Is the mini paint softer than other paint. If I get the bonnet or racing strips on the hood, will the strips be durable or do you have to re apply the strips every so often. Anyone have eperience on this.

 

Unless I'm mistaken, the stripes are vinyl decals, not paint. There are various kinds of vinyl materials available for decals. Some have about a three year life while others are 5-10 years. Supposedly, you can peel them off without damaging the paint.

 

The custom stripes are vinyl and you get what you pay for. I had my gold stripes on the bonnet and boot of a BRG 03 for over a year and then replaced them because of a fender bender that cost me my bonnet....same quality, same vendor and same tech with same great results. Aesthetic Creations does good work.....my cousin got white (outlined) flames at last year's Dragon and they are super. Look up his work. It is a great way to make your car YOUR car.

 

I'm looking at the dealer installed stripes at their website. Does anyone know if they are high quality. Looks like they are going to cost around $150.00 installed. Can I spend that amount at another shop and get a lot better quality and results?. Thanks.

 

Looks like they would cost you about $40 (install them yourself) at MightyStipes (a NAM sponsor). Ask him about quality and life. He can get a variety of materials. He told me that chrome had a fairly short life.
http://www.mightystripes.com/Stripes.htm

Price is only a little higher at Aesthetic Creations (also NAM sponsor, IIRC).
http://www.aestheticreations.net/bonnetstripes.htm
He has some great custom stuff. The side stripes visually break up the tall side of the MINI and make it look sleeker. I particularly like the sweeping checkers.
http://www.aestheticreations.net/sidestripes.htm

 

www.cooperflags.com has some cool stripes as well.

 

Dunno which dealer quoted you this but I had one black stripe replaced on my 05 S (damaged it with windshield fix-it kit acid) and it cost me $42 materials and $58 labor: $100. $150 seems high for one stripe, and too low for two. If that's $150 for 2 stripes then that's a good deal. Also remember dealer installed stripes are covered (except for bone-brained mistakes like mine) under the car's 4/50k warranty. Quality is relative; I've seen very crappy AM stripes for about the same price.