Hello all. I'm thinking of modifying the front and rear MINI badges on my car. I am thinking of taking them off and having them powdercoated black (to match the car). Here are a few questions, any help is appreciated:
1. It is hard to tell but are the badges (MINI w/wings) plastic or metal? I'm leaning towards metal.
2. How hard are they to get off? I know they each are held on with double sided tape and a nut- right? Is it a pain to remove the rear hatch plastic cover to get to the nut on the rear badge?
3. I saw someone advertising custom MINI badge inserts- I think it was in the marketplace here or possibly e-bay. You could order the center insert with whatever series of letters or numbers you wanted versus MINI.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

 

You can forget about powdercoating your MINI wings. They're plastic.

Held on with double sided tape and located by two plastic pins on the back that go through holes in the bodywork. No nuts on them; the tape holds them on.

 

Oh well, so much for that idea, thanks!

 

I wouldn't throw away the idea yet, its possible to powdercoat plastic... You might have to search a bit since its a new technology, but its possible. Call your local places and ask them.

 

Interesting. How's it done? Normal powdercoating is a kind of vinyl powder that's electrostatically applied and then melted in an oven. It'd be interesting to see what kind of powder could be melted at a low enough temperature that the plastic wouldn't become, well, plastic.