Thanks!
215/40R17's on 17x7 rims.

I normally run 205's on these rims and they look stretched, the 215's are perfect.

Richard

 

Yeah, those tires fit really well on the wheels. Sometimes 215/40s look a bit pinched on 7s, but those look just right. And the wheels look awesome.

 

That is not at all what I would expect your MINI to look like, Octane Guy - and I don't mean because it's dirty!

Yours is now well down the road of a hardcore beast of a MINI. I had you figured as more of a classicist. Looks cool, though.

 

Thanks!! I agree. Here's how they looked with the 205 Falken Ziex 512


205 Falkens


215 Nitto NeoGens



The difference is night and day.

Richard

 

Haha, for my first '03 Cooper, that's what I tried to maintain with the chrome, white roof/wheels, etc..keeping it simple and clean.


But once I got the '05 MCS, there was do doubt about it that with JB/JB, it had to be mean! LOL.

Yeah it's also kinda dirty right now--waiting for the repaint--finally the interior bits are getting painted today, then hopefully the exterior will get the paint early next week--then I'll give it the full bath and spa treatment it deserves, lol.

 

Looks great Richard, like the wheels

 

Yup, I saw the C3 sticker and thought about asking, but didn't want to sound like a dweeb for not knowing who you were . I unfortunately won't be able to make it to MOTD or AMVIV, but i'll be around .

 

AHA!! THAT'S the car that I normally associate with you. I guess I didn't know about the MCS, and my mind kept going, "that's not OG's car"

 

Thanks Val!!
Funny, I was feeling the same about you--I was like.."I wonder if this guy is on NAM...".
Haha. Not sure if you ever saw this thread..but it's how I got this MCS
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=76817&page=2

A little history including what it looked like when I picked it up from the storage lot
http://www.showcardetailing.com/foru...highlight=mini

 

Holy cow

Black puts the pain in paint

 

So true. I've definitely adopted a completely different maintenance routine. It's been good though. I hadn't owned a black car in over 6 years so I forgot what it was like, lol...it both good and bad ways, lol.
Pic from a few months ago.

 

so true...

 

Just a few more pix of the painting progress:

 

DUDE!

 

You know, one thing never occurred to me until I decided to paint them myself--the oem speaker grills and surrounds are one piece silver/anthracite--non HK. I decided to just paint the rings and mask out the perforated grill portion but nothing sticks to that plastic! Now I know why it's not two color, lol. I cut a circle mask with my vinyl cutter. Guess we'll find out today if it worked or whether it will have to be just one uniform color, lol. Although come to think of it, if I had painted the surrounds first which are easier to mask, then masked that and sprayed the inner portion (which I hadn't originally planned to do), that might have solved the problem.

FWIW, I pulled apart my MFSW controls and broke one of the clips. If anyone plans to do this, shoot me a PM, and I can give you the insight on how to not break the fragile clip and have to spend another $60, lol.

The oem icons on the buttons were masked off using vinyl from my Roland sign cutter measured with a digital micrometer and created in Adobe Illustrator.

I'd love to paint the wiper stalks, but those graphics will be a pain to recreate especially since it's not a flat surface.

 

if it won't stick, you are using the wrong paint. I have VHT Plastic Trim Paint and have had no issues with any interior piece yet

 

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant the masking tape/adhesive wouldn't stick to the perforated grill portion. The paint is fine. If the masking isn't clean around the edges because it didn't stick well to the plastic, then I will have to consider another option.

 

This isn't a PM, but yes, I'd like that useful information.

I bet you could sell a few of those on your website to those of us who would like to do the paint, but who don't have a sign cutter...

I've had exactly that same thought... I wonder how those graphics are done in the factory? Direct-print? Decal?

 

thin strips of black duct tape to mask the edge, then painters tape across the rest, sticking to the duct tape. I did this for painting my wheels....sticking to rubber is similar to porous plastic like that. duct tape works (just use the black kind...less residue)

 

quick Q - I have some black overspray around my headlight from a (misguided) attempt to touch up a rock chip. Claybar didn't do any good. suggestions?

 

More claybar.

Yikes... I've removed lots of overspray with clay - never had any "refuse"...

 

+1
More aggressive claybar or more aggressive use of it. If you tried 10 swipes, try 50 or 100 before giving up. lol. You should see paint on the clay as you work. Press harder, or use Media Reducer which is pretty much paint thinner. This will work the best and with least amount of work.

The speakers turned out great..pictures coming.

 

Curious: What's it cost for prep and painting all the interior bits?

(You probably have connections, so an estimate of what someone would pay if they didn't have connections would be great.)

Probably not something I'll ever do, but something I often think about. I'd go for a PW dash, door rings and gauge/vent rings with antracite doorhandles, downtubes and speakers.

Thanks

 

Haha my connections is my shop, but the problem is that since I work here, I get low priority to all the paying customers.... the cost depends on a number of factors.

If you bring the parts to us and you're going to reinstall, it'll be a lot cheaper. The process involves painting, masking if needed like on the speaker rings, color sanding and polish.

I can get a quote and PM you for future reference.

 

I just typed a list of all the parts and realized there's no way I ever would tackle such a project! Thanks, though.