I am starting this new thread on removing Chrome from my MINI...

When I went to the Dragon this year I saw several MINIs that have blacked out their entire car... I have never been a big fan of Chrome, I know some people will be shocked, so I have desided to black out the whole car...

I started looking on NAM and M|U for different ways to do this and I noticed that there is not just one thread that goes through the process. You really have to look around a pull from different people and threads...

So, I will be posting photos and a detailed list of the process...

I know this is probably old hat to most of the people on M|U, but for some of the new folks this might help save some time...

I have ordered all the stuff I need to get rid of the Chrome on my MINI.

I will be starting out with the Side Chrome S markers. I have the Black Cooper Side vents and the Black Crystal lights. I have already Blacked Out the Tail-lights and Side markers. The smokey color of the tint (from MOSS Motors) looks really good with the Royal Gray color of the Body (Both really Warm colors).

I also have the Belt-lline kit (from OUTMOTORING.com). And will be installing it in the morning. Should be very easy...

As for the boot, I will be shaving off the "Cooper S" badging and deleting the rear wiper. For the wiper I have a stem cap I bought at a Bicycle shop (Carbon Fiber). The "MINI", front and back wings will be taken off and painted Black (if it doesnt look right I will be painting them Royal Gray).

The Grill surrounds will be removed and covered in black vinyl.

Sadly the door handles and Headlight rings will be Carbon Fiber and was ordered from Aestetic Creations and will take 3 months to get here... It will be worth it in the long run...

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated or anything I should be looking out for. Everything I will be doing will be pretty cut and dry...

 

PITA - but a joey mod would also look good.

 

What is that?

 

Pain In The As_

 

Is that inside the Headlights?

I don't know if I am that brave...

 

yes -- plenty of thread on it if you want to search. Here's one:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=joey+mod

 

Thanks... The white MINI looks amazing...

If you guys keep it up I have to do it...

 

I just did the joey mod on my '06 a couple weeks ago and was surprisingly easy. Take bulbs out, oven for 5 minutes at 235, and it pretty much just came right off.

 

Don't forget the exhaust tips and the back-up light of 04 or earlier.

l did my tips with flat high temp paint and used some left over tint from the tail lights for the back-up light.

For the side markers consider painting with the S still showing in red.

Have fun. I am in the last stage with waiting for wrapped front and rear wings from Lyle.

 

I have a One-Ball exhaust and I didn't want to use the Stock Beercans... So today after work I was going to go looking for some tips I can paint black...

 

I just finished blackening my headlight rings (with plasti-dip), exhaust, and joey mod. I would have no hesitation about doing 05+ lights for a joey mod. I dont recommend doing them on the pre 05 models though.(thats the ones I did = pita.)

Didnt see it mentioned, but you can also black out the front signals and fog lamps with tint film that is made pre-cut to fit, Once you begin to blacken everything on your car the lights really start to jump out.

here u can see how they stand out (also the MINI badge),



and a picture of stealth tips. Instead of removing the letters from the boot, they are right now painted red. (with a black gel decal from Aesthetic Creations.) excuse the dirt, it had just rained when i finished.




Also, as thulchatt said, I went the route of keeping my S markers and just painted them black. Aesthetic Creations has several different color decals that you can place on the S logo to make it match however you want. I stuck with the Red though, as you can see below.





just throwing out some ideas..

 

Is it easier to do the 05+?

I didn't think about the samller lights... Thanks

 

If you tint the fogs and use them, they will melt the film

 

yes, Getting the lens off is the hardest part. For some reason, the 05 and new lights aren't as tough to pry apart. Some people don't even have to heat them up or put them in the oven to loosen the adhesive.

I dont see how it would be possible to melt the film on the fog lights. They don't melt when on the headlight lens. and I would hope companies like Lamin-x would have addressed this before releasing any product design specifically for high heat lights. Are you speaking from experience? because several people have used film on these forums, and seem to be doing okay.

 

Look at vinyl styles for custom mini badges. They also did great work on my grill surrounds. I ordered a set of badge covers from http://justcarbonfiber.com/ ,I'll see if they match nicely with the handle covers and the JCW stuff. If you need help or advice with the handle covers when they come in just PM me and I could help with some black silicone since there sometimes is a gap of chrome showing. Finally, I've been looking for someone to take the plunge on a joey mod in the atlanta area. PM me if you want to have someone fumble through it with you.

 

running a piece around the handle cover with black out tape also works, instead of using messy silicone.

 

i had lamin x film on the fogs and they melted.

 

I am very nervous on the Joey mod... If I messes up my lights I think I would Probably vomit...

I did finish everything I wanted to do yesterday and will be posting pictures today.

If you can't wait... (Seeing how the whole world is on pins and needles). I already uploaded pictures to my gallery...

 

Before Picture: Lots of Chrome...



After Picture: Not so Much...



Before Picture: Wiper / "Cooper S" Badge / M7 sticker / Chrome Beer Can Exhaust...



After Picture: Booty Wipe...

 

I love the side makers and beltline kit too...

 

Gas Cap Before...



Gas Cap After...

 

Now I just need the Door Handles and Head Light Rings...

.................................................. .(Me Waiting...)

 

Not my personal experience, but glnr and at least two others I know have had this happen

 

he speaks the truth

 

You can have a custom shop tint the fogs with paint. I tinted my arch reflectors and rear tail lights with the paint. We left the white backup lights as holes.



You can see the difference here before the tail lights were painted


I had my bonnet repainted, so it was a good time to shave the MINI logo off the front


Although I've blacked out the chrome, I've added touches of red


I've got JCW CF mirror caps, though it's subtle and hard to tell which is exactly the effect I wanted.