I picked up my aero kit side skirts today-unpainted. The whole penal is covered in the white primer ready to be painted. I only want the inner convex part painted the body color and the outer area left the textured black, like the wheel arches and rest of the trim. I really don't want to have the arches to be painted or shiney. I've seen alot of pictures like I'm describing but I can't tell how it was done. (Does the shop remove the primer in the outer area or paint it without a shine)

Does anyone with the aero kit know how to get the outside trim to match?

Thanks

 

I paint cars for a living. I personaly haven't seen what you are talking about but creating texture is a matter of spraying texture on prior to painting. (some porches have this) To make it flat you can use a flat clear coat after the paint or paint with a single stage paint that is flat.

Don't know if this helps but this is all I know.

MINIACK

 

I'm not really looking to do something that complicated to get it to match. I guess I'm really just wondering if its normal to have to whole side skirt primed if I only want part to be painted the body's color.

 

>>I'm not really looking to do something that complicated to get it to match. I guess I'm really just wondering if its normal to have to whole side skirt primed if I only want part to be painted the body's color.

Can you post a link to a picture of a car that has what you are describing? I haven't seen what you are talking about either. On a car without the Aero kit the side skirts are all black and with the Aerokit they are all painted, that's all I've ever seen. Some also paint the wheel arches with the Aero kit and some don't. I'd like to see what your talking about.

 

Here are 2 relatively good pictures of what the black edges of what I want the edges of the aero penals to look like. Is this painted black or just black plastic?



http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/picture4664.html

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/picture4670.html

 

>>Here are 2 relatively good pictures of what the black edges of what I want the edges of the aero penals to look like. Is this painted black or just black plastic?
>>
>>
>>
>>http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/picture4664.html
>>
>>http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/picture4670.html

clicking on your links brought up http://www.web1000.com/ for me both times? please check ur link.

 

Try just typing what you see in the text bar, I don't know why the link isn't working b/c I'm pretty sure the site is right.

Sorry :???:

 

>>Try just typing what you see in the text bar, I don't know why the link isn't working b/c I'm pretty sure the site is right.
>>
>>Sorry

 

hi Brandon,
I kind of understand now what want. The thing is the aero skirt base is a smooth fiberglas. and the stock skirt is textured plastic. The primer is used to seal the raw material and provide a better base for the paint to adhere. Removal of the primer to get to a more textured surface below on the raw AERO skirt surface is not the way to pick up texture. If this was a viable step, I doubt the texture would be in a uniform pattern that you would be happy with.
So if you want the textured edge on the skirt...you will have to have the textured applied and mask the rest of the skirt to keep it smooth.

I was told that the material of the stock skirt, could be painted, but that it would not hold up to the abuses of the road and would chip, scratch etc rather quickly. Also its plastic, and if you read others posts about the wheel arches they fade, and white from wax adhere. That is why some paint them to get away from this look, and prior to painting they seal off the texture by using a filler to smooth out. The stock skirts and arches are not expensive...classic autoparts gave a quote of under 15.00 for each piece. Whereas the aero skirts are 195 each. I doubt it was MINI intent for the stock pieces to be painted at all.

:smile:
Scoutd

 

Thanks for the good information Scoutd.

I have read through many of the mini2 forums but I have found that most refer to painting the arches to match. Just to clarify, I don't want the textured part painted, just the trim of the aero skirt textured (or at least somewhat matching). What sounded most appealing when I was looking a few weeks ago was that some company sold them with the prepainted interior (but in select colors). I have a silk green mini, so the color isn't available.

I'm taking the aero skirts to a shop today to see what they say. I'll let you know the news.

Thanks again

_________________
brandon

 

Here is a sample of aerokit with wheel arches not painted and only the body portion of the side skirt painted leaving the lower edge of the skirt black!




_________________
ALOHA

 

Brandon, is this what you are talking about?
The side skirts painted body color, and the ends black textured.



But I have a question, this yellow one looks like the aero kit was bought, painted, and installed. The stock wheel arches were kept stock.


This one had everything painted silver. Looks good!



But the red one above has the bottom of the front and rear bumpers (and fender trim) black like a stock MINI S. Did they reuse the stock molding from their factory bumpers, or did they actually paint it textured black, or does it come with new textured black molding?

Sorry abot the long post, but I want to be sure.


_________________

 

>>But the red one above has the bottom of the front and rear bumpers (and fender trim) black like a stock MINI S. Did they reuse the stock molding from their factory bumpers, or did they actually paint it textured black, or does it come with new textured black molding?

I have seen this type of painting of the aero skirt partially black and it looks like the wheel arches are not painted and that the side skirt is black plastic with painted area that is only partial. So it doesn't look like black paint although I guess they could paint flat black to match the stock wheelwells.

I think the full painted wheel wells or the full black wheel wells with black lower trim going around the car are the two best looking choices. I don't care for the Yellow painted MINI shown in the example due to the transition of the wheel wells and the side skirts.

 

I agree minihune! I'm not to fond of the yellow either. Like the other paint choices better.

FrogGuts

 

I have no intentions of doing the same mistake the Yellow one did.
I want to go all body color, or leave arches back.
But I need to know if the kit comes with new rubber or is it reused
from the stock kit.

My reason for this is that I want to but new arches, and have them painted
at the same time I have the side skirts and bumpers painted. This way
I don't have to leave the MINI at the paint shop for a week.

If I buy the new top part of the wheel arches, and the aero kit, I can take it to the
paint shop and have it painted, then bring it home and install it without ever missing
a day of driving.

But if I have to reuse the black pieces from my factroy bumpers, then my idea will
defeat the purpose. I hope I am explaining this right.

Does anyone have a picture of a LY, with an earo kit with Yellow arches, not black?

 

B'smini or any of you other aero guys!

I just traded my aero package away to be stock legal in SCCA H Stock, but I need the 2003 Mini Cooper stock lower side skirts.

Do any of you still have those take off's in your garage that you want to get rid of?

Contact me at rflak@smith.com

Thanks in advance

HSAugs

 

Minimac,

I think you already saw these pics

 

 

Thanks! I did see those a long time ago.
I think I prefere the black arches.
With them painted yellow, they look like one
of those Suzuki Aerio things....little tiny wheels.

 

Mine was taped off and painted a flat black, I was told by my MA at the time that the body shop that they use would only paint the aero kit to match the wheel arches and would not paint the wheel arches to match the car. I wanted everything painted one color but they would not, so now I hace to have it done after this winter is over.

I know what you want is a textured black but the flat black matches fine and does not fade and end up with white streakes like the arches.

 

The body shop told me that they simply use a textured paint for the black area and it comes as close as possible to matching the textured plastic (and I was told shouldn't fade). I probably made this more complicated than it needed to be. Thanks for the good information and pictures everyone. :smile:

 

Brandon
your are very welcome!
There is a MCS called MR.Bean I think it is at mini2.com in the photo gallery... that is LY/LY with
yellow arches and skirts. see if you can find him there or perhaps someone here knows of his exact location. I know I downloaded the photo at work, but I'm here not there.

If you don't mind, would you share the cost your body shop extimated to do what you want done.

thanks. Scoutd

 

Scoutd, it was about $350 including the installation, but I also got the the ring area painted for my Cooper S gas door painted. So subtract about $30, which I think is a relatively fair price.

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brandon