I must say that I very much like the anthracite headliner in GBMINI#3; the dark color matches the other dark parts of the car and helps to highlight the red dash & seats; but the airbag warning stickers on the visors really stand out and look ugly on the anthracite – much more noticeable than with the light headliner!
So a bit of searching on MINI2 gave me a few threads (this, this and this) persuading me that I could easily remove the stickers with denatured alcohol, which we have at work.
I am pleased to say that initially, all went well and the driver side sticker came off quite easily …
Sadly at that point I got confident and impatient 😦
The result is that the passenger side visor is a bit battered from where the sticker came off in twenty million pieces and required a metal bristle brush to pick off the residue.
To make matters worse, I got a little alcohol on the painted dash trim – and it washed away the lovely red gloss finish 😦
Very bummed out. I can get a new trim piece ($70+) but Scott at MINI Peabody tells me the part is “on national back-order” … doesn’t MINI know how critical it is that I get GBMINI#3 looking pristine again *NOW*!?
So:
Remove the visor airbag warning stickers with GREAT care.
And keep the nasty chemicals away from all the shiny surfaces.
M&I / GBMINI 
You have everything at the shop. 🙂
I bought some denatured alcohol just for this, and while it was cheap ($2-3), I have nothing to do with it now!
Why did the second one come off in 20 million pieces? If I remember correctly, when it comes off it’s almost like a very very thin rubber…it stretches. I think I was able to just get a corner or two peeling…rubbed alcohol on the entire sticker, and then it all peeled off. Maybe in 4-8 pieces, not 20 million!
Jared,
I think I did not wait long enough for the alcohol to soak in and break down the glue – so when I tried peeling it, I just kept getting tiny pieces and leaving tiny pieces …
Frustration led me to try brushing it, which just made things worse still.
Ian…
Man, don’t fret about the loss of glossiness. I bought this sticker that goes over the third brake light on my Saturn Vue and I didn’t realize that I had put it on the wrong spot, so when I tried to remove it, it left this residue on the light assembly. Quickly thinking, I remembered I had some Goof Off in the basement. Running downstairs, I grabbed this miracle worker only to find out that it totally ruins the finish on plastic parts – after I already used it. Immediately I’m thinking that I need a new light assembly. However, four months later, I still have this same brake light. It’s not as big of a deal as I thought. But I can understand how you feel and know that you will still buy a new interior piece.
Oh no! One of the things I have always meant to do and never got around to…but I definitely remember them stressing not to let the denatures alcohol drip on anything.
Did it just remove the clear layer or the colored paint as well? I can and a few sprays of clearcoat could fix that. If not, run it by Julian, he might just be able to touch it up or something.
I always tend to do something stupid like this when I work on my car and other things. All the dirt and salt of the winter has been covering a spot on my grill where I slipped with the dremel…I’ll get to it with some touch up in the spring.
…and Jared, I could put the rest of yours to use on my visors! 😀
Nice to see the anthracite liner as I ordered mine with it as well. But my interior will not = my exterior so we will see if it looks like a mine shaft. Nice car, Ian!
Any advice on removing the sticker from the dashboard? Is Goo Gone safe on the painted dash? Mine will be the same color…
The sticker on the dash peels off very easily – mine did anyway. I think just soapy water would get any sticky residue off.