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Chrome window and door trim help..

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Old 03-16-2011, 08:23 PM
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2013 C250 Sport
Chrome window and door trim help..

So today I went ahead and used some Plasti Dip to paint the chrome window and door trim black to see what it would look like before I really painted it. (Plasti Dip is spray paint but that turns to a soft rubbery plastic that you can just peal right off) I like the way it looks and want to know if anyone knows how to remove them chrome parts off the car to get them painted? And links or DIY's? Thanks!!
Old 03-17-2011, 01:41 AM
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Just tape off the edges of the chrome and get some newspaper as well like this IS from the Lexus forum.

Old 03-17-2011, 10:23 AM
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Have you consider go with vinyl wrap stead of plastic dip.
Old 03-17-2011, 12:18 PM
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Vinyl wrap. Long lasting, cheap, clean, no risk of breaking anything, and easy to replace if damaged.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...etic-mods.html
Old 03-17-2011, 12:20 PM
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I did it the way the infiniti driver did and it came out a mess. When i was taking the newspaper off, the paint was coming right off. I tried taking off the chrome by the door handle, the beginning comes off easily but by the mirror, it doesn't look like it will come off. I keep pulling but Im scared if I pull too hard it will break.
Old 03-17-2011, 12:22 PM
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Man I've been considering doing this myself...can you post some pics of how it came out for you?
Old 03-17-2011, 06:06 PM
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Yeah ill post the pics when i get home.. But I want to remove all of the chrome trim and have it done in gloss black the right way. because some of the chrome goes inside so when you open the door you can still see chrome
Old 03-17-2011, 06:32 PM
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The chrome is a serious !@#$ to pull out and easy to bend which screws it up and have to buy a new one. Seen more than one shop screw it up. You don't want to paint right on the chrome also obviously if you decide to paint. Won't last. Have to sand it down.
Old 03-17-2011, 06:33 PM
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i would just vinyl it. It is very easy to do and not to expensive.
Old 03-17-2011, 06:45 PM
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do they have gloss black vinyl that matches the car?
Old 03-17-2011, 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by dudeitsmattx
do they have gloss black vinyl that matches the car?

hmm I'm not sure but you can go Carbon Fiber or is that to much? Flat black will look nice
Old 03-17-2011, 07:28 PM
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I dont want to go CF only because nothing on my car is CF. I guess flat black would be fine since my rims are Matte black
Old 03-17-2011, 08:01 PM
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Yes, there are gloss black vinyl. You can get all the typical and several atypical colors.

http://www.stickercity.com/48-black-...for-hoods.html

Last edited by AZN Optics; 03-17-2011 at 08:03 PM.
Old 03-18-2011, 01:39 AM
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I just used black out tape that I got off of amazon.com.
Old 03-18-2011, 08:33 AM
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You can get matte black vinyl at a sign store, I used that and vinyl tape to black out window trim and trunk strip.
Old 05-02-2011, 03:36 AM
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Do you just tape over the chrome window trim with the black out tape? Can someone go over the process of doing it. I'd appreciate it.
Old 05-02-2011, 09:02 AM
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Originally Posted by nonfatmilk
Do you just tape over the chrome window trim with the black out tape? Can someone go over the process of doing it. I'd appreciate it.
x2 I was planning on doing this today or one day this week, but there is a rubber flap partially obscuring the chrome which will likely be a pain to get up under. is that rubber easily removed? What's the best way to attack this?
Old 05-02-2011, 12:45 PM
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most tint shops will do the trim in vinyl for you. Here in NJ theres a shop called top of the line tint in Lodi NJ. Best tint shop around and they do clear bras and trim wrapping. They are really good, perfecttion work ethic. For 300 theyll do the whole car all trim pieces
Old 05-02-2011, 02:30 PM
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Originally Posted by AskDrTodd
x2 I was planning on doing this today or one day this week, but there is a rubber flap partially obscuring the chrome which will likely be a pain to get up under. is that rubber easily removed? What's the best way to attack this?
you can pull all of the pieces out. I did it myself. For the chrome piece that goes all around, you can snap it off. You can even start at the middle if you want. The door trim, you have to remove the black tab and then start pulling. You have to give it a good tug or else it wont come out.
Old 05-02-2011, 02:31 PM
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300 bucks? geez...
Old 05-02-2011, 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by valib24
you can pull all of the pieces out. I did it myself. For the chrome piece that goes all around, you can snap it off. You can even start at the middle if you want. The door trim, you have to remove the black tab and then start pulling. You have to give it a good tug or else it wont come out.
Can you take a picture of that so we know where to start pulling? Reeeeally don't wanna break anything...
Old 05-02-2011, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by AskDrTodd
Can you take a picture of that so we know where to start pulling? Reeeeally don't wanna break anything...
ok so if you are doing the drivers door, you want to use something to lift the piece up. I used a screw driver and I didn't scratch anything. Just start right above the handle and then start pulling. If this doesn't help, Ill try to take a pic today!
Old 05-03-2011, 12:50 AM
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No removal of any trim pieces is necessary...
Also, Trim Brite is a VERY workable vinyl. I was quite surprised at not only how well it conformed to the curve of the rear doors, but also how many times i could lift and re-seat to get nice edges and remove bubbles. If you take your time and work in 6" sections at a time in order to hit your lines and not introduce a ton of bubbles, it'll look great.

I ended up w/ only a few bubbles total, which were easily remedied with a needle. The toughest parts of the job were: a) the section under the mirrors, and b) the previously mentioned curves at the rear doors. Gotta really stretch the vinly to make it conform as best as possible. As can be seen the last pic, I couldn't get it to lay completely flat, but have since popped them. Also, any bubbles on the underside of the top of the windows will be out of view, so if you can def slack a little if it doesn't bother you.
Lastly, I didn't really use anything to lift the little rubber pieces up. Instead, I worked the vinyl in a see-saw fashion to get it under before pressing/sealing it down. Oh yeah, a new/very sharp xacto is a must!!

Here are the pics:




Old 05-03-2011, 08:55 AM
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Looks like all in all you did a great job!
Old 05-03-2011, 01:56 PM
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Thanks. Very worthwhile mod and learning experience with a new material/process.


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