I know it sounds like something a 18 year old with a Civic would do, but PlastiDip may be the way to go on the side steps.
I did the front grill on my Gladiator with 5 coats and it is very resilient and is holding up to car washes, bugs, rock etc..

not a bad idea. But I’m wrapping this coming week in matte black

depends if you want them glossy or not. they are not hard to remove any good shop can do it in an hour. I highly suggest against the wrap since all of the wear and tear going up and down on them and you will still reed to remove the rubber treat parts in the side steps to do the job properly which is as difficult as removing the side steps. on this level of car and being its in a high traffic locations I would highly suggest powder coat. mine look amazing even almost a year later.

The tint and the larger wheels look fantastic together. Looks mean.

I would say go for the wrap and see how long it lasts. Worst case, it starts peeling or gets scratched up, and you can remove it.

I would suggest against plastidip. I did my bull bar and headlight grills and it works fine, but any scuffs or scrapes and it comes right off, and it doesn't stick well to smooth chrome without scuffing. I plan to take my sidesteps apart on my 2005 and coat them with rhino liner for the anti-slip and chrome delete, but that is a very lengthy process. Powder coating is also an option but requires a lot of work.

Can someone tell me how wide and long the chrome strip(s) is? I might have an idea of something I saw online to cover it.

There are 4 strips. All are about 1” wide and 67” long.

Thanks and I will check with APA, where I get my wrap from, to see if I can get some in that length, or close to it. I have had great experience with wrap and I think it might hold up well if applied correctly. They also have all sheens and in my case I would go them Satin Black.

Where you buy the APA wrap? Online or local?

Online, directly from APA: https://amdistributions.com/

One can buy 4x8" samples for $1, which is a great way to tell if a color matches what you have in mind.

a tint does a whole lot of wonders to a vehicle. well done!

this is just simply gorgeous... just a beautiful vehicle and your modifications, albeit simple, make it that much more amazing! cheers!

That looks insane!

I have a mango black coming as well.

Do you know which tint they used?

autobahn film’s. I like them because there 5% is real dark vs others. I like super dark tint

Yeah, me too.

I was thinking 20% Huper Optik ceramic for the sides.

get 5 or 15.

you won’t regret it.

I have always used 3M tint on my rides and never had a problem albeit their real dark films are hard to come by, even here in