Interior/Exterior Blacked out grill. I don't know......
#53
Originally Posted by Agro
Nice. I just wish the orange was more orange (and available on the tintops).
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.
#55
Originally Posted by ImagoX
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.
all the stuff on my car except those grills is vinyl...lots of vinyl muhahaha :impatient
#56
Originally Posted by bruce_wayne
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
all the stuff on my car except those grills is vinyl...lots of vinyl muhahaha :impatient
#57
Originally Posted by bruce_wayne
ROYAL GREY NOT DS!!! hehe but in photos they look the same..hehe
Thanks
~R
Thanks
~R
Imago, I WANT safety orange. The color Addamaniac painted his (see it in this thread) is pretty much exactly what I want.
#58
Originally Posted by Agro
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.
Imago, I WANT safety orange. The color Addamaniac painted his (see it in this thread) is pretty much exactly what I want.
THAT ORANGE IS THE HAWTNESS lol
~R
#59
#60
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...
#61
#62
Did mine
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.
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.
#63
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...
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...
#64
Originally Posted by SLOTKAR
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.
#66
Originally Posted by IrishCooper
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.
#67
#68
Originally Posted by bruce_wayne
As far as black eyes go I'm not sure about that..I think it looks nice a mean..err clean
#69
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.
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.
#71
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.
#73
Originally Posted by PrplPplEtr
what is **** blick? is that a craft shop?
http://www.dickblick.com/ Do a store search and see if you have one local.
Cheers!
#74
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.
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.
#75
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...
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...