

 

awesome, thanks a lot!

 

I have seen some of Lyle's work and he does an amazing job. his web site shows a lot of creativity as well. nice t osee people thinking outside the box now and then .

 

i will buy the chrome from you

 

Instead of painting your mirror covers, trade with someone who has black ones. You may even be able to make a few dollars on it.

I did vinyl on headlight rings and tinted rockblocker on my headlights. I have had the vinyl on for 8 months maybe and there is not a single chip or scratch on the rings.

 

the grill install is very time consuming because you have to remove the front pumper. the top piece is simple, but the middle and lower are what causes the bumper to need to be removed. plus you will want to spray some paint behind the grills so that it doesnt show thru. I think if you want to hold off on the lower piece you can, its very similar to the m7 pattern, just a bit bigger holes and its plastic of course....but if u ever decide to put it on later, that means removing the front bumper again.

Here is you a picture of how mine looks right now with a little less chrome. car is dirty, and my dog decided to stick his ears up for the pic, but you get the idea.

I didnt spray the metal behind the middle grill, so you can see how it shows thru. i'll take care of it soon.

 

I think the M7 grills look terrible. They show everything behind the grill, which defeats the purpose of the grill in the first place.

Go with the Aero setup, that way you don't have to do the lower grill. It's also a lot cheaper.

 

the purpose of my grill is to keep out bugs/rocks, and allow air through.

 

mine does that too only it doesn't show every shiny piece of aluminum behind it.

 

Gnatster wrote how he kept everything from showing through. It's buried in the following thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=52408&page=7

By the way I'm coming along on my dechroming. I had the grill surrounds wrapped in gloss vinyl and they match perfectly.

 

yeah, page ten on that thread i think, but as i said when i posted the pic, i didnt spray any of the components yet...it was cold and rainy when i had to put my bumpers back on.

 

I finally pulled the trigger on the m7 ultimate grills- top, middle, and lower grills. I decided to just go ahead and get the lower grill since I would be taking be bumper off anyway. They are in my garage waiting for installation! I talked to Lyle and he recommended the glossy headlamp ring covers, which I am also going to do. I am going to leave the mirror covers for now.

I will post pics when I have it all done. Should look pretty sweet!