Hello fellow Mini Lovers,

Just curious if anyone has covered the glass of their sunroof with black vinyl (The sound dampening type with one side sticky and the other looking like actual black vinyl). I had the sunshade that comes with the mini and I've heard mixed reviews of the Zipeeshade and the like. I want something that fully blocks the sun, maybe reduces the noise from up there but still maintains the functionality so I can pop the roof if I decide to. I'm also looking for a permanent solution rather than just a temp insert etc... I'm also not looking to redo the entire roof. I have a small budget. I'm open to suggestions and thoughts but any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-D

 

i did something to my sunroof, its a temp / perm solution, and it was fairly cheap...

took some black foam core (stuff used for art projects? at walmart in the office section) and glued several suction cups to one side (after sizing and cutting to the sunroof size).

just stuck that thing up there and it holds when i pop my sunroof for fresh air. now, i dont fully retract mine (too noisy) but i imagine the suction cups would hold just fine. every couple of months maybe the suction cups give way, but its as easy as re-pressing them down (or up in the case) back onto the glass.

total cost > $10

 

You could get a vinyl sheet made to cover the sunroof. I had one with a Union Jack made for my sunroof, it has perforations in it that reduce light transmission by 25%.

You could make one with no perforations that would block all the light. I had mine made at Fast Signs, a national chain, it cost $200 installed, one without a picture on it would probably be much cheaper.

What kind of noise are you getting from the sunroof? I get no sound from mine.

Dave

 

That's pretty much what I'm thinking. I found some black vinyl that's sticky on one side and somewhat textured on the other. I'm thinking of cutting it to fit both glass panels to block all the sunlight (I only want sun in the car when I open the sunroof otherwise I want it blacked out). And the heavier vinyl that has the sound dampening I'm hoping will help with the wind noise.

The actual noise is nothing more than wind noise. No whistling or leaking or anything like that. Driving at low speeds you don't hear much and they are fine but once I hit 80mph or driving on a windy day you can hear that wind gusting. I've done a lot of sound dampening throughout the car. The entire boot, both wheel wells, part of the doors (should probably do the more difficult mid section but afraid to move that panel without seeing a diagram so I don't mess up something). I've even put some weather stripping around the hood. All of this has really reduced the road noise. But I'm a bit OCD and the wind noise as I hit higher speeds is like a fly buzzing around my head. If I could deaden that sound just a little It would be nice.

-D

 

I also used Fastsigns. Mine is just solid black, no graphics. I think it cost about $125. Had this done almost 2 years ago, and it still looks like it was just applied. And from a distance (as in more than 10 feet) you can't even tell there is vinyl on it. With the black roof, I think it looks better than it did without.

 

I had a 5% tint put in. Sure, it does let some light in, but not a lot..

 

I had "Limo Black" ceramic tint applied to the sunroof panels. $100, and it made driving in the Texas sun a non-issue. I highly recommend it.

 

I like the sunroofs but didn't like the sun shining and flickering on my face, so I match the dual oem rally / viper strips on the bonet and boot and ran a contrasting color across the roof. It looked great inside and out, blocked about 40 percent of the total sunlight and all the angles that let the sun shine and flicker on my face.

You could also use the darkest limo tint like pmsummer because it does work, its made for glass, cheap and easy to DIY if you want with lots of how to YouTube videos.

Hope this helps...