I've been looking for ways of sprucing up the interior of the Mini and I came across some posts body colored center consoles for various Porsche and Lotus models (see http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/atta...onsole-int.jpg for example). Has anyone here attempted to do something similar to the Mini center console (the "handbrake console")?

From what I've read it is just a matter of sanding and prepping the plastic. I was going to see if I could purchase a console from a parts car and match it to my dark silver Clubman. If anyone has some photos of experience please share them.

 

Its a great modification. I had it done in my 996TT and then did it on Koopa. I had the painter tape off the cupholders. I had all the trim painted so I knew I had to have this in their to add a little more RS flair to my homage MINI. I don't have any clear pics right now of the entire piece.

The plastic needs to be sanded down properly. It took my painter 2 days to get it to where it would be acceptable. Then he used bulldog adhesion promoter, filler primer and then fine primer (various coats of each and wetsanding in between). Then he painted it just like any other panel on the car with plenty of clearcoat.

I think it looks fantastic but remember that its in an area that is very susceptible to scratches and nics. I got a door breeze rubber planel and cut a little tray for it. I noticed there always stuff there before painting so just to be careful.

Edit:

 

Good to hear. From the photos I've seen on the Porsches, it really sets off the interior. My plan was to do as much as the prep work I could on my own before handing it off to a local body shop for painting to keep the costs down.

Could you share how much it cost for the project? There are several websites that offer the service but at a steep ~$500 range. Looks great on your car. Is there any reason you didn't paint the front cup holders as well? I was thinking about having the entire piece done, but just the handbrake console looks even better.

 

Yeah you can definitely do the sanding yourself. He would normally have charged me more but it was around $225 since I was already doing a bunch of other work. $500 is way too much. Do all the sanding yourself and then just take it to a body shop and ask them to paint it for you. A good price to pay for painting that is about $150-200 if you did all that hard work of sanding down the texture. There is more there than you think.

Transforms the interior. Def on my p-car and on Koopa too. It makes the interior look more finished because that black plastic texture console is not nice to look at. I have been considering doing it to my brown Clubbie but indecisive so far.

I'm out of the country so I don't have any great shots of the car. I'm glad I didn't paint the cupholders because I do use them. As long as they use proper prep work and materials the paint will stick properly. You need an adhesion promoter because it also helps the paint flex because its gripping onto the surface.

 

Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll be spending my modding money for April on the paint matching then.