Hey Guys, I'm considering removing the bonnet stripes on my R50, as they are starting to fade and peel and have some damage.

I'm having a hard time picturing what it would look like without them. If anyone could do up a quick and dirty photoshop of it naked, that would be great!

I'm considering leaving it bare or maybe adding two center stripes, maybe blacking out the headlight rings eventually as well. Thanks for any links, photoshops, or advice in advance!

 

You will likely have a paint faid/match issue under the stripe. Especially with your color. I think your existing stripes are aftermarket or from an S because of the boarder. I dont think the factory stripe had a contrasting border edge. I had black OEM stripes on my 05 R53 and they were starting to get stone chips on them. The base color of the factory S black stripe is actually white like the edge with some sort of black coating. When it chips, it shows the white under it which makes a chip 2X as noticeable. When I removed my factory stripe, it left a very faint "ghost" image from the old stripe. I replaced them with black center "Viper" stripes with thin red outter edges. I also striped the boot. I think it looks great against the dark gray/black top and black/red interior on the S. I picked them up from Mighty Stripes. Very good quality and they are solid black. I'll try and post picks tomorrow. I say go for it. Take the old stripes off. If there is a huge difference in color of "ghost" image under the old stripe, just put your new stripes over it. I think dark gray with black outter edges would look awesome on your car. It would also switch up your "look". Let us know how it goes. Cheers!

 

I agree you will likely find a color issue. The sun is very harsh on paint and your option really is to replace them. I think you can find them for somewhere around $50 and it isn't rocket science if you do it yourself, especially if you have a ghost image to center them.

 

My car is Laser Blue. I had black bonnet stripes put on over a full bonnet clear bra the day I took the car home. 2.5 years later I had the stripes taken off because they were all chipped up. The paint did not fade but in the right light you can see the outline of where the bonnet stripes were.

Really not an issue for me as one day I will take the clear bra off all together and the paint on the bonnet should look as good as from the factory.