painting the chrome window trim?

[TheReflex79]

This past weekend I painted the chrome trim on my grille with plastidip. Now I'm thinking about painting the chrome window trim. Has anyone tried it yet? I know it would be a pain to take it off or replace it, but I'm sure if its masked off right it would turn out good.
I've just never been a fan of chrome trim, especially once the windows get tinted.

[big_greasy_taco]

Sounds messy to do it still on the car; best bet is to take them completely off, properly prep, then shoot them.

[hiwords1]

well it's just plastic so if you sand it down and polish it, it'll be less messier than painting. i never really paid attention to how they're attached but is there a crevice after you remove them? if not, just leave them off. weight reduction lol

[le91688]

chrome is ballin didnt u hear

[biketsai]

What I have seen people do is cut electrical tape to go over it.

[TheReflex79]

By reading past posts, the trim cannot be removed without completely destroying it. Being properly masked and prepped, it should come out ok. I'm just not sure if I should use the plastidip, or spray it it with a satin black. I just am getting tired of the old man 'luxury' look of the 2.8 lol

[TheReflex79]

What I have seen people do is cut electrical tape to go over it.

I'm not sure if I could ever do that, I think after awhile it would look hack lol

[Seerlah]

Go for it. It's plasti dip. If you mess up, just peel it off till you get it to look OEM. It's not like real spray paint.

[TheReflex79]

That's what I figure, only thing is that the plastidip does have alittle texture to it...but the nice thing is that it won't chip like regular spray paint might going on chrome!

[Seerlah]

I attempted the plasti dip on my grill yesterday and it came out terrible. I got so upseat that I just ripped it off and said **** it. But I will attempt again today. I will have to mask it better. But what really sucked was getting a good amount of coats on. But it would need to cure a little before applying another coat. When I tried to remove the masking tape, it peeled up some of the plastidip and then it made it uneasy looking.

I think this time I will do the same, but maybe go at the edge of the masking tape with a razor before peeling it off. So it won't pull up the plasti dip.

[TheReflex79]

Is it the chrome on the grill that you are painting? The easiest thing to do it just to remove it. I just scuffed alittle, then put on about 4 coats of plastidip, 30 minutes apart. Mind you it was about 85 outside, and 90% humidity! lol But I figure that with the chrome trim, if I mask it off good, I should be ok. I'm just not a big fan of the texture that the plastidip has, but I think it'll hold up better.

[Seerlah]

I did not know you could take the trim off. I will look at it now. How do you take the trim off. Or do you mean to take the grill itself off the car?

[ModifiedA4]

you know what works? drop in a 1.8t, trim turns black....OR drop in a 2.7t and the trim turns gunmetal. your choice.

[TheReflex79]

I did not know you could take the trim off. I will look at it now. How do you take the trim off. Or do you mean to take the grill itself off the car?

No you can just take the chrome trim off...there are about 6 tabs on the top and on the bottom....and 2 tabs on the left and right side of the grille. Try a search to see if there are any pics to take it off. But once you unhook the clips on the top and bottom, just try to slide the chrome down and it should come off.

[TheReflex79]

you know what works? drop in a 1.8t, trim turns black....OR drop in a 2.7t and the trim turns gunmetal. your choice.

Yeah if I was to drop in a 1.8L, something else would be dropping to my bank account! lol

[Seerlah]

Cool, I did not even know that. Just sprayed my first coat. Thanks man .

[TheReflex79]

Cool, I did not even know that. Just sprayed my first coat. Thanks man .

NP, much easier then taping everything up! Only thing I'm leaving chrome is going to be the front and rear rings.

[Seerlah]

If you do paint the trim of the pillars and door surround, make sure to use a razor (at edge of masking tape and not cut too deep to cut paint) when peeling away the masking tape. If you don't, you could easily lift off the finish as it tends to bond together.

[SoFresh]

To do it properkly, take your time, mask off the car with painters tape and newspaper.... scuff/sand the trim lightly, then clean of residue. I'd use a coat of plastiic adhesive promoter as the primer, then after tacky, use black plastic dip in a spray can. It will look like its the black rubber trim when finished and also wont chip or peel off. Any over spray can be removed with a clay bar.

[TheReflex79]

It's exactly what I planned on doing...do you really think I should use the plastice primer, or if I scuff iut up, should that be enough?

[SoFresh]

Should be good enough, however I always have a can of the Plastic Adhesive Primer laying around, so why not throw on a layer of that, better safe than sorry (doing it again later down the road)

[TheReflex79]

Good idea....any idea of where I can get it?

[bronz]

i wish i could put that chrome trim on my 1.8t :(

[TheReflex79]

i wish i could put that chrome trim on my 1.8t :(

Are you bring serious??? When I got my car, that was one of the first things I wanted to change. It just looks too much like a old mans car especially being brown! Lol

[4A Play]

Why not just go to your local Viynl sign shop and ask to buy some scrap black All-wheather?

Then just cut and stick and it will never fade or peel unless you take it off. I bet you could buy scraps for less than $15 for all the trim.

[Davect06607]

I like my chrome...

[TheReflex79]

I want something permanent....not something that I'll have to replace if someone taps it.

[4A Play]

I want something permanent....not something that I'll have to replace if someone taps it.

See below again.

Why not just go to your local Viynl sign shop and ask to buy some scrap black All-wheather?

Then just cut and stick and it will never fade or peel unless you take it off. I bet you could buy scraps for less than $15 for all the trim.

[jkbhso3]

I know I'm reviving an old thread but thought this would be useful for those interested.

https://youtu.be/lLdj4mlDC_g

[adam044]

I'm so glad my trim is black.

[q20v]

Just came across this site yesterday and plan to buy a roll for my E34 BMW:

http://shadowlinetrim.com/

[adam044]

Cant argue with science ^ http://jalopnik.com/science-confirms...wor-1120783177

[DeathKing]

I used to hate chrome trim but then I came to a realization...It's all about the style of wheels. If you have any chrome or machine on your wheels, it looks very nice with chrome trim (both the windows and grill). Anything else and black trim is the way to go.

[adam044]

Well if you have chrome wheels you need new wheels.

[ChrisBuckle]

I've plasti-dipped my front grill and rear emblems. Very easy. Front grill comes off and apart. Rear emblems you just spray all over then just peel off where not wanted. Plasti-dip is very forgiving, try it, if u don't like it, peel it off.