I’m thinking of changing the color of my roof from black to white. The car has OEM low profile rails. My usual body shop is a certified BMW, Mercedes, MINI repair and paint shop in Los Angeles (CA,U.S.A.) I’ve been told that since the car has roof rails the headliner will need to be removed and a shop foreman says that presents a significant problem, and that I should re-consider my idea. I actually wouldn’t mind losing the roof rails but I don’t think that would have any effect on the necessary work. Does anyone have experience with painting a roof and dropping the headliner?

Thanks in advance for any advice….

 

Thought of doing this as well but the cost was way to much, better off just wrapping it. It's always the labor that costs so much.

 

Don't do it. If you want it white, just wrap it, or sell it for another Mini with a factory white roof. Headliners are a nightmare to deal with and they are right about the roof rails. There are so many better ways to spend the $$$ on a Mini.

 

Hi,

Sorry to revive an old thread--I am curious if you ended up painting or wrapping the roof? I am a prospective owner and found a car with all the right specs but I'd prefer a white roof. This car also has roof rails. I've found forum threads about roof wraps but none of them show cars with the rails -- it sounds like a bigger deal than I first thought. I'm at the mercy of used inventory here, so trying to figure out if I should make roof color a deciding factor or skip it.

Thank you!

 

Just tossing in my $0.02, but any wrap shop worth anything should be able to wrap around the rails w/o issue. It will cost a little more than a non-rail roof, but it is simply labor time for the extra detail. Think of it as a large door handle or door bumper trim, nothing they haven't likely dealt with before. If the shop hesitates or tries to talk around it, then I would move to another shop as there are likely several in your general surrounding area. Good luck.

 

Hi Ted,

Thanks, that's a good point. The shops I called this morning said the same thing about the headliner needing to come down. The rails didn't stand out for me as an issue, so this is a surprise!

If anyone has successfully wrapped around the rails, I would love to see + hear more about it.

 

OP here…. Don’t know if I’m posting this correctly, apologies if not. But to the point I just gave up and left the top black but I added a black JCW spoiler.

 

Removing the rails would give the wrap a cleaner look and be easier on the wrap technician's install, but not completely necessary. The issue with our and guessing most other mfg's rails it getting access to the mounting fasteners, which is a real pain. I would have to think the labor involved to remove the rails is more than the additional time it would take to 'tuck' the wrap around the rails. I don't have any direct experience with wrap, but feel I have seen enough install videos on the interwebs to know it can be done and look good...by the right shop/technician.

 

Apparently spray wrap is a thing you could look into also, paint you can peal later to remove it ….

 

DipYourCar.com would certainly be an option if you don't want wrap. Hadn't even thought of that even though I watch their videos each week of their 'experiments'.

 

Thank you all for your replies -- I checked in with a few paint shops to get quotes too. Sounds like wrap/paint for a roof w/rails is more complicated but not impossible. I'll report back with details later!