Below is info about my first comprehensive project, in fact the whole concept of changing the appearance of the car.
I was inspired by the new GP 2020 design look from MINI John Cooper Works, so much. I want that car, but not the "public" version of it.
I want the exact GP Race version with superb design of the wheels, colour scheme, etc.
I only, or should I say most notably, own the Mini Cooper S R56, but I believe that with my personal creativity and ideas I will manage to make it something unique and eye-catching.
I was most impressed by the wheels of this newly designed car. I own OZ Racing Superturismo GT rims and with the eyes of my imagination I saw that it would be "fairly easy" to achieve a similar effect in an inexpensive way and as far as possible.
The second thing was the color of the car. I've always liked cars with matt paint. I thought to modernize the appearance of this car even more, I have to use something more than just a matte paint. Matte Carbon Fiber would be a great choice. OK, it's decided. And since I have experience in vinyl wrapping (cars, motorbike, moppeds, bikes) I knew I wanted a good quality film for this project.
I bought a roll of 3M Carbon Fiber Matte Vinyl - I read that this is one of the best vinyls with this pattern on the market. Of course, for a great effect and quality, I also bought 60m of 3M knifeless tape, plus some additional new wrapping tools.
As an addition to this matte color that will accentuate the whole thing well, I chose 3M Red Fluorescent vinyl. It has a very interesting color effect. It is normally red-orange, but even a yellow color appears in the sharp/harsh light.
The standard Mini is very different from the new Mini design GP 2020 and I also wanted to change the R56 look, so that you could see the differences between the silhouette of my modification and the original R56. For this, I purchased a few body kit parts from Top Sun. The rear bumper with diffuser is very different from the standard R56 so it was the obvious choice, as well, as side "skirts". I only left the original front bumper because I like it more than the one used by JCW or by Top Sun. Besides, I plan to produce custom parts for this modification and this bumper fits it better. And since we're talking about custom parts, I'm going to make side splitters and one main splitter for the aforementioned front bumper.
Now I will write about what attracts my attention as a second part (after wheels of course) in the new design and this part is a roof spoiler. The designed spoiler looks simply awesome. It is much larger than the original and extends beyond the outline of the car's roof, that's why I'm going to buy a Fiberglass GT roof spoiler and wraps it.
Finish line is the best for my needs
3M Scotchcal vinyl
Premium Vinyl Wrap
3M Scotchcal film
Any work related to the modification is given below in more or less detail in comic book form.
There are many photos and almost all of them have descriptions of the operations that were performed.
If anyone requires a detailed description of any procedure, please contact me.
This is not a guide or instruction on how to perform such a modification, but information on how I performed the entire procedure. If anyone undertakes to carry out such modifications on the basis of the information contained on my website, then he / she takes responsibility for everything and must remember that each modification will result in the loss of the remaining car warranty, if any.
I do not take any responsibility for wrong operation or bad execution of modifications that are described on my website.
I left the "skirt" made like this outside in full sunshine for a few days to see how the vinyl would perform. Because Carbon Fiber vinyl is very thick, as it has a texture, it is hard to make it behave on any bends and changes in the angle of the surface it lies on, even after "memory reseting" temperature treatment.
I decided that I would avoid very sharp folds and use layers of vinyl on such surfaces.
New idea of laying vinyl
NO hard bends
Knifeless tape very helpful
Even better effect
I planned that the car will be on stands for at least one month
for a car weighing 1 ton, just in case
Very detailed wash
For stone chips
and polishing with 2500 grade sand paper
Ready for paint
Black matte
Plasti-dip
4 wheels - 4 cans of Pasti-dip
of rear bumper
of side "skirts" and wheel arch panels
from Intercooler
I prepared a new logo
for air flow performance
After 3000 miles it's a time for change
As always High quality BOSCH Oil filter
cover for fuel cup
same for all de-chroming in this project
Like the look
lights rims
New, fresh look
to be matte black
3M Red Fluorescent
I come up with new ideas whilst working
thoroughly cleaned the surface with 80% alcohol before wrapping
very happy with the look
I will use this panel to make the front splitter and both side "skirt" splitters.
