the same thought went through my head....

alas i was there a week too late....

do not fret, i will never let a good photo op pass me by.



thanks for the kudos rally.

the headlight bezels were easy to prep...

took 60min of drysanding the chrome off and a wet sanded coat of primer.

my advice to anyone considering paint is.....

do it all at once.... develop a plan.

the more prep work you do yourself, the cheaper its gonna be.

removing all the peices yourself is an excellent way to save some labor hours.

 

Mini's were designed to have chrome on them.

IMHO to de-chrome a Mini just makes it look like a cheap Korean car and 99% of the cars on the market today have little-to-no chrome on them.

Hey, its your car so do what you like.

 

And there were plenty of great photographers who actually didn't enter any of their awesome pix (but which are viewable in the gallery)! Go figure!

I like the Dark Silver de-chromed, a lot! And I am a chrome-ho! LMAO! Um...it seems to me that the MCS cabrios have body-colored gas caps! Is that correct? :smile:

Clover

 

I too have been considering painting the bezels around my headlights. I thought the chromed front end was nice... for about a week. I do like some chrome accents like the side vents and door handles, but a car slathered in chrome smacks of the '50s & '60s. Yes, our cars are modeled after Coopers from that era, which explains the plethora of chrome .

MINIs are cars with personalities... each car says something about their owner. Removing the bling doesn't cheapen the car, it cleans the lines and it makes it different from every other MINI out there.

My .02

 

Here's a good thread for all of you chrome haters.

 

All of that and the wheels are still painted. Strange...

 

"Mini's were designed to have chrome on them."

That doesnt make it a "good" design. As you are aware, its all about personalization and expression.

"IMHO to de-chrome a Mini just makes it look like a cheap Korean car and 99% of the cars on the market today have little-to-no chrome on them."

you are entitled to your opinion. have a look at the galleries. sort by most viewed.


I think chrome looks good on the MINI. just not mine.

Chrome also looks great on trucks and airplanes.





Mr 1JohnSoCal..... you are just a hater. there is no need to bash anyone.

So Eat My Chrome. I wont be needing it on my Korean MINI.

i dont like your attitude. i think you need a nap. when your feeling better please come back and post.

 

I guess that explains my chromoholic tendencies. Must be my teen age memories(1956 I turned 13) about chrome. Now I understand. Thanks. Nick

 

It's all human nature- people want what they dont have.

When people have cars or trucks with no chrome on them they spend tons of money buying chrome trim, billet grills and etc. When people have cars or trucks with lots of chrome on them the spend alot of money stripping the chrome off and buy color-coded grills and bumbers and etc.


Last month I attended and new product/styling clinic in Los Angeles for some next-generation Nissans that will be unveiled @ NAIAS. I was picked along with alot of other people based on what cars we owned and I was chosen because I had a Mini. During this styling clinic I had to sit-in and evaluate about 20 different cars from many different manufactures and compare them to Nissans new offerings. All I could say that after contrasting and comparing all these different cars with each other there were 3 things that stuck in my mind:

1. Everyone one of them (All makes) had zero chrome and all had color-matched grills, bumpers, and etc. (the Mini wasn't in the evaluation)

2. Bright silver was the most popular as well as the most generic color

3. Interiors for the most part were all similar and had similar color and textures (there were a few exceptions)




Don't get me wrong I think a person should custom the car as they feel fit and if a person can express their opinion and state they are a "CHROME HATER" then I should be able to express my opinion in support of all-things-chrome.

 

Yep, I'm not contesting you there :D

Wasn't knockin' the people (whoever) that chose the pictures, I was more just disappointed with the selection of pictures people entered. I know there are better pics that I've seen on the site, and it's definitely they're fault for not entering them... No worries!

 

Chrome cures my obsessive-compulsive polishing syndrome. (OCPS). You can't see yourself in the reflection of flat paint.

 

Please tell me Nissan is getting rid of that nasty "buck tooth" grille theme. My other car is a 5th gen Maxima and I was terribly disappointed with new styling.

 

Mini is born with chrome. De-chroming a Mini is like de-clawing a cat. Your cat's claws are not toenails. It is adhered to the bone.

It is cruel and inhumane to de-chrome a Mini. If you don't want chrome buy a Hyundai.


I think Mini did a great job with just the right amount of chrome.

 

OH MY! that pic is just wrong!! reminds me of what I do right be fore I eat cats!! ...heh heh...

however, besides my eating habits....if I could have had the mini come from the factory the way she is now....I woulda as I am sure many would have...it's not or fault....and well my mini is much happier now...and I swear I got extra HP...cause she's more aggressive and atheletic....LOL
...rather than focusing on her bling factor

 

One of the things I like the most about the MINI, is the very tasteful application of chrome around the car from the factory. Even the most recalcitrant of chrome haters have to admit that the chrome in the MINI is not where near being offensive or repulsive.


