It all started innocently enough, wherein ChrisV brings home a MINI JCW roadster

Started by ChrisV, December 24, 2020, 10:06:16 AM

ChrisV

Two weeks ago I drove it up to my son's house in CT, top down the entire way. Drove around up there for a few days before coming home. Much fun.



Then last weekend I took it to Brits by the Bay, a local all-British car show (mostly MGs and Triumphs, but a smattering of Rovers, Jags, and even a couple Astons were there). Sat with a few other MINIs and had a blast. For an occasional use car, I'm finding a lot of uses for it!










Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

AutobahnSHO

nice!!!

I'm in Miata anytime it's not raining and I make excuses to go for drives even. :thumbsup:
Will

ChrisV

Yup. Drove it out to Camp David in the Catoctin mountains yesterday. Beautiful weather for top down driving.
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

ChrisV

Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

SJ_GTI

I honestly can't tell. Are you taking the stripes off? Or putting them on...?

ChrisV

Taking off the vinyl that was faded and starting to get messed up, and replacing them with painted pearl stripes.
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

FoMoJo

Quote from: ChrisV on July 12, 2021, 07:26:06 AM
Taking off the vinyl that was faded and starting to get messed up, and replacing them with painted pearl stripes.
You can do that yourself?
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

SJ_GTI

Quote from: ChrisV on July 12, 2021, 07:26:06 AM
Taking off the vinyl that was faded and starting to get messed up, and replacing them with painted pearl stripes.

Ok, gotcha. I thought that is what you were doing but I can't see any stripes on your old pictures. Maybe I am just a little color blind (or they are that faded).  :lol:

ChrisV

Quote from: SJ_GTI on July 12, 2021, 07:42:38 AM
Ok, gotcha. I thought that is what you were doing but I can't see any stripes on your old pictures. Maybe I am just a little color blind (or they are that faded).  :lol:

They were pretty subtle against the BRG. You can see them in a few of the earlier pics (mostly the rear pics), but they were getting faded, scratched, and aged a bit. Plus they held wax on the edges. I want something a bit more subtle yet, but more custom at the same time. The hood stripes will also have a subtle ghosted union jack in them.
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

AutobahnSHO

Quote from: ChrisV on July 12, 2021, 07:56:23 AM
They were pretty subtle against the BRG. You can see them in a few of the earlier pics (mostly the rear pics), but they were getting faded, scratched, and aged a bit. Plus they held wax on the edges. I want something a bit more subtle yet, but more custom at the same time. The hood stripes will also have a subtle ghosted union jack in them.


Nice!
Will

ChrisV

Quote from: FoMoJo on July 12, 2021, 07:33:27 AM
You can do that yourself?

Yup. Got all the tools and materials (been doing custom painting for decades). Using House of Kolor show clear to top it off. Should be so nice.
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

ChrisV

Got the basic layout done for the Union Jack. Today I'll be masking it in layers and spraying the 3 pearl coats... So hard to think of the graphics layout backwards, essentially spraying the background last.
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

CaminoRacer

2020 BMW 330i, 1969 El Camino, 2017 Bolt EV

FoMoJo

Quote from: ChrisV on July 15, 2021, 07:33:32 AM
Got the basic layout done for the Union Jack. Today I'll be masking it in layers and spraying the 3 pearl coats... So hard to think of the graphics layout backwards, essentially spraying the background last.
I know you had mentioned ghosting but is there any colour involved?  Can you ghost subtle colours into the flag?
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

ChrisV

Quote from: FoMoJo on July 15, 2021, 09:27:55 AM
I know you had mentioned ghosting but is there any colour involved?  Can you ghost subtle colours into the flag?

Just the faint gold pearl. The different thicknesses will give it the different shading to replicate the three colors of the flag, but done much like the MINI Black Jack or Night Jack is done:



Only much more subtle. Doing gentle pearl colors over green would have been unsuccessful as a thin layer of white pearl might look decent but the blue would have turned aqua and the red would have turned brown.
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

ChrisV

Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

ChrisV

Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...


FoMoJo

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

AutobahnSHO

So sweet! Great work!

(can you come to SC and paint/ decorate my car???) :lol:
Will

ChrisV

Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...


ChrisV

I'm driving it way too often. I've got 5000 miles on it since I got it, and I told the insurance company it's only see about 5000 miles a YEAR. lol! Gonna have to adjust that upward. And I don't use it for commuting or errand running... but besides the MINI events I do around her, and the just for fun driving on the weekends or other nice days, it's been to SC, TN, and CT as well...
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...


ChrisV

Ok, style question. The wheels have little chips in the paint all around the edges, not really curb rash, per say, just chipped paint. I'd love to get new Enkeis for it, but don't really feel like spending over a grand on wheels right now. And I'd need to know that any new wheels will clear the larger Brembo brake calipers the JCW came with, which really limits the wheels that can be fitted, unlike a normal MINI. But for less than half that I can have these powder coated.

So should I redo them in say, hyper silver, or gold to match the stripes and the tan interior? Like this pchop I did:
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

SJ_GTI

Gold to match the stripes would fit nicely.

When they (or you?) powder coat the wheels do they remove the current paint/coat first?

FoMoJo

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

ChrisV

Quote from: SJ_GTI on August 12, 2021, 12:36:35 PM
Gold to match the stripes would fit nicely.

When they (or you?) powder coat the wheels do they remove the current paint/coat first?

Yeah, they strip the current paint off them. $129 per wheel to completely refinish them.
Like a fine Detroit wine, this vehicle has aged to budgetary perfection...

CaminoRacer

2020 BMW 330i, 1969 El Camino, 2017 Bolt EV

veeman

Personally I prefer silver to gold but I'm not against gold on the wheels.

Some people have this weird aversion to two tone watches (gold and silver accents).  Personally I think they look better than an all gold watch. 

What I'm trying to say is that having gold colored accents on the body paint and silver wheels will look fine.