So I'd been trying to figure out what to do with those empty panels on my rear aero valence for a while now. I didn't want to use the cheesy stickers that came with the kit, and I didn't really want to cut it up any either. I tried getting some vinyl from the local sign shop, but all they had was gloss black and they wanted $45 for a 20"x8" piece of plain, uncut vinyl(!). So in desperation, I headed to Home Depot...

I was looking for some kind of paint to use on the stickers that came with the kit - after all, they're pretty robust and already cut to the right shape. I needed something highly flexible (so it wouldn't crack off while I was applying the stickers to the car, and preferably flat black also). I found a sprayable rubberized coating that looked like it would do the trick just fine. I also picked up some gutter-guard to add some texture later on.



Back at home, I rolled out some of the gutter-guard, and using the stickers as a template, I cut it to the shape of the "opening" on the valence. When I was satisfied the shape was right (a few test-fits on the car helps), I set them aside for later and got to spraying a few coats of the rubberized coating over the stickers. When they were dry, I applied them to the car.

With the stickers in place, I had to figure out how to mount my "grill" pieces. At the local hardware store (yeah, I could have thought ahead and got something at Home Depot, but I like to take extra trips in the MINI!) I found some cool rubber grommets that fit perfectly in the openings on the grill material. With those and some 3/4" sheet-metal screws in hand, I headed back home. I mounted 3 grommets to each grill piece - 1 on the round end and 2 on the square one. After that, all I had to do was hold the piece in place, drill a pilot hole for each screw, and then lock everything down. Easy as pie!

I don't have any pictures of the process since I didn't think to take any at the time, but it's pretty self explanatory. The result looks pretty good, especially considering it cost less than $20 - From afar it looks like the panel is just filled in with black material, but up closer it has a nice textured look to it. Hopefully this will help out some of y'all who need a solution for the blank spaces back there - Enjoy!

 

looks pretty good! muuch better than just stickered

 

WOW, I'm highly impressed. I like the look of this. You did a great job.

 

That's a great "five foot mod"

Won't win carshows, but looks great on the street. If you blackout the screw heads, I bet it will look even better.

 

Looks sweet! I never did like those stickers for the Aero Kit. Why didn't they put snap in panels like they did for the stock bumper?

I think I may just do this to my aero rear bumper too.

 

Looks great, but I would get some stainless steel button head screws from the hardware store. The black screws will rust quickly & you can paint the stainless steel screws black if you don't want them to stand out.

Another option is to use black plastic rivets.

 

or simply some tiny black zip ties through 2 holes, instead of one big one.... those would practically disappear...

 

Yeah, I almost went stainless. These are completely coated, so we'll see how long they last. I'm not figuring on long myself, since as I'm sure you can tell from the state of the back of my car, the DOT likes to use lots of salt 'round these parts...

 

Excellent idea.

 

Another good use for the super hero "Plasti-Dip"