De-Chroming

[Mav]

So i've been thinking of starting the process to de-chrome my F56 and replace it all with glossy black. Has anyone de-chromed before? Ive found a couple of places for some simple changes but im not sure where to start. Also what kind of preferences do you guys have on chrome replacements? Ive seen there is glossy and matte black as well as the carbon look!

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

Lots of us have de-chromed, the cheap way to do it is with PlastiDip and I think they have a gloss spray now. The PlastiDip expert here is @1975_mini

 

I did a lot of Carbon fiber on my '06 and I will tell you that it doesn't hold up well over time, especially on door handles. Both of our MINIs with Carbon Fiber door handles wound up with cracked ugly door handles in about 3 years.

 

I also De-Chromed my R52 when I had him repainted and went all body color over the chrome and the plastic, including the chrome instrument panel surrounds

 

 

[1975_mini]

Ali threw me under the bus so I will weigh-in.

Looking at your photo your common  de-chrome points are the grille surrounds, door handles, beltline, headlight beezles, and MINI badging.

there are a few ways to go about it:

- the expensive way: they sell snap over or replacement  pieces for the surround, beezles, door handles, and badges. This gets expensive very quickly exspecially on a gen 3 as everyone is still trying to make a buck off you.

- cheapest option: plastidip, this is a spray on vinyl that can be pealed off when you no longer want it. advantages are cost, color and finish options, and pretty easy to do. Having someone give to the tips and help, makes sure it is done well. 

You also can have pieces vinyl wrapped, which will fall somewhere between to two in cost, again this can be done on your own or by a shop.  The pieces are not full of complex curves, so if you have the pacients you can save a few bucks doing it yourself, or pay a shop to save your sanity.

*** My recommendation for whats thats worth:

- order knights edition front and rear MINI badges (they're black) and because they are OEM they look the best, IMO.

- order door handle covers (your will be touching these alot and PD will not hold up well over time)

- grille surrounds and headlight beezles: plasti-dip (the cover pieces are over priced and the PD will hold up fine) or wrap yourself in vinyl

- beltline on gen2 MINIs standard electrical tape is a perfect fit, and you can do two MINIs for like $1.96 I am not sure on the width of the gen 3 beltline. You can order beltline kits (proper width vinyl on a roll) for not a bad price. Try sites like detriottuned.com

I would wait till spring to do it, as warmer weather ensure better bonding of the parts, also clean areas you are installing very well and then use rubbing alcohol to remove any wax and particals. There are a few of us that have done a few and we are always willing share lessons learned or lend a hand.

 

[Mav]

Thanks so much! My first looks pointed me to full on replacement pieces like the headlights and the price made me a bit skeptical at first if I even wanted to tackle this.

For now I am just shooting for the common points. The beltline was the first on the list as I found something im sure I can do myself with ease and it will turn out great. Same place also has door handle covers im looking at (Shop name is killallchrome on Etsy and their website). Now that i have a decent direction to go ill do some more research and hopefully I can post an update soon!

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

I also learned the hard way, do not apply beltline tape on a hot summer day!

[Coopah]

I bought some 3M gloss black vinyl and did the headlight and taillight trim in about 30 minutes for less than $30.  A hair dryer and an Exacto knife are all you need.  For the grill surround, I went to "outmotoring" and ordered the gloss black stick-on plastic trim for about $100.  Goes right over the existing trim surround.  Very happy with it.  Looks original.

[Mav]

These pics are perfect for me, gives me such a good idea of what mine could look like! I noticed when going over my chrome points one of my headlight trims has a bit of deformation so im tempted to just get the clip on replacement part for both of them and then go with the vinyl/plastidip for just about everything else save the handles. 

[Coopah]

At some point, I’m going to order the black door handles. They go for about $180. I’d also like to get the complete OEM gloss black belt line (as opposed to the tape/vinyl), but that goes for about $500. A little steep. My wheels are getting powder coated gloss black in January. Good luck with your project. Post pics as it progresses. 

Edited December 31, 2020 by Coopah

[1975_mini]

Look forward to how it comes out. I have black on all the beezles and grille with the scope and door handles being carbon fiber. Also carbon fiber for the interior chrome.

[BendersMINI]

On 12/30/2020 at 11:43 AM, Mav said:

Thanks so much! My first looks pointed me to full on replacement pieces like the headlights and the price made me a bit skeptical at first if I even wanted to tackle this.

For now I am just shooting for the common points. The beltline was the first on the list as I found something im sure I can do myself with ease and it will turn out great. Same place also has door handle covers im looking at (Shop name is killallchrome on Etsy and their website). Now that i have a decent direction to go ill do some more research and hopefully I can post an update soon!

I've recently caught the de-chroming bug, too. 

Ordered directly from killallchrome and was impressed with the speed of shipping from the UK, especially with current shipping delays. Only took about a week to arrive. All 6 door handle covers, front/rear light surrounds, and a couple of rolls of different belt line tape. (I have a ton of matte black vinyl leftover from my current stripes, but saving that at the moment for a future update.) Already had the grill surround from OutMotoring and installed a few years ago.

I've only test fit all the pieces so far, but I really like the fit and quality. As posted elsewhere, the handle covers snap on really tightly. 

Waiting until weather warms up and clears up to put all this on. Planning to remove current stripes and give it a good cleaning, then may put a different stripe design on. May depend on the amount of paint shadowing/discoloration left from the old stripes...

And then it'll be time for NV Coatings and the wheels!

[Mav]

4 hours ago, BendersMINI said:

I've recently caught the de-chroming bug, too. 

Ordered directly from killallchrome and was impressed with the speed of shipping from the UK, especially with current shipping delays. Only took about a week to arrive. All 6 door handle covers, front/rear light surrounds, and a couple of rolls of different belt line tape. (I have a ton of matte black vinyl leftover from my current stripes, but saving that at the moment for a future update.) Already had the grill surround from OutMotoring and installed a few years ago.

I've only test fit all the pieces so far, but I really like the fit and quality. As posted elsewhere, the handle covers snap on really tightly. 

Waiting until weather warms up and clears up to put all this on. Planning to remove current stripes and give it a good cleaning, then may put a different stripe design on. May depend on the amount of paint shadowing/discoloration left from the old stripes...

And then it'll be time for NV Coatings and the wheels!

I ended up getting a lot of it from Killallchrome as well. The shipping really is surprising for being so far away! I ended up removing the front light trim and then applying the cover but the rear went on so easily! While looking at the bottom of my trim and removing it though i noticed a few of my clips had broken off already! Gotta figure out an easy fix for that since ive already applied the blackout covers...