Custom Bonnet Stripes

When I bought my MINI, it was pretty basic. Not much added to it. That is how it stayed for a while. I've added a few items to the interior but not much on the exterior. Along the way, I decided that I wanted bonnet (hood for you american car drivers) stripes. I looked at many different types but none really appealed to me. They were all the same. I wanted something subtly different. This is what I came up with. Mike at AesthetiCreations put them to vinyl and installed them for me.

Here are some pictures of my custom stripes.

(Click on any of the images below to see a larger version)

Click here to see this in a full window instead of in a frame.

Nice, but too plain. It needed something.		We had just gotten off the track after doing a few laps at PIR so the first step was to clean the bonnet.
Next step was to establish the top location. The stripe is taped down.		Then the bottom is located and taped in place.
Finally, the center is taped down.		Next, Mike pulled up the rear (toward the windshield) end of the stripe and removed the release layer exposing the vinyl.
Then the release layer is cut and removed.		The rear of the raw vinyl is then applied to the paint using a plastic spreader. It is important to take the time and do this slowly to avoid bubbles.
Now for the front. Again, remove the tape.		Remove the underlying release layer.
Smooth it out slowly.		Mike leaves the lower two inched like this. The reason is that this area has a more pronounced compound curve and the stripe will be easier to manipulate without the upper protective paper layer.
Now, the upper protective paper layer can be removed. Yes, this is the other side. Mike peeled the other one off before I could get a picture.		Finally, the last two inches are smoothed. It takes a little bit of finesse and subtle stretching to get it smooth with no wrinkles.
All the smoothing is done.		The leftover stripe is cut off with a razor blade and tucked under the grill.
I also had Mike make them long enough to wrap around the rear edge of the bonnet. Most stripes do not wrap around at either end but I wanted mine to do so.		With the bonnet up, the stripe is wrapped around and under. That's it. Rinse and repeat for the other side.
But they are not just ordinary stripes. Like I said, I wanted something different. I had this MINI added to each of the stripes. Even the mini MINI has bonnet stripes.		Final shot. The mini MINIs themselves are somewhat subtle, but look a little closer. Their bonnet stripes have MINIs in them too. Thanks Mike!!
All finished. Much better.

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