As far as black eyes go I'm not sure about that..I think it looks nice a mean..err clean





And a lil black side grill too

 

I don't know if I've seen blacked out headlight rings on a DS before. Very nice. It ties in with the rest of the car wonderfully.

 

Man, I'm not sure HOW the car could be *more* orange than it is, unless it went into flourescent, "safety" color. Because of the metallic fleck, it changes, too, from a pale, metallic orange in bright sunlight to a brilliant, vibrant orange in shade, deepening to an almost rusty-orange color at dusk... really neat.

And I'm glad it's not available in hard top, personally - I like that I'm the only car of this color anywhere I go. Even at meets and such, I think I've only ever seen my color one other time. I loved the look of the new MINIs from the day they came out, but the orange shattered my last defenses and sent me into the dealership for a test drive.

Hey, Bruce, is your bat logo a magnet? I've bene doing some fun things with painted magnet "temporary tattoo" car graphics and that's a nice aplication, if so - it lookes a bit 3D, is why I ask.

 

ROYAL GREY NOT DS!!! hehe but in photos they look the same..hehe

Thanks
~R

 

No magnet just a some vinyl that I cut out

all the stuff on my car except those grills is vinyl...lots of vinyl muhahaha :impatient

 

I like the placement - have to try that. My small magnetic ones, I place on the door, in-line with the side vent. Nicely done and subtle on that color.

 

Sorry. I'm colour-blind. It's all grey to me. That's why I like orange and yellow so much. I can always tell orange.

Imago, I WANT safety orange. The color Addamaniac painted his (see it in this thread) is pretty much exactly what I want.

 

They are very close to the same hehe..but I respect the flashies too..

THAT ORANGE IS THE HAWTNESS lol

~R

 

That's gonna be pretty much what my classic will get painted. With a black roof and black bonnet stripes. And if it doesn't add too much cost, maybe a couple of details here and there.

 

Yeah, that looks like a non-metallic flourescent to me from that photo. I dunno... It looks a bit... how should I put this? Garish? Plastic-looking? I dunno... to me, there are only a few colors that, in my personal opinion, don't look better in metallic. Black, red and yellow are all colors that I actually like BETTER in a non-metallic finish, with almost everything else (blues, greens, grays and oranges particularly) benefiting from at least a hint of sparlke. That's purely subjective, though and really, whatever floats your boat is, by definition, the best color for YOU. It certainly is eye-catching, I'll give it that...

 

IMO classic Minis shouldn't be metallic. When it comes time to get the MINI repainted, it'll be a metallic orange, but that just isn't right for a classic.

 

Was ready to order M7 grills but decided to try this vinyl out on my chrome grill. Need to reapply at least one strip as I got impatient:impatient .

Now that I've seen it I'll either order the OEM grill in black, paint the extra grill slats I've got sitting around (ebay purch) or reapply vinyl. Either way, I plan to stick with the black.

Thanks for posting your processes and results.

 

UPDATE: I found a possibly supplier for the black vinyl MUCH cheaper than a sign shop.

I guess I could try some happy crappy and buy it in bulk then re-sell it to you guys for a stupid profit, but what the hell...

**** BLick art supply sells a 30" wide black, satin-finish vinyl for... wait for it...

$3.99 a YARD. Not a foot... a YARD.

Since a 36" wide peice is more than wide enough to cover the grill slats, and the strips only need to be about 1 3/8" wide, that means you can get like 3 grills out of a single yard of fabric.

CAVEAT: I haven't actually applied it yet. The guy at **** Blick said that the vinyl isn't the "wet application" stuff like sign shops use, but the guy also didn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer and may well have been shooting a WAG (wild-assed guess). I tested out a square of it on the side of a thermos tonight both wet- and dry-applied and we'll see how it goes... going on it felt EXACTLY the same as the stuff I paid $20 for at a sign shop. As soon as I get the chance I'll try putting some on my grill and will report back - hopefully I can get my wife to document the installation process this time.

Four bucks for 3 grills... Maaaaaaan...

 

Thats just what i was thinking, i know vinyl is cheaper and all, but why not just go and buy a set of Jet Black Grills from the dealer? It would be more expensive but would be better quality and stuff.

 

Blacked out grill - I like it.

