While I am waiting for Adele to be built I am trying to figure out what kind of stripes I want to put on her. I want a good quality stripe and I would rather pay a little more if there is something of high quality out there. I see post where people just buy from labal maker or buy from companies such as Aesthetic Creations, Mighty Stripes, Cooper Flags, etc...

So here is my question is there really a difference? Do the regular manufacturers use just as good of a product or is there a company out there that uses some super high quality stuff that will last longer with a brighter shine? Or maybe its the process of how they put them on, under the body trim parts and make it look as much like a painted stripe as possible?

Any opinions or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

 

I can't speak for Cooper Flags, MightyStripes, or any vendor other than Aesthetic Creations. All my vinyl products (full roof graphic, three sets of boot stripes, one set of bonnet stripes, two sets of door sill plates, four sets of wheel center caps, etc, etc, etc) have all come from them.

If they were poor quality, I assure you, there would not have been a second, third, fourth...... purchase.

 

Yes there is. Use only films that allow the transmission of UV so that when you remove a sticker the paint under it is the same tone as the rest of the car. It will come handy when you resell the car.

 

I have Aestheticreations.net on my boot and factory on my bonnet and they are both holding up really well. As a matter of fact I'm also considering some side body stripes from them.

 

That is good to know. Got to make sure I ask that one.

 

My understanding is that there are vinyls that last a couple of years and others that last 5-10 years.

 

Perforated vinyl on a car that is not garaged... as little as two years.

Full vinyl on a car that is garaged... up to 8, maybe 10 years.

 

Aesthetic creations seems to make very nice stuff i ordered the side stripes in carbon fibre which i love except for a minor flaw i think in the laminate process. I feel the installation proceess is the most important issue. I really dont no anything except that i should not do any installations on anything anymore.

 

Its not that bad if you take your time and are very careful.
I'm not going to get into the the whole wet vs. dry applications because that has been beaten to death here on NAM.
But here is a little video of me adding the boot stripes to my MINI.
(I'll let the video show you what system I use.)

 

My magnetic stripes from AE are very good quality.

 

I'm referring to just non-perf vinyl. I was told that there are quality grades that have different life expectancies, and that the chrome stripes were only available in a two year vinyl.

 

i actually worked as a car vinyl decal applier during high school. One time I had to detach vinyl from a van, we use a heat gun to melt away the sticky glue part... i held on to the gun for too long and i burnt a black mark onto a white van. That wasn't pleasant... had to sand the paint and reduce the mark at the end.

 

Yea Im going to have a pro put on the stickers i buy, i was just looking to see if its better to have them put it under the trim and the actual quality of what i put on the car.

 

anyone consider having their stripes painted on from a body shop? My Mini is a non stripe Mini, yet if I wanted them I would consider this route as the stripes would be glossy not flat, and would last for a very long time ...as long as the rest of the paint?

 

The reason mine are decals and not painted on is because of the protection they offer against
rock chips and the ease in which I can change them out when they do get too chipped up.
My stripes are shiny enough that I don't really worry too much about a higher gloss.

 

Im staying with stickers since I dont want to spend a fortune and I dont know what having the car repainted even if it is just stripes and clear coat over would do to resell.

 

I considered that. Quote I got was something like $1,500.

 

There are some high gloss vinyls available in raw form that sigh shops can cut for you. You can get a sheen level and metallic content comparable to the OEM paint as well. Avoid the ultra-metallics though as they are brittle.

 

Ouch, didn't realize that stripes would cost $1500 to paint,
Also didn't realize that glossy stripes (and other graphics) are available.

Seems like stick-on stripes/graphics are the way to go then. -especially if they are the UV ones that let light through.

 

The difference is between calendered and cast vinyl...calendered is often referred to as intermediate and lasts 5 years, where cast vinyl is refered to as high performance and is usually 7 or more years, and will not generally shrink.

 

Pepper White with Red Racing stripes or Chili Red with White Racing Stripes. (think Ford GT). Decisions decision. They're dealer installed for $500 or may be cheaper elsewhere. I dunno what kind of vinyl the dealer uses though, but sales told me that vinyl stripes on 02 Minis look fine. I guess I'll just park in the shade then :D

 

I was thinking of adding rear stripes but what do you do w/ the Cooper S emblem? Remove and re-apply it?

 

That would be my preference, although you could always cut the stripe so you don't have to remove the badge. This leaves a bit of a gap in the stripe, of course, which may not be to everyone's taste.

The previous owner of my MCS was kind enough to de-badge the car, so that's one thing I don't have to worry about!

Speaking of which, my boot stripes -- black w. white pins -- from Aesthetic Creations arrived the other day; now I just need a little time and some nice weather to give the car a bath and try my hand at installing them.

One thing I noticed: the pins on the AC stripes seem to be about 1/8" wider than those on the (presumably) OEM bonnet stripes. (Fortunately the overall width seems to be the same.) Of course no one is going to be looking closely at the front *and* back of the car at close enough to the same time to be able to notice, but *I* will know and this will undoubtedly continue to bug me for a little bit.

 

I had mine removed. It's preferable to put a new emblem on, rather than try to reapply the old. The old adhesive won't stick as well and it's difficult to realign the letters correctly.

After my emblem was removed and the boot stripes put on, I decided that I liked it better without the emblem. The replacement I bought ended up on my toolbox.

Cheers,
Tom