Right now Lucy is your classic "cute" MINI, you know the kind that when people see her they say, "Awww".

I am contemplating stripes.... what do you think? I'm going back and forth between traditional bonnet stripes and the thicker center rally stripe.

I'm leaning towards black with the white edging. I'm not the black it all out type, call me old school but I love me some chrome! Because of that should I stick with white?

Not that there is a "typical" MINI girl driver but if there is, I'm probably not it! Just to give you an idea of where we live, and personal taste, etc... The other loves of my life are:

2006 F350 crew cab dually 4x4
1966 F150 w/ 352 and lots of chrome
1995 Jeep Wrangler (no longer street legal - set up for rock climbing and ice racing)

There are only 3 other MINIs registered in my county and it's just not enough to have the only orange one, or even the only convertible.... I need more!

Ideas?

Here are some recent pics:

 

found pic below from the net, what do you think?

 

Thats one of the pics I have in MINI idea folder! Do you think the double stripes keep it in the "cute" category?

 

Since I am NOT an expert on CUTE-ness , I asked my wife who said that the stripes most definitely ADD to the cute factor. IMHO, black stripe (with white pinstripes) will work best on your Hot Orange car
P.S. Are you planning to also have matching stripes for the REAR?

 

Tell her thank you for weighing in! That is the next question... I haven't found many images, except for the center rally type stripe.

 

She said "you're welcome." FWIW, my wife is also in the process of deciding what to do for her '11 Clubman (laser blue metallic). The RALLY stripe is "easier" to match front and back which is why she's currently favoring it.

 

I would contact user 5Zero4 on here and ask him about it, hes a graphic designer and friend of mine, hes always got good ideas and has been known to draw up and make stripes for minis....

 

I added stripes to my mini, and i LOVE them. They have been on a year now, and I do live in colorado with no garage so the sun is brutal and they have started to crack.
my main point is... no aftermarket stripe will be permanent (unless it's paint) you can always take them off, and they will need to be replaced eventually.
you do need to consider that there is a reasonable chance, depending on factors like age of you car and sun exposure that the paint around the stripe may fade more than the paint under the stripe, leaving ghost stripes when they do come off. of course if you plan to replace them.. they are now Guide lines!

by the way, now that aesthetic creations is out where can one get a good stripe nowadays?

 

if I could give you the two that came with my car I would. in fact im taking it back to mini to remove

 

Two thoughts:

1.) I'm a traditionalist with stripes, so I'd recommend the typical MINI rally stripes, in black.

2.) but whatever color you choose, I'd recommend doing them right, and get them actually painted on. (crazy, right???)

Why? because I have the stock MINI Cooper S vinyl stripes that came on the car. They're 2-toned; they're actually white vinyl, with black ink printed on the majority of them. The white only shows on the edges as a nice little edge detail. They looked great on delivery day in 2004! The problem is that the black of the ink has faded over the years. Worse yet, when a rock chips the bonnet, it scratches through the printed black ink, revealing the white vinyl beneath. This look is quite unsightly.

So, I thought about removing the stripes, and just putting on new ones...

But my car is now old enough that the vinyl will be an absolutely horrible pain in the *** to remove, and once removed, will very likely reveal that the paint color underneath the stripes is darker and not faded, compared to the rest of the paint all around. All this is due to age and baking in the sun for nearly a decade.

So I feel like I'm stuck now with my yucky looking, scratched and faded vinyl stripes.

Knowing what I know now, I would've passed on the factory stripes from MINI, and had them painted on old-school style, like the Camaro's used to come with back in the late '60's. Sure it would've cost a lot more, but it would look excellent—forever.

NOW, if you cannot justify that expense of painting them on, AT LEAST get one-color vinyl. If you're thinking of black stripes, get pure black vinyl, versus white vinyl with printed ink on top of it. That way, if they do get chipped or scratched on the surface, at least the color beneath will be the same throughout...

Sorry for the long-winded response!

 

I've been wondering about how hard it will be to remove my stripes when the time comes and i found this...
http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/4-er...54.aspx?cid=SH

apparently removes stripes and decals like a dream

 

hmm, apparently that particular one is part of a pneumatic system, there are ones that fit on a drill or an entire conversation here..
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...e-removal.html

 

if you want Chrome stripes, I have a huge roll of CHROME vinyl wrap ill sell you!

 

I'm having this in gloss black:



put on in a week or two (weather).

 

Melangell, who is doing your stripes?

 

I have seen the eraser REALLY f up the paint .....

I have removed many a sticker . heat is the secret a good heat gun . if glue stays behind I have used goof off (must rewax after) or WD40

 

Custom place just outside of Savannah GA. As soon as it warms up a little and quits raining they go on.

 

not the answer i was hoping for. of course with my stripes cracking i've considered paint, but i just downgraded from new stereo to ipod adapter so all things in time.

 

Splat, have you checked with Vinyl Styles he could also get what you need.

 

Thinking of this in dark silver on my '07 MCS. Pure silver w/black roof and mirrors.

 

Please pm me when it's done. Thanks

 

I'm partial to no stripes. Not because of the wear factors, but I simply prefer the stripe-less look.

 

for removing them all you need is a heat gun and some time. Heat them up and they will become pliable again and won't just CHIP off in pieces.

We did it on the wife's 07 and yes you could see where they were. We had the bonnet polished and they all but disappeared.

Also you can see from my sig that I like stripes just not not the ones that everyone else has. If you do it..... Do it to make your car unique, not to look like EVERYONE elses

 

To the OP: if you're looking for new stripes, why not go a bit out-of-the-ordinary and do some Euro-style racing stripes? I like the varied width of the two stripes, and the offset. Probably one of the more unusual style of striping. Here's a small example on a Lotus:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...lectedIndex=19

 

Will do.

I agree with OldGameFreak. That said, look for custom shops. They can do whatever you can think of and are really not that expensive.