[ Note: additional hood pictures added, see my 3/22 post below. ]

For those wondering whether to spend the money on painted stripes, go for it!

Last Summer my silver vinyl stripes were getting dull and water-spotted. I feared replacing them with new stripes that would be ugly again in a few years.

I went to D & V Autobody in Dulles, VA and spoke with Kevin Maharaj. He came up with a plan to pull the lights & trim & stuff off of the hood and boot, remove the old stripes, fix some rock chips in my dark silver hood, paint silver stripes, clear-coat over everything, and reassemble for $1145.

It took them three days, and the stripes are magnificent. They are under a layer of clearcoat and will last forever. The silver color-matching is so good the stripes and roof look like they came out of the same paint can. When I run my hand across the stripes on hood/boot I can't feel anything. And the dark-silver color-matching and sanding for the rock chips is so good I can't find the repairs. If anyone wants a really, really nice stripe job done and can part with a few bucks to make it happen, I give D & V my highest recommendation.

--Doug

 

thats great man!
looks awesome!

 

Nice. I think I'll have stripes painted on my next MINI.

Now get a clear bra on that bonnet before that paint gets pock-marked.

 

More pics please!

 

+1
But it dose look amazing!

 

Did you do the front, too?

 

Yep. At least that's what I think he means.

Per T2Nav:

He came up with a plan to pull the lights & trim & stuff off of the hood and boot, remove the old stripes, fix some rock chips in my dark silver hood, paint silver stripes, clear-coat over everything, and reassemble for $1145.

 

wow that looks amazing.

worth the cost i think.. the vinyl ones do get worn after a few years and look rather unimpressive

 

Here's the hood with the sky reflected in the clearcoat.



And another one of the hood and my neighbor's house. Notice that instead of ending the stripe like a sticker, I had them continue it over the edge and out of sight. I like how it turned out.

 

man that does look great

the smooth look sets it far apart from the thick stickers..

did you put stickers on your lawnmower to match your car?

 

That does look really nice and very good price too. I like the wrap around as well, makes it look like it really belongs there. Its one of things that is never noticed because its there, but if it wasn't there, would draw attention.

Excellent work, and very shiny

 

The day I brought Foamy home, I noticed that the Mini and its roommate were almost the same color. Hmmm. So I went over to Walmart, grabbed some silver spray paint and painter's tape, and painted the little guy to match the Mini. I probably should have clearcoated over it-- a year later I spilled a few drops of gasoline and annihalated the mower's stripes.

 

Very nice.

Now, are you going to clearbra that bonnet to protect that paint job ?

 

Thats Fin HOT!!!!!!!!!