nm

 

I had my fogs tinted for awhile and never had any problems.

I also used the nightshades paint on the side repeaters and F'd them up. Not sure if it was the weather or operator error, but I won't be using it again.

 

Here is my setup. Rockblocker tint on the lights and vinyl on the chrome.

 

night shades always seems to give me a purplish tint when the lights are on....i dont run my fogs that often, we'll see..

MINI Demon, did u just use paint and clear coat or what?

I just did my headlight rings, scoop, and gas cap with plasti-dip. I wanted to do flat black to match my fender trim. Plus it is 100% removable...can't beat that! and since its used to coat tools, it should be pretty durable and take some abuse.



u can see that mine used to be a chrome fiend before i got my hands on it, lol

 

I tried to cover the grill in vinyl but wound up getting a wee bit pissed...

So I grabbed some Wet/Dry sandpaper and went to town...

I figured if I messed it up I would get the aero grill... But it turned out very well. It was really pitted anyway (56k highway miles, lots of dings and chip).

The gas cap I kind of cheated on... I looked at it and it was perfect... No scratches... I was standing there with sandpaper in hand and I couldn't do it...

So, I primered it and sprayed it with Matte Black Krylon... I know, I know... I just couldn't do it... I am going to switch it out with a Carbon Fiber one... So as I get the $$$. Then I will take some paint thiner to the cap I have now and put it with the MINI stuff on my desk at work...

 

Snypr -- I like the look.
Basic question: is there a spray on plasti-dip, or did you brush it on?

I used the liquid kind for my tow hook a year ago, and it still looks great -- so I do think that should last.

 

Yes there is a spray on. Black, Red and Yellow. I get it from Home Depot.

 

yep, its in a typical spray can, located in the same section that u find the plasti-dip liquid. It been amazing so far. I did my gas cap, with Zero prep work, all i did was clean the surface. sprayed it on...messed it up, and i peeled it right off. so re applied and it turned out great....im going to probably attempt to mask off my handles and do that next..

 

so the only way to black out the gas cap is to paint it?

 

I did vinyl on my cap.

 

does the vinyl really that nice and worth the $ ? I plan on doing the handles and gas cap on my car

 

yes u can vinyl it, its a little tricky because of the contours...the plasti-dip is just much easier for me, and cheap.

 

Vinyl is cheap, and you can buy it by the yard.
I did my gas cap in vinyl, but it is tricky.
I tried doing my handles with vinyl on the car, but it was too much of a pain so I wound up masking everything off and painting them.
If you don't want to do the DIY thing, than contact Lyle at Vinyl Styles.
http://www.lylesvinylstyles.net
He is the vinyl master here on NAM.

 

You can go my route with the gas cap door and have it powder coated.

 

The vinyl I got was $20 and it was enough for both handles, gas cap, and headlight rings. It also took me 3 tries to get the cap right, so don't give up early.

 

I did it to my friends sti, and it was pie.

 

can Plasti-dip be done to the hood scoop..?

 

yes, in this picture below (and posted above)...the headlight rings, and scoop are done with plasti-dip. still holding up the same as the first day I put them on.

 

wow, excellent! Now I have buyer's remorse on my GP Scoop Outline from Aestheticreations.. it's shipping right now. Maybe I can black the scoop and have an outline with yellow in between...? I have a MY MCS

 

I'm having a boat load of difficult removing the upper grill surround. I'm wiggling but I hear cracking noise and I might have snapped one of the silver tabs.. any tips?
Pics

 

you'd be better served to ask in the 2nd generation forums...as we all have the earlier body style. that looks to be a little different than my grills. but judging from just the photo, it looks like you'd simply push in the tab on the black piece and push it through the opening. im not sure if there is anything else holding it is, as i am not familiar with your model car.

 

Demon:
It's an ambitious project to completely black out a Mini! I've actually achieved it -- but for one simple piece (the Mini wings emblem on the bonnet! But everything else is done:
Headlamps (Halos)
Front bumper lights
Brake ducts replace fog lamps
side markers
Wheel well indicators
Rear lights
Belt line
Rear wiper delete
Rear emblem deletes (wings, CooperS)
Front grilles
gas cap
door handles

Here's what it looks light from the front:


Work hard, be diligent, and you will prevail, grasshopper...

 

I've also completely removed the chrome from my car. It takes some time, but the end result is completely worth it.

So far I've done:
Joey mod
Headlight rings
Belt line
door handles
gas cap
both mini badges
boot handle
side vents
tail lights




(Note: the bright spots are glare, not chips)






It's taken a little time, as it's been a side project. For those who want to know, I used 300 grit sand paper for prep, then a couple coats of PES Trim Black. This stuff is wonderful and is holding up well so far. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

How hard is it to get the headlight rings off a +05 with xenons/washers??

Cheers

 

Not that hard! Disconnect the battery, Unplug the wiring harness, unscrew 3 screws holding the headlamp in, unclip the washer jet, and then take out the headlamp. Start from the bottom of the ring and be careful b/c I noticed there was double sided tape holding the rings down on the 05-06 xenons compared to my 04 xenons. Just work your way around unclipping the bottom clips then just push forward and it slides right off. Just be careful that's all. You don't want to crack the lens.