E55 Bulldog

Hey guys, I tried to do a search for this but I can't find much. I know there are a lot of you out there like me and feel chrome is an eye sore.

What did you guys do. Paint or Vinyl ?

I have always painted parts in the past but vinyl has come a long way and was wondering if anyone has done it and if there is a DIY thread out there. I figure it can't be that hard for small things like door trim, grille.... ect.

Any help would be great. Thank you guys.

16NiSSC350

I used vinyl. check out www.bmwshadowline.com

skokkosis

if you don't mind a matte black finish, then just go with plastidip, love the stuff, have not had any complaints of it thus far, and best of all it's removable and you can't mess up because it doesn't make drip marks, even if you have no painting skills it's you're best tool!

if you want to go glossy then i'd stick with vinyl, because it's removable and like mentioned it has come a long way!

DuaneC63

+1 on vinyl. Easy DYI.

track_warrior

Anybody have some pics of the vinyl?

SonnyakaPig

IMO paint looks much better than vinyl. I really dislike the bubbling and peeling. And when you look close at vinyl it just looks off to me.

16NiSSC350

I completely disagree. If you take your time and do it right, it looks way better and is way more durable. I have had my vinyl on for almost a year now and havnt had a single problem with discoloration or peeling. I had originally painted my grill and after 2 weeks it looked like hell after all the chips. If you do vinyl it is way more durable.

E55 Bulldog

So you used vinyl on you grille too? How did you do you center star without it looking like 5 diff pieces of tape wrapped around that thing? I want a seamless look. Also did you vinyl you badges of use paint for them?

bigigg

For window trim I used trimbrite* black out tape.. comes in flat black 1 3/8" wide.. fits perfect looks great too..easy to work with, just take your time..

VaclavSV

Use plastidip! I am just getting my feet wet with this stuff but its great! I did my rear 63 badge in red last night. Pictures: https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...nter-rims.html . After it dried it looked good from a distance but being my first time one edge of the 6 was a little funky. I peeled it right off! There was a bit left in the space between the badge and the car but it came out with a toothpick easily. This weekend Im going to try my winter alloys in black for fun!

E55 Bulldog

Ok, I might need to read up on this stuff. so you can get it on you paint and it will not stick but it will stick to the badges?

VaclavSV

It will stick to paint just as well as it sticks to the badges, but you can peel it off and isolate it on the badges. Durability of this stuff is a concern but everything I read seems to point to is being quite good. This will help lots!
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-s...-required.html

DuaneC63

A couple of DYI pics on vinyl:
Tools and tape:

Upper chrome rail removal


Finished sides




The upper window trim is held on by clips. Slide your hard platic tool along the edge and you'll feel it bind as it gets to a clip. The gently pop the trim off the clip. Support the trim you've popped off with masking tape to the car body so it doesn't bend. You don't need to take the lower trim off as these are short strait pieces but it's makes it easier if you take off the mirrors
On the front windows you have to remove the sideview mirror by taking off the front triagular speaker grill/speaker, to get to the bolts holding it in. Pop off the end caps of the lower trim and tuck a small amount of wrap tame inside the trim piece. If you just trim to the end of the cap, heat will cause shrinkage and you'll get the chrome showing again at the end caps. Getting the wrap on the underside of the side trim is easy but the top end take a bit more time. You'll need something thinner than a credit care like one of those thin plastic things you squeegie your phone screen saver with.You got to push the tape under the rubber weather strip than carefully cut along the crease with an exacto knife. Sorry I don't have pics of the front grill removal but it's very easy to take off. The front grill is held in my a pop pin dead center in front of the radiator and pop tabs along the bottom attached to the bumper cover. Tap the grill at the bottom towards the bumper to release these. The the entire grill assembly can now be pushed backwards at the top and lifted out. There are two chrome strips in the on each side of the grill that just slip off to the outside before you wrap them. This will also give you room to work the wrap around the out chrome grill surround. The outer chrome surround has tabs but these are melted in place. I did not remove it and just took my time wrapping it. The is an overlapping seam at the bottom of the grill surround but you can't see it. The star is also a PIA as you start with a single over size round peice of wrap and cut and fold it on. You'll also need a heat gun and a needle. Any bubbles you can't get out by pushing a credit card across them you can puncture with the needle and flatten them out. It's time consuming but a shop will charge you $225-$250 and the roll of tape is only $35. Get the 3m stuff as it's very pliable but durable. The best part if you ever get bored with the murdered out look, the tape just peels off.

Rear emblems are a lost cause trying to tape. Too many weird angles. Plastidip works better for these.

hyperion667

so you can just paint in on?
might have to try this

E55 Bulldog

Alright, this stuff blows my mind. Im a paint guy. I have painted a number of parts on trucks and cars with my buddy that does paint for a living. This stuff is iconic. Only prep work needed is to clean the item you are painting. I spent a week tearing my truck apart, sanding, taping, priming, painting... and a year later I need to do it again due to chips in paint.

How well does this stuff bite. If if you can peal it right off what makes it stand up to every day driving and even a strong hose / sponge when you wash it.

I think this would be a good choice for the badges so I don't have to take them off, remove the tape backing, paint, re-tape..... and hope the paint bites.

This would be great for the grille too since they say it is flexable... that means it will flex when a rock comes you way on your daily drive....

Hmmmm.... im very interested.

E55 Bulldog

Nice, thanks. I was looking at the bmwshadowline tape. do you think the M3 stuff is better? Also do you think the trim needs to come off or can it stay on the car when I wrap it.?

DuaneC63

Haven't used the bmwshadowline, but the 3M stuff (and get the right part number as they make different kinds) is pretty easy to work with. The upper door trim has to come off as it has too many compound curves in it and you want to use just one piece of tape. A hair dryer also helps here. Taking it off also gives you the advantage of getting the wrap around to the backside of the chrome trim and you don't have to worry about any shrinkage letting chrome show on the edges. You absolutly have to take the grill off to get the a good wrap on it. The outer chrome bezel also has lots of funky curves in it. The lower door trip you can leave on as it takes short straight pieces of wrap. The trick is to get it under the rubber weather strip that runs along the window line. Im thinking of removing the lower strips and doing it again cuz I have some tiny chrome lines showing near the weather strip.

Has anyone removed the lower chrome strips as they don't seem to want to pop off as easy as the upper strip?

Mort

I think I read that if you can get the plastic covers off the ends of the trim the chrome strips will slide off. Getting the covers off without breaking them may be a problem.

DuaneC63

I'll try that. I'm sure those little end cap will snap but that's what a hot glue gun is for.