2003 black mini, and it has stripes on it
i hate stripes on cars... no offence just my opinion
Any one know of best way to remove?
and what would my consequences be? paint wise..
All info is helpful!
Thanks- Thomas

 

Ghost stripe image is a possibility. I replaced the bonnet stripes on our '06 PS and there was a change from fading or whatever the sun did to the silver. I don't know how black will fare but be prepared. You might not have any choice. Best way to remove them is with a hair dryer. It doesn't take much heat so don't rush the job.

 

 

Dang, wish I coulda given you better news, hate to see the tears. I'm just going by personal experience and what others have posted from time to time. Just like a bazillion things that can be done to you-afy a MINI, stripes are a personal choice. Whether or not there is a ghost shadow on yours is pure chance and there's only one way to find out.

 

The removal technique depends on whether the stripes are already deteriorated or not. If they are fully intact, then removing them is easier, and your options will be to replace with newer stripes to your liking over the old areas, respray the bonnet, or live with a slight color difference. In my experience, metallic painted hoods have more fade than not metallics. The biggest issue is that the paint under the stripes, if on since day 1, will be nearly perfect while the exposed paint will be chipped, scratched, swirled, contaminated etc.. So polishing the paint can really improve it and make it more uniform, but there is no way to tell without trying it.

Here is how I removed some extremely deteriorated stripes off a black MINI in 2006
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...make-over.html







What method you choose depends on you.

1.) New Stripes should be less than $100
2.) Respray bonnet should be around $500
3.) Hire expert paint polisher to polish the bonnet only, around $150-$200
4.) Buy your own tools, chemical, DIY $150-$200 + lots of practice

Richard

 

Wow, you did a great job! may i ask how long those stripes were on for??
And thanks! that might help me out alot
-if anyone else has any tips thatd be great to

 

That MINI always had stripes I believe, but these particular stripes were on for only 6 months before they got severely deteriorated. This writeup was from 5 years ago however, a lot has changed since then, including my faded memory..lol.

Richard

 

I was lucky with my 05. I, too dislike the stripes. Makes the car look like a toy. Plus I was un-blessed with a heinous white roof and stripes on a hyper blue car. Anways, mine came off SUPER easy with just a hair dryer. Started them with my finger nail and pulled it right off. They were on since day 1, so the paint underneath is perfect, but nothing a machine polish wouldn't even out.

Good luck.

 

hey I have a question ... I bought my car last year in april 2011 and have the stripes and i kind of wanna remove them. My car is garage kept do you think I would have a fade issue since its fairly new ?? or after a couple of months it really doesnt matter?

 

My 06 had factory stripes. i took them off a couple moths ago, had noticeable ghosting.

a 2011 should be fine.




not to bad nobody can tell until i point it out

 

thanks ... hmmm maybe i should do this since im off today ... and if i dont like it with out them easy justification for viper stripes ... thanks

 

thanks everyone in this thread i successfully removed them and washed my car since my last post

 

I appreciate you posting those pics! I was planning on taking the viper stripes off my 2006 DS Cooper S and was worried about fade. Definitely gave me something to think about.

 

Warm soapy water in a bottle. And a clay bar. We took off stripes on a R56 that has been there for years. It was brittle and probably took us 4 hours to remove. Then we clay barred the striped area multiple times. Looks good as new.