Hey All,

Just needed a quick vent, and wanted to ask for some opinions. I have a 2011 MCS, Chili Red/Black. Plastidipped all the chrome and swapped out to a black hood scoop. My MINI came with bonnet stripes and they are getting stained by the windshield wiper fluid.

My MA said to bring the car in and they'll see if they can fix the windshield washer nozzles and they would replace the stripes under warranty. So far so good but...

I think I want sport stripes. The car looks great with the bonnet stripes, but since doing the black out, I kinda think the sport stripes would look better on the car... I asked the dealer about switching. They're about 300 bucks installed, but they warned me that:

1. the bonnet stripes MIGHT not come off completely and
2. even tho the car is only about a month old, that the sun/heat of the engine could have faded the paint and I'd still be able to see the where the stripes are...

I'm also thinking that since the wiper fluid seems to be running to the outside of the nozzles that having sport stripes might just solve that problem of the staining even if the nozzle don't get fixed correctly.

So my question is this... should I go for it? Has anyone here swapped stripes? had any of the problems mentioned?

Thanks in advance!

 

1. They will come off completely. They are one piece vinyl and a simple hair dryer will soften them up enough for you to pull them off.

2. The sun fades paint. Of course we all know that red is the most sensative to sun fading but after only 3 months, I doubt if there is any difference between what is exposed and what is under the stripes. I replace my stripes a year or so ago, '06 pure silver, and there was a slight difference in color.

3. Go in search of stripe vendors here in the Vendor Directory, pick out the ones you like and replace them yourself. Lots of folk have done it and derive great satisfaction in a job well done as well as not paying someone "THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS".

Once you get them on, give them a good coat of wax to make cleaning a lot easier. Also, some vendors have clear vinyl stripe guards that work like a clear bra to help protect them especially on the nose where big bugs will scar the stripes (personal experience). If you decide to polish at some point in time, mask them off as power polishing will damage them. Power waxing will not.