This is 2m by 1m - 5mm HDPE Grade 300 panel and it mayor features are:
Incredible high abrasion resistance and wear resistance
Unbreakable, good resilience, Super resistance of aging
Highly resistant to corrosive chemicals except oxidizing acids
Odorless, tasteless, and nontoxic
Very low coefficient of friction
Whole doors have to be disassembled
removing the inner door panel
removing the glass from the door
removal of mechanisms from the door
I always pay attention to the pattern
so that it fits with the other parts
I used an injection needle to get the air out
a few more until the end, but I like it a lot
accent as in the original design
a lot of work was done on this
I close the boot to check the whole look
Chrome fuel cap
De-Chrome fuel cap
with cover ON
Looking so good
one last look at the red door
the thing I like the most is that it is matte
I had to take everything out
"walking" LED version in Black Matte
rear lights rims
wrapping the spoiler in 3 vinyls
in Carbon Fiber
one of them is good use in graphics soft
old vinyl off
new vinyl ON
very hot today
I am happy with the results
bottom in Black matte vinyl
center in Red Fluorescent
the fluorescent color still surprises me
Thinking about the vinyl car wrapping business, I recently purchased a professional vinyl cutter - Graphtec Cutting Pro - japanese machine.
By trial and error I made a template using a graphics program on a computer and with it, I cut letters from the vinyl at the right angle for my rims.
Of course all additional details are made in fluorescent red.
also from three different vinyls
Black matte vinyl
Carbon Fiber
on many sharp edges vinyl began to peel
Black matte vinyl inside light area
it is better for covering a lot of edges
to get closer to the design of those super wheels and rims
for the inner parts of my OZ Racing Superturismo GT rims
the final effect even surprised me
despite being tired, I keep doing it
nothing to add
painting all plastic lower edges on the car
even new to look the same as the old ones
also Black matte Plasti-dip
cutting out two side skits
filing with a file two side skits
for the best quality
connecting lights and sensors
I had to lower the exhaust system a little
yet without the central cap
Red Fluorescent and Carbon Fiber
gluing 5 mm distance
side skirts are lower than the original
I attached the splitters to the skirts with 13 x M6 screws
letters cut out on the cutter as a visual addition
I made a cardboard template
manual grinding and filing
checking if everything fits well
I really liked the Splitter that was designed for the race version of this car. It has a red/orange center with the description what this version of the car is and who had such a vision to make it. In my flat splitter I used a geometric figure so that it gave the impression of a certain third dimension. I screwed the splitter to the lower part of the front bumper with 10 x M6 screws. On the front of the splitter I used two rods that are bolted to the bottom middle part of the bumper. On my cutter I cut a similar looking inscription as in the race version of this car. I really like the end result and how it all turned out.
Side parts for GT spoiler
sanding before bending
heat bended
marking of bolt holes
unscrew the antenna and its base
and it started to rain so I rescheduled to wrap the roof for later
high gloss was delivered
sanded to a mat before painting
painted in Black matte car spray
for central wheel caps
as a delicate addition to the wheels
looks cool
the biggest pieces of vinyl for this car
very precise work for a very focused hand
cutting a hole for the antenna
Antenna too long for a spoiler
I cut out the middle
without Carbon piece
joint wraped with vinyl
and all parts produced by me wrapped
so that the boot can be fully opened
pattern for tinting the glass
for perfect fit
and cleaning the glass
all water and air bubbles
to the edge of the frame
left NO TINT - right TINTED
70% VLT - visible light transmission
for Break LED top light
soap solution
Rear light
Tint vinyl
Light tinted
difference
too clear/shiny for good look
Smoke effect
It is not so shiny/visible anymore