Originally Posted by King

While some people simply remove the rails and plug the holes, the proper way to do it is to replace the body colored strip on the roof without the holes! But of course you have to order it and get it painted first...

I just got my new M sport roof rails! They used to make them just primed, but now they only come in aluminium silver. They are not just painted silver, they really are aluminium!

This makes it very difficult to paint. While you could paint them, my body shop guy said it will peel off in a year or two (even with a special primer) especially if I ever snapped on a roof rack. Aluminium however is the best candidate for powder-coating! So I am getting them powder coated to match the high gloss shadowline trim. Should be ready this week. Dealer said a couple of hours labor to install...