[yossarian]

Hey all,

I have just received my chrome side vents from mini spares, but on looking at them the finish is very rough on the inner surface of the vent.

its difficult to tell from the pic's i've seen of the vents but i just assumed they would have a more polished look than this.

is this the way they are ment to be or should i send them back??

thx for the help peeps...

[badboyzbadboyz]

I am thinking of getting those vents too when I get my MINI. Sorry I can't help with your query but do you have any pictures of them so I can see what you mean

[yossarian]

pictures...

[AidenL]

I think they are OK - they look the same as mine anyway !

[Razor]

To be honest if I'd paid the amount of money MiniSpares are charging for those vents and they arrived looking like that. I'd have been most dis-chuffed.

I had mine done by somebody I know (as a one-off - or a two-off if you count the one's Monsta's got ) and I was concerned about the quality of the finish on those.

Looking at the MiniSpares ones I needn't have bothered - looks like Monsta and I got a bargain!!

Here are a couple of pics of mine:

[GazzaK]

it almost looks like a poor spray job

[Razor]

In fact looking at the pictures of yours more closely, to me (and this is only my opinion) it looks like they haven't been painted before the chrome effect coating has been applied. If they haven't been painted the 'orange peel' effect of the plastic will show through the chrome coating.

When I had mine (and Monsta's) done, they were first painted using '2-pac' paint, smoothed off with some very fine wet and dry and then coated. That said some evidence of the 'orange peel' effect can be still seen on the inside where the paint hasn't managed to cover effectively.

The secret to a good chrome finish is for the surface to be coated to be as smooth as possible.

Sorry to waffle on but I hope it has been useful.

[badboyzbadboyz]

How much did you pay for them ? Were they easy to install and do they look better when they are fitted (if you have fitted them yet)

[MINIALEX]

Ive got them aswell - they are MOSS's ones and are just the standards chromed and the quality is **** but what is the alternative apart from getting someone to do them like Razor has?? Also they cost a staggering £80 if my memory serves me correctly!!!!!!!!

[yossarian]

well i emailed mini-spares last night, voicing my dissatisfaction with the vents and after looking at razors vents they are definately going back!

i will probably end up doing what u did and get my existing ones chromed by someone local...

the thought that these ones i got cost me £80 is just appauling...

thanks for the help anyways...

[Simon Jackson]

They are the Moss Mini Ones, I have contacted Moss, hoping for a reply back shortly. The early sets were all Ok, but these last ones aren't so good! I have e-mailed you back also!

[Razor]

Quote:

Originally posted by yossarian
i will probably end up doing what u did and get my existing ones chromed by someone local...

There aren't that many places that do plastic-plating, however as you are in East Yorkshire you might want to give Karl Russell a try - he's based over that way.

He does an awful lot of chroming for the scootering fraternity, not sure if he does plastic though. It's worth asking for nowt - he does a fantastic job of his metal chroming - infact I think he is the de facto standard for show chrome.

If you need a number I'm sure I've got one somewhere I can dig out for you.

[badboyzbadboyz]

I was going to get those chrome vents but I have definately been put off now. R well ... back to the drawing board

[OctaneGuy]

So pardon my ignorance, but why can't you just use some Chrome Spray paint and paint the existing grills? Maybe wet sand them first?

[Razor]

Quote:

Originally posted by RichardLin
So pardon my ignorance, but why can't you just use some Chrome Spray paint and paint the existing grills? Maybe wet sand them first?

You could give it a go, but I guarantee they won't turn out half as good as you imagine.

The 'orange peel' effect of the plastic will be very hard to get rid of by just sanding alone.

[OctaneGuy]

I see. I guess it can't hurt since buying new ones will mean I have the old ones doing nothing but collecting dust! =)

I'll post my experiments next month when my MINI comes. Now are the chromed ones we are lookinf at now, made of plastic or metal?

[Razor]

Quote:

Originally posted by RichardLin
Now are the chromed ones we are lookinf at now, made of plastic or metal?

They're plastic - if they were metal getting them properly chromed would be a doddle, it's because they're made of plastic that it's so difficult.