 

Well, this way it's reversable, and, honestly, some folks actually LIKE getting their hands dirty (well, as dirty as they can with vinyl, anyway). Plus, getting out the lower grill peice is a real biz-atch from what I've heard - sounds like the vinyl deal is easier than that OR painting, and if the $4 a yard stuff works, then the price can't be beat.

 

The lower grille replacement is tricky, but I did it start to finish in about 40 minutes, including removing the bumper.
So I can go back to yellow if I ever need to replace the car, which means I can move the black grille to my next MINI if need be.

 

I like the look. one question thought. Is that vinyl on the chrome headlight surrounds. if it is that's the sweetest thing ever because id love to black mine out but i would prefer not to destroy the resale value of the car too much.

 

I'm not sure of the vinyl would flex that mutch when applied in a strip, plus you'd you'd have the issue of where to put the cut at the end of the strip.

I bet it CAN be done, though...

What I'd recommend if you want to try this is to dismount the chrome rings from the body (not sure how this is done, but you might have to remove the headlamps) and then get a sheet of that **** Blick vinyl I was talking about, then use the rings to trace the shapes on the vinyl. Place the rings face-down on the BACK of the vinyl and use a Sharpie (don't get any on the rings - you might want to protect them with masking tape or something first) to draw them out.

Then, using scissors, cut the vinyl rings about 1/8" wider on each side than the rings, so you have a bit of extra material to wrap around the edges, and apply. You'll probably have to make some small cuts in the wrapped-over edges to avoid bubbling, so have your Xacto knife at hand. Since the vinyl in this installation isn't forced to "bend" through that curve, it should not bubble or ripple over time. To make things easier, you can also use a spray bottle filled with water and a few drops opf dish-washing soap as a lubricant - LIGHTLY SPRITZ the ring with water and then apply the vinyl. the soap solution will allow you to slide the material a bit for a perfect fit. Oh, and be sure to clean the rings with rubbing alchohol before application, so that there's no grease or grime to damage the vinyl glue - where the material will be placed will be exposed to lots of moisture and wind, and any place that the material starts to peel will probably instantly start to curl and be VERY noticible. But, hey, vinyl is cheap and, like you said, this way WOULD be easily reversable.

When you're satisfied with the placement, squeegee the vinyl from the center towards the edges to remove the water and any air bubbles, dry it with a soft cloth, and then put the completed rings in the sun or a few inches from a bright lamp (the heat will shrink and cure the vinyl a bit and help any small bubbles to flatten out- just don't get it too hot). After about an hour or two, you should be good to re-apply.

If/when the vinyl chips or peels, simply pull it off and the chrome will be as good as new.

 

you guys need to make sure it is outside vinyl. indoor vinyl wont hold up to UV, if it is, then your effort is for naught.

 

Good point... The **** Blick stuff is sold as "sign vinyl" but I don't know if it's UV resistant... Of course, I use rubber and vinyl protectant every time I wash my car, which contains UV-resistant material... If you want to be sure, the Avery stuff you get form a sign place will set you back about $20-$30 for a sheet large enough to do the grill about twice over (I recommend having extra) or for a peice large enough to do the rings.

 

what is **** blick? is that a craft shop?

 

The wonder of Google...

http://www.dickblick.com/ Do a store search and see if you have one local.

Cheers!

 

And here's what I bought...

http://www.dickblick.com/zz272/02/

Looks like it's UV resistant after all - yaay!! I left my thermos out in the sun all day and I'll test wet and dry adhesion when I get home. Hmmm... the site says that's "no longer available", but my local shop has a ton... I might just buy out their roll if that's true.

 

Well, I applied the new matrial to JUST ONE grill slat for a comparison, and it looks GREAT. It feels exactly the same going on as the much more expensive stuff I bought initially. The thermos test I did showed that the vinyl gripped actually a bit BETTER after being wet-applied than dry, wjhich is good news. Looks like the **** Blick stuff is the way to go (if you can get it). I know that they had the name of the product on their web site, so even if they don't carry it any more someone else might.

Worst case, I might just buy all of their remaining supply and then re-sell it to anyone that needs it - I'll have to see how much that would be.... Let me know if anyone needs some and I'll see what can be done.

EDIT: Confirmed: this is discontinued and they don't know if they'll replace the item with a competing product. I plan to buy out my local store's inventory and then I'll offer a "grill kit" with pre-cut slats and an instruction sheet. That should still save time and money over buying ot from a sign shop...