Red and White Pin Stripes, and Spoiler Shading on my GT

[mkhuffman]

For many months I thought I would put stripes on the hood like others have done. I was really thinking of a subtle color, like a light grey on the Star White paint. But When I got the car, I just thought it looked so good without the stripes. (Also, my wife didn't like the idea.) I started thinking something even more subtle than tonal stripes would be cool, and I really like the red brake calipers.

So I thought red would be really good along the bottom, as a divider between the black and the white. Another reason for that (besides complementing the calipers) is to emphasize the lines between the black and white.

I also really like the rear bumper fins, but they are hard to see - so I thought maybe white pin stripes would make them more noticeable. After I put them on I had a great idea to put them on the front, on the black part that goes into the air "ducts" on each side of the front bumper. Personally I think that looks better than the white pinstripes I put on the rear bumper.

I have a lot of white pin stripe tape on the roll, so where else could I put it? The rear view mirrors! And then a double line on the rear of the roof, along the crease already there.

But the rear hatch still needed something, like a black spoiler. But I thought putting black under the back side of the hatch ridge might look good enough that I would not need to put a spoiler on. While I think the aerodynamic impact would be minimal, I am reluctant to put on a spoiler in case it reduces the efficiency of the air flow.

So I put a strip of black 3M wrap under the ridge, and I think this looks the best of all the cosmetic mods I have done. And while it turns out Mark Boris also did this mod, I didn't know he did it until after I did mine. We had the same idea.

All in all, I am very happy with how it came out.

If you like anything I have done, copy away! Let me know if you have any questions about how I did it.

 

[KevinS]

Very subtle and well-done. Looks great!

 

[mkhuffman]

@markboris, I think the tinted taillights look great with your car color, and if I had that color I am 99% sure I would do the same. And I would shade all the other red as well, making it all dark like you did. But I think I like the stock clear tail lights better with the white paint. And I have a red theme going on so I don't want to cover those either. ;-)

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I really like the white stripes on the front air intake areas.

 

[hls811]

I'm not usually a fan of stripes on cars, but yours looks great.. the red line really works! The white along the air intakes looks great too. Nicely done!

 

[markboris]

@markboris, I think the tinted taillights look great with your car color, and if I had that color I am 99% sure I would do the same. And I would shade all the other red as well, making it all dark like you did. But I think I like the stock clear tail lights better with the white paint. And I have a red theme going on so I don't want to cover those either. ;-)

Mike, I agree having a white car like yours, you don't really need to tint the upper part of the taillights like I did but I don't think it would look bad at all. You might want to just put some black vinyl on the upper part temporary to see what you think. I mainly did it so it would look different than all the other Mach-E's out there. Some tint the entire taillight but tinting just half gives it a completely different look.

I like your idea of the red pinstripe along the bottom between the black trim and body color. I may put some on and see how it looks on my color. It would definitely tie in with the calipers. I had decided to paint the calipers gloss black prior to getting my car but after I got it, I kind of like the red. I have been known to change my mind often so I may still paint the calipers.

 

[mkhuffman]

You might want to just put some black vinyl on the upper part temporary to see what you think. I mainly did it so it would look different than all the other Mach-E's out there. Some tint the entire taillight but tinting just half gives it a completely different look.

Great points. I have some of the black vinyl left over, so maybe I will try that. In fact, totally blacking out the top part might look even better than tinting, as long as the law doesn't mind.

 

[Mach1E]

Great points. I have some of the black vinyl left over, so maybe I will try that. In fact, totally blacking out the top part might look even better than tinting, as long as the law doesn't mind.

Probably depends on where you live, but in Florida any tint or anything covering the tail lights is illegal. Looks great though!

 

[Sureshot125]

For many months I thought I would put stripes on the hood like others have done. I was really thinking of a subtle color, like a light grey on the Star White paint. But When I got the car, I just thought it looked so good without the stripes. (Also, my wife didn't like the idea.) I started thinking something even more subtle than tonal stripes would be cool, and I really like the red brake calipers.

So I thought red would be really good along the bottom, as a divider between the black and the white. Another reason for that (besides complementing the calipers) is to emphasize the lines between the black and white.

I also really like the rear bumper fins, but they are hard to see - so I thought maybe white pin stripes would make them more noticeable. After I put them on I had a great idea to put them on the front, on the black part that goes into the air "ducts" on each side of the front bumper. Personally I think that looks better than the white pinstripes I put on the rear bumper.

I have a lot of white pin stripe tape on the roll, so where else could I put it? The rear view mirrors! And then a double line on the rear of the roof, along the crease already there.

But the rear hatch still needed something, like a black spoiler. But I thought putting black under the back side of the hatch ridge might look good enough that I would not need to put a spoiler on. While I think the aerodynamic impact would be minimal, I am reluctant to put on a spoiler in case it reduces the efficiency of the air flow.

So I put a strip of black 3M wrap under the ridge, and I think this looks the best of all the cosmetic mods I have done. And while it turns out Mark Boris also did this mod, I didn't know he did it until after I did mine. We had the same idea.

All in all, I am very happy with how it came out.

If you like anything I have done, copy away! Let me know if you have any questions about how I did it.

