Hey all....

Just trying to see if anyone has vinyl wrapped their black trim on the wheel arches, lower parts of the bumpers, and the side skirts???

Not sure if the pieces would need to be sanded flat to get a smooth bond, or if it would work to just wrap them as is.

Anyone have experience doing this?

Thanks in advance.

 

I haven't attempted this yet, but I do know every vinyl project I've done conformed perfectly to everything. Got a rust bubble, it will show up, door ding, it will still be as notice as it was before...

What this means is probably in my mind that it will adhere, but it won't look smooth.

Also personally, I think the black trim is something that makes the mini's look.

 

I, too was wondering about this, thank you. I do like the black trim but was thinking that it would look better shiny than the stock matte/plastic look.

 

Yeah that's my thought. I don't like having to re-apply back-to-black all the time to keep the trim looking decent.

I wonder if sanding it flat and then wrapping it would work. I was just trying to shave some time off the project.

 

I bet it would adhere just fine. I was looking into doing something like this

 

Exactly. I'm looking into doing the gloss black wrap for all my trim as well as the roof.

I have a chili red S with a white roof. I think red on black is AWESOME!

 

Did you end up doing the vinyl?

 

Tested a spot out to see how it lasts.haven't gone through with the whole thing yet.

 

Im thinking about doing this in chilli red vinyl :/ but im afraid the texture will show..

 

Just so it. We are all waiting. LoL. If your beta test works out I'm doing mine in CF.

 

Actually .. I will be wrapping my car in the matte metallic dark gray vinyl, including the wheel arches, side skirts, and lower portion of the bumpers. I've already had the textured portions tested and the vinyl sticks moderately well. Not as good as being on the paint, but enough that lifting is not a concern. As for the texture - the texture is so small and the vinyl is thick enough to cover it and conform only to the curves of the body rather than the texture. Dents or scratches? Those are thicker than the "grooves" (not sure what to call it) in the texture, so those will definitely need to be prepped before wrapping so that air doesn't catch underneath.

 

The matte metallic dark grey vinyl is exactly what i wanted to do from the beginning but wasnt too sure how it would look! Either that or titanium matte metallic! When exactly are you going to tackle this job? Would love to see how it turns out

 

I like your style! I will be getting this done, hopefully, within the next 2-3 of weeks. There's a lot to be done - trim and wheels will be painted gloss black, the car wrap, and then for a touch of "me", I'm doing the calipers in bright neon pink. Yeah yeah, don't judge. Everything is getting done at once, so it really depends on when I can let the car go for a week. I wasn't sure I wanted to do the wheel arches, etc since they're black .. but then I decided that bringing the wrap all the way down will give the illusion of being lower as well.

 

LOL i have the exact same thoughts as you! The only difference is having the calipers gloss white

And yeah i do agree that wrapping the arches will make the car look lower and also abit wider! Great minds think alike!

You should checkout some videos of others cars with the same job done on youtube. I believe ss customs did it on bmw x5 and it looked saweeeeeeet!

 

Any updates?

 

Update : The MCS was in the dealership for about a week, and will be going again shortly for an issue that they didn't completely fix - although may not be fixable. So, I'm getting a much later start than I wanted.

The taillights have been tinted. As I type this, all of the chrome trim is being wrapped in gloss black. The door handles, fuel door, and side scuttles will be painted in gloss black either today or tomorrow. Wheels + calipers (in gloss black), and "S" emblems (in HOT pink) will be painted within a couple of days after those.

The last step will be the wrap matte metallic gray wrap! I hope for this to be done soon? Date, unknown.

 

Well uhm .. ran into a major hurdle .. Check out this photo ..



Notice that big ugly brown spot on the top right corner? Yeah ..
When trimming off the excess gloss black vinyl from the chrome trim, it also completely took of the paint from that one spot .. clear coat, paint, everything.

The other side in that exact same spot is bubbly as well. Surprisingly, the paint on that spot didn't come right up.

To me, this is the result of a poorly prepped factory paint job.
What .. the .. flip ..

This poses a major question .. if the paint quality is this poor anywhere else on the car and I wrap the car,
what will happen if I ever want to remove said wrap? Oy vey.

What a buzzkill ..

 

Haven't seen that happen. That sux.

 

Ok. I just ordered some white carbon fiber 3m vinyl. Going to attempt to wrap the side rocker trim pieces. Hopefully it sticks alright. Any suggestions or tips are welcome. I will take before and after pics.

 

The white carbon fiber looks great! Just beware .. if your MINI is your daily driver, some dirt spots may be impossible to remove, and will be prone to staining. I've noticed this is just "normal" for any matte white/CF white wrap. Simple Green will be your best friend! Always avoid letting dirt build up on the white wrap. The longer dirt sits, the more prone it may be to staining the white .. and the rocker panels are magnets for all that dirt.

Can't wait to see photos!!

 

Copy that. I switch between my two cars and always keep them both pretty clean.

 

Ok so I got the cf white vinyl. Waiting for the adhesion promoter an then I'll tackle this. I didn't order the thicker more durable di noc for some reason. If this doesn't hold up I will re do it with the white cf di noc an see how that works out.

 

Definitely should have gone with the di-noc. Still curious to see how your project turns out. I've never actually seeing the white CF on a vehicle before. Any updates or photos!?

 

Not yet. Can't start this till Saturday when I'm off work. Everything is ready to go. I should have pics posted Saturday afternoon. Yah. Di Noc would have been a better choice. Oh well. I will see how long this product lasts.