I've read several places that painting may be req'd behind the black-out grille. Do most people do this or not do it? I'm curious if the result will look bad if painting is not done.

Thanks.

 

The area in question is usually the middle grill that is body colored behind it. On a dark colored car it's not very noticable but on light colors it can be seen and to my eyes it looks unfinished. Most people will never notice it. It's just one of those little details that the trained Miniac will notice. Even though my car is dark, Space Blue, I had the area behind the grill painted matte black and am glad I did.

 

I have Chili Red car. Ever seen this non-painted behind the grille?

 

Sorry. I just realized that Iposted this under 2nd Gen Mini. Wrong forum section for me.