The ZeeMax Mini changed the color scheme to an orange. Not particualrly my bag of marbles, but what have you. How does one go about changing say the color of the dash? I personally would like a darker black to match the roof of the car, or a dark silver to match the paint. You guys have to admit, the black they gave us is not too black. I recently ordered the black leather shift boot from Moss Mini, and I am sorry to say that it sticks out from my "black" leather seats. Right now I wish that I had gotten the leatherette and then had my seats customed trimmed. Oh well.

 

The orange is kinda cool, definitely in the spirit of owning a MINI (or Mini). I agree with your observation on the "blackness" (or lack thereof) of the MINI's interior plastics.

I would want real Black interior plastics and textiles, and perhaps exterior color interior trim (i.e. Indi Blue, Chili Red, etc.) I'm not an artist, pay no attention........

Cheers
Ryan

 

I must say that the factory interior colors, combined with the silver/black space cloth seats and DS/DS exterior is an awesome combination. It's my first car without leather in a while and I'm glad I made the seat-of-the-pants decision to go with the space cloth at the last minute.
The minimum number of color contrasts has an industrial look and has garnered admiration from a number of folks with expensive BMW's, Mercedes, Porsches, etc. I won't be messing with it anytime soon.

 

I know that dyes exist for changing the color of trim. This includes dash pieces, door pieces, what have you. Has anyone used any of these dyes? I want to make my "black" dash just a little more blacker, but I don't want to mess things up.

 

I've used the spray-on vinyl color dye before. It's really more like a paint than a dye. Even after wet sanding and spraying on, you could still accidentally scratch it, and the old color would show through. Wasn't too happy with it. I suspect there are much better options. If you are serious, investigate how to take apart the dash and other panels, then go talk to a good uphostery shop. Take them your panels to have dyed, then reinstall. Voila!

R

 

I was just sitting in my MINI today thinking, hmmm wonder what a chile red dash would look like? Maybe when it warms up I will give it more thought.

Has anyone done this other than the orange picture?

 

there are several dyes available for leather..... but not vinyl... you can't dye it... it's a composite and needs paint.

and dying leather is a TRICKY TRICKY deal.... could come off on your clothes....

You would need to STRIP the leather, the sealant, the tanning etc off it first....
Then only then you can dye it reasonably.

It could become a costly mess if done improperly.

good luck

 

In the January issue of European Car, there was a section on aftermarket MINI tuning and accessories. The TVA group's chili red Cooper had a customized interior that they achieved by having the leather seats retrimmed with chili red panels (just the seat and the back, not the bolsters) and stitching, and the "down tubes" on either side of the audio/AC controls painted chili red. I quote: "A few easily removable plastic pieces were sprayed the same shade, too." I'm sure the leather would cost a bundle (and I don't have leather anyway), but I would LOVE to have those down tubes painted. I don't think I'd go about it unless there was a sure way to keep them from being easily scratched. I wish an aftermarket company would get on with it and start selling those pieces! Even something that just snapped or screwed on over them would probably look pretty good.

They also had a few sections of the leather steering wheel rewrapped with red leather. The whole effect was outstanding!

_________________
2003 Red/White Cooper - Brookline, MA

 

One of our own MCOers had custom upholstery done. Below is VAmini's car:

 

Does anyone know of someone who has the dash and doors pieces in Hyper Blue? Or anyone who has changed the dask and door pieces out for another color? I don't imagine there are a lot of them laying around a salvage yard.

Sometime down the road I would like to change out the dash on my wife's MINI. She was bummed she couldn't get them to match on her MINI and a little torqued that you have to order a MCS to get these items to match the interior color. Anyone?