[andrewcregan]

Grab a drink, sit back and put your feet up, as I am going to tell you a story.
I ordered my Dooper in Lightning Blue/White Roof (Chili Pack) several months ago. It was due end July/beginning August, but then I heard the 08 model was on its way. I had to wait, as I wanted the Stop/Start and improved mpg. My car was delayed, and was due for delivery on Sept 1st - on a new 57 plate
Initially I was going with the standard Mini bonnet stripes, as you just cannot go wrong. However, I quickly decided that I wanted something a bit more individual, and began to scan the Mini accessories book. After much deliberation (ask my salesman ), I opted for the new Sport Stripes (like Viper, but with only a pinstripe gap between the stripes). White stripes on a blue car - easy! Howabout, blue stripes over the white roof ? Unfortunately, most Mini stripes come in Red, White and Black, but no blue . I eventually came to the conclusion this was due to the fact that there are so many shades of blue to buy from Mini (Lightning, Laser, Oxygen etc, never mind all the previous blues), so I was only able to order bonnet and boot stripes.
Now I don't know about you, but I always like to see before I buy, and so i was itching to see some Sports stripes in the flesh. They are new, but there had to be some about - didn't there? Cutting my long story short(er) I never did see any, not even on Mini2, and began to doubt whether they were the stripes for me.

[andrewcregan]

So, what to do?
After much reading of Mini2, I kept seeing references to Mini Pirate, and decided to look into what they could do for me. I also noticed that they are a sponsor of Mini2 - surely another Mini enthusiast.
I began to PM Phil at Mini Pirate, and soon got the impression that they could do anything you wanted. The feedback on the forums was all positive, which gave me the impression they could indeed deliver what they promised
When Mini Pirates website was revamped recently, I would suggest that hundreds of new combinations appeared for stripes, and I began to realise that this was the way to go for me. Phil was also able to provide photos of previous jobs as inspiration, but to me this worked as confirmation that I was making the correct choice.
Obviously the white stripes would be easy, but we needed to find a blue. I was sent 4 blue colour samples (arrived next day) but none were close enough to Lightning Blue. Phil then sent me 3 darker samples. The problem is trying to match a metallic paint job with a flat decal colour. I took my better samples to two dealers, where a total of 6 sales people had their input. One dealership went with one colour, and the other dealership another. Crikey
I eventually decided on what I considered the darker of the 2 colours. It appeared to be as close as I was going to get.
A couple more PMs to Mini Pirate (always promptly answered ) and a few phone calls, and the date was set - 6th September.

[andrewcregan]

Phil was due to arrive at 0900, but arrived at a very impressive 0815. All the more amazing when you consider he had driven from Leicestershire to North Cheshire.
We had always planned to do the work in the garage (despite it being a beautiful day) as next door are having a large extension built. This was later proved to be a wise idea as the workmen brushed all the dirt and dust off the scaffolding - no need to guess which way the wind was blowing!
Phil set up his magic table, and got cracking - stopping only briefly for a sip of tea. The first thing was to find the centre of my car (see picture)

[andrewcregan]

Phil had arrived well prepared, as he had been working on a Cooper the day before in his workshop. He had used it as a template for my bonnet stripes. Oops a Cooper and a Dooper have a different bonnet, which meant the stripes were one inch too short . Fortunately Phil is a whizz with a scalpel, and soon knocked up some more front stripes, including the cut out around the Mini badge - nice work.
The next hard bit was getting the stripes to work over the bulge of the bonnet. A tough job indeed, and must have been near 2 hours work!
The pinstripes you can see were all fitted individually too

[andrewcregan]

Here is a close up of the completed nose

[andrewcregan]

Now the nose was done, time for the roof. Now I understood why Phil had brought his 'mini' steps. This was my first chance to see my blue colour choice on the car, and it is really odd. Sometimes it looks too light, but other times it looks too dark. Not surprisingly, sometimes it looks right - what can you do with a metallic colour?!
The hardest part of the roof, apart from trying to reach the middle of the car, was cutting the vinyl around the base of the aerial mount. Working over the spoiler was also a bit tricky, due to the angles involved - this was to prove easy compared to the boot

[andrewcregan]

In the picture you can see the tape being set up to ensure the stripes are parallel.
The difficulty with the back is the number of angles involved. I would never have appreciated this until watching Phil being challenged by Mini's finest numerous bends and curves. How Phil did such a fine job on this, simply astounded me - it did take several hours
A further complication for the rear end was the number plate. Phil had asked me to remove it prior to his arrival, which I would have happily done for him. Unfortunately, just 24 hours earlier my dealer had replaced my rear plate with a stick on one, and said "that will never come off". If you saw how much double sided sticky stuff is behind this plate, you would know he was right! Therefore Phil had to literally work around the plate.

[andrewcregan]

I am delighted with this - if only people realised how much hard work went into it.

[I love MINI, Laura]

Looks brilliant! Do you have an overall shot? Looks great!

[andrewcregan]

Well here is the finished article, parked up outside my house.
Just how much time did Mini Pirate spend on this? As previously mentioned, Phil arrived at 0815 and did not depart until 1745, which by my calculations is 9.5 hours. I would suggest that Phil worked solidly (not even a lunch break) for 9 (yes NINE) hours.
Mini Pirate are determined to make you a happy, and I am not easily pleased!
What a service - A+. I really cannot recommend Mini Pirate highly enough, and at a cost that I considered to be very reasonable.
Thanks Phil, much appreciated.

[Snowie]

Stunning job

I have been popping in and out of this thread as you have been writing it - it has been like a good book, can not put it down until the story is fully told

Excellent write up and superb work (as usual) by Phil

Alan

[I love MINI, Laura]

Oops I jumped in too early.

Love it looks great! Another great job by Phil! Looks like you were very excited about it!

[andrewcregan]

Alan, glad you appreciated it

[nickschin]

looks amazing, can i ask how much it cost in total to do such a great job?

[bubblegoose]

Quote: Originally Posted by andrewcregan (original)

I am delighted with this - if only people realised how much hard work went into it.

high quality finish...
be good to see these in the flesh Andrew.

See you soon mate & we'll pop those bulbs in for you

Dave

[Phil Craddock]

Andrew - hey big thanks for the write up - ever thought about writing a novel?? or would it be a 'mini' story....see what I did there

It was a long day - but we like to get things just right especially if the customer is with me - we take no short cuts.

If anyone wants to know the costs involved please PM me

Cheers Phil.

[Toosh]

Cool Blue Stripes! Good job!

[ScoobyDoo]

That looks fantastic!!!!

[Suj999]

Quote: Originally Posted by Phil Craddock (original)

Andrew - hey big thanks for the write up - ever thought about writing a novel?? or would it be a 'mini' story....see what I did there

It was a long day - but we like to get things just right especially if the customer is with me - we take no short cuts.

If anyone wants to know the costs involved please PM me

Cheers Phil.

How much does it cost mate?

[Phil Craddock]

PM sent