zachblev

Hey guys i was wondering if anyone has taken off the chrome on the the lower door. If so how did you do it? Also has anyone blacked out the chrome around the window?

vipsa

the chrome strips on the bottom of the doors are just held by double sided tape. Just use any of the common debadging methods to remove them. Usually heat gun and fish line are popular choices for that.

As for the window trim here's a decent video of the process:

dudeitsmattx

Oh dang that chrome trim around the windows comes off! I never know lol. I just did it with it on

Ders

How hard was it to do with it on?

ilumunus

For the lower door trim if it's really hot outside you can just pull it. What I did is held an old credit/gift card up vertically (so it's tall), and then just slide it through it behind it. It just pulled it straight off.

zachblev

Does it leave any residue?

zachblev

Does it leave any residue?

Kamtrac

Has anyone found a great way to black out the chrome?
I went to a local body shop who is looking into it but he wasn't optimistic.
I can't have them wrapped because of the weather conditions.
Let us know if you know a good process.

babyboxer1

If it does, you can use the 3M decal eraser tool. I believe it's about $10, and it's quite safe to use. We used to use it quite often in bodywork school and it was a great tool to not only remove decals, but the reside they leave behind as well. Just don't do it outside, at high noon, with the sun blazing down on your driveway, as you risk going through the clear. Do it in your garage, in the shade, and hose down the door to cool off the paint if you can.

One thing to be aware of on vehicles that are a few years old, is that the color of your paint may have slightly changed due to elements (sun, snow, acidity in the rain, etc). This was common when hood deflectors were in style, but they'd break off over time or people just started removing them. You may not notice the change of color because it's throughout the car, but when you now have a spot of the car with factory paint that's been sitting behind an accessory, it becomes evident. If you notice the difference in color, then you just need to buff it out with some compound.

Here's a youtube video of the 3M decal eraser, and they're absolutely right. It's not nearly as difficult normally to remove decals or residue as it appears in this video.

ilumunus

It left a little bit of residue. I went to Walmart and bought some Goo-Gone for $3 in a spray bottle. You spray the area, let it sit for 3-4 minutes, then just take a cloth or paper towel (not suggested because the paper towel leaves a mess!) and just wipe it off. If you wipe/scrub hard enough it will "buff" the area for you (removing lines from where it was). Then you just need to wax over that area.

dudeitsmattx

It was not that hard. I used blackout tape. I did remove the side mirrors to make sure I got all of it.

zachblev

Got any pictures of the finished product?

zachblev

have any pictures of the finished product?

dudeitsmattx

Lower door chrome trims removed. And all chrome trim around the windows blacked out with black out tape.

Ders

Would you recommend the black out tape? Compared to a vinyl wrap how does it look?

In those pictures it looks great but how is it up close?

GUTTER-BOY

Have you thought about plasti-dip? I did my trim about 3 years ago, and it worked well. It started to fade a little, so I did it again just recently. Pretty easy to do and it's cheap, too. Here's a video on how to do it:


I had a friend Plasti-dip his Porsche (entire body). I also used it on my engine cover. You can see pics if you go to my user name. If you have any questions, PM me and I can give you some tips I've learned while using it.

ilumunus

Crappy iPhone pics as requested:

Side markers have also been painted and cleared using Rustoleum lens tint and Rustoleum enamel high gloss. Perfect match with the rest of the car after about 5-6 coats of lens tint (3 were light) and then 5 coats of high gloss. Light still shines through perfect because the black paint was translucent lens tint. If you want more info on how to do this painting properly/procedure to make sure it doesn't orange peel, PM me. I didn't want to hijack the thread. Might do a dark cherry red on the tail lights whenever I get the go ahead from warranty company to start going to town with mods.




EDIT: fixed links

EDIT 2: One more for y'all!



EDIT 3: If close ups are what you want, I'll get you them this weekend. I have the C63 right now and won't be returning home for a few days.

dudeitsmattx

I like the black out tape. I get a close up pic of it today and post it. Vinyl would also be good. I would say the black out tape looks the same as a matte black vinyl.

ilumunus

Sorry for the double post, but I found some unfiltered, somewhat close up pictures. I have one picture from midway through the process. I have put a box around and an arrow pointing to a part of the residue that I hadn't cleaned up yet. You'll have to look hard and zoom in. Then you can contrast it with the side that I already cleaned next to it. So it's really not much residue to take care of.