You sir, have excellent taste

 

[Sureshot125]

For many months I thought I would put stripes on the hood like others have done. I was really thinking of a subtle color, like a light grey on the Star White paint. But When I got the car, I just thought it looked so good without the stripes. (Also, my wife didn't like the idea.) I started thinking something even more subtle than tonal stripes would be cool, and I really like the red brake calipers.

So I thought red would be really good along the bottom, as a divider between the black and the white. Another reason for that (besides complementing the calipers) is to emphasize the lines between the black and white.

I also really like the rear bumper fins, but they are hard to see - so I thought maybe white pin stripes would make them more noticeable. After I put them on I had a great idea to put them on the front, on the black part that goes into the air "ducts" on each side of the front bumper. Personally I think that looks better than the white pinstripes I put on the rear bumper.

I have a lot of white pin stripe tape on the roll, so where else could I put it? The rear view mirrors! And then a double line on the rear of the roof, along the crease already there.

But the rear hatch still needed something, like a black spoiler. But I thought putting black under the back side of the hatch ridge might look good enough that I would not need to put a spoiler on. While I think the aerodynamic impact would be minimal, I am reluctant to put on a spoiler in case it reduces the efficiency of the air flow.

So I put a strip of black 3M wrap under the ridge, and I think this looks the best of all the cosmetic mods I have done. And while it turns out Mark Boris also did this mod, I didn't know he did it until after I did mine. We had the same idea.

All in all, I am very happy with how it came out.

If you like anything I have done, copy away! Let me know if you have any questions about how I did it.

Is there any way you could briefly write up what products you used/how you did it? I’d love to do the same to mine!

 

[GW Shark]

Very creative with the pinstripes. I painted the calipers Grabber Blue on my Star White MME. So perhaps matching pinstripes???!!!??? You may have started a trend!

 

[mkhuffman]

Very creative with the pinstripes. I painted the calipers Grabber Blue on my Star White MME. So perhaps matching pinstripes???!!!??? You may have started a trend!

Depending on the color of your car, matching blue pin stripes could look awesome. I think on Star White, like yours, it would look really good.

No matter what color you use, because it is a small stripe, it doesn't jump out and hit you in the face. It is an accent, that makes the lines of the car look even better, I think.

 

[mkhuffman]

Is there any way you could briefly write up what products you used/how you did it? I’d love to do the same to mine!

Stripes:

I ordered from https://www.stripeman.com/

First I ordered the color chart, so I could be certain I picked the right color:

Then I ordered the stripe colors I wanted:

I wanted the stripes to be noticeable, but not so big that they looked added on. I think 1/4" was the right size and big enough to be noticeable, but not too big to be overwhelming.

Application is easy. On the right and left sides under the doors and to the wheel wells, I put the red stripes on the black trim because the white trim curves down/under and a stripe would be harder to see there. On the rear bumper I put the red stripes on the white trim because I wanted the stripes to end at the red tail reflectors.

If I did it over again, I probably would have done the front red stripes a little differently. I ended the stripes next to the front shutters, but if done again I would probably take them up past the shutters and have them end under the lip above the shutters. I have considered trying to "fix" it, but really it looks good enough IMO. The real effect I was going for is on the side anyway, where you can see the red calipers.

The white stripes are pretty self explanatory, but if you have questions let me know. I will make another post about the rear hatch shading, since that will take a little more time to write up and I need to do some stuff around the house now.

Let me know if there are any other questions about the stripes.

 

[Sureshot125]

Stripes:

I ordered from https://www.stripeman.com/

First I ordered the color chart, so I could be certain I picked the right color:

Then I ordered the stripe colors I wanted:

I wanted the stripes to be noticeable, but not so big that they looked added on. I think 1/4" was the right size and big enough to be noticeable, but not too big to be overwhelming.

Application is easy. On the right and left sides under the doors and to the wheel wells, I put the red stripes on the black trim because the white trim curves down/under and a stripe would be harder to see there. On the rear bumper I put the red stripes on the white trim because I wanted the stripes to end at the red tail reflectors.

If I did it over again, I probably would have done the front red stripes a little differently. I ended the stripes next to the front shutters, but if done again I would probably take them up past the shutters and have them end under the lip above the shutters. I have considered trying to "fix" it, but really it looks good enough IMO. The real effect I was going for is on the side anyway, where you can see the red calipers.

The white stripes are pretty self explanatory, but if you have questions let me know. I will make another post about the rear hatch shading, since that will take a little more time to write up and I need to do some stuff around the house now.

Let me know if there are any other questions about the stripes.

Awesome write-up, thank you! Only other question I would have would be how you did the black on the tailgate? Is there a particular shape you cut out or technique you used to get around the taillights and keep a straight line across?

 

[markboris]

Awesome write-up, thank you! Only other question I would have would be how you did the black on the tailgate? Is there a particular shape you cut out or technique you used to get around the taillights and keep a straight line across?

I'm sure Mike will answer you shortly and I know he did this wrap himself but thought I would chime in and say I had mine done by my local detailer. He charged me $100 and it took him about an hour if I remember correctly. So if you don't want to mess with wrapping it yourself, you might want to check out having it done professionally. It's not that expensive. I did all the tinting of the taillights and reflectors myself though as I feel it is easy, just time consuming.

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