I personally love chrome but not in excess. When I got my MCS the first thing I had the dealer do was to replace the Chili Red factory grille with the chromed one from MINI and I also replaced the white mirror caps with the chromed ones. That's about all I have done to my car in terms of adding chrome. The MINI to my eyes looks so much better and classy with a front chrome grille but I also admit that the car looks wicked with the Aero kit and black honeycomb grille.

I respect the opinion of those who hold contempt against the presence of chrome in these cars. I also don't like it when owners start chroming every single piece, button, post, etc in the car. Too much chrome also looks mighty cheap IMO.

I don't like the automotive industry trend of the last 20 years to de-chrome cars and flat paint everything. I am tired of painted bumpers, painted door handles, painted this and painted that. What I find refreshing about the MINI's design is that chrome tastefully applied in a sporty car looks really good and makes it stand out amid an ocean of "me too" cars on the roads.

A friend of mine in our local MINI club he is also a self professed chrome hater (He painted the chrome bezels around the headlights and they are peeling off horribly due to road stones) but he admits he likes the chrome grille in my MCS. We both have '04 MCS, identical colors, built a couple of weeks away from each other.

Let's not hate. MINIs are all about personalization but left up to me, a de-chromed MINI looks too much like those cheapo riced out Honda Civics I see rolling around everyday.

 

I grew up in the 1980's I am not a big fan of chrome. I like the bold race car look, and you don't see chrome on race cars! Though I think that the MINI looks good with the amount of chrome on it. Adding chrome packages IMHO over does it. The thing I like best about the MINI is that with a white roof and wheels you can habe the best of both worlds. Some chrome and paint.

Maybe BMW should offer anthrocite, or black painted wheels for the cars with black roofs and mirrors?

 

I wouldnt be surprised if the next-gen 2007 Mini has very little chrome on it to cut cost (Steel, chrome plating and etc have skyrocket in cost over the last 2 years) and then make every piece of chrome a cost-option.

The reason why so many car manufacturers are getting rid of chrome is that it cost more then just painting something the body color.

 

I thought most of the "chrome" on modern cars was actually plastic?

 

That might true on alot of cars but alot of chrome on trucks (like bumpers and etc) is still steel. Even the vacuum/electroplating-process that accociated with chroming plastic is expensive and its much cheaper just to paint it the body color.

 

[QUOTE=ZAMIRZ]as long as you don't replace the chrome with carbon ricer, you should be fine
QUOTE]

I just happend to finish my fiberglass mold of the gas cap in order to make a carbon fiber fuel lid, I think it would look pretty sweet. Not all "ricers" use carbon fiber, it's the concept of lightweight, heavy duty material that is mostly used to shed body weight and IMHO looks f#$*in' awsome. Just my $0.02

 

some of you people need to start a thread called....


I Like Chrome

You wont even have to worry about seeing me over on that thread.



then the Chrome Haters shall unite.

The mini was designed wonderfully... it oftens gets a bit of flak for being overdesigned. When I look at the front of a stock MINI...I see a plentitude of juxtaposed textures and colors... that seem they are trying too hard to get along with one another. to name the most obvious:

chrome
orange light
white light
flat textured black
gloss black
body color
racing stripes
contrasting roof and mirrors

my approach is just to simplify the scheme so you notice more of the beatuiful natural body lines with out all of the distracting bling.


the cat claw metaphor is a stretch at best.
its not that drastic sheesh.

 

I've heard the suggestion that replacing MCS cap with one from MC would be an alternative to more labor-intensive dechromification of the part. Can anyone confirm this? I just want a simple, black fuel cap to match my roof and mirror caps... and I'd like to be able to preserve the original bling-y MCS cap for future use.

 

I couldn't agree more. I absolutely despise unpainted plastic on a car. I'm surprised I was able to bring myself to buy the Mini.

The Mini, and especially the interior is a huge mix of unmatching textures and colors. In my view, it only adds cheapness. At least the Korean cars match -- as would ANY high-end luxury or sports car on the market.

Imitation anything is worthless to me - whether it be fake wood, leather or plastic "chrome". It's plastic and in ten years the only "re-chroming" you'll be doing is with a spray can. From what I've seen from this site though, many mini owners have no long-term ownership plans anyway. I guess you won't be around when your "chrome" is flaking off and showing off a new kind of mini-style.

 

BS!!! take a look at our newly-waxed LY MCS and you can see yourself pretty well

nonetheless, I am looking for chrome parts up the wazoo I.E. webbed chrome hood scoop, shiiiiny new shift ****, etc.

-Paul

 

This is pretty sweet:






Wanda's bad-boy cousin!

Confession: Wanda now has...gasp...chrome bonnet stripes!

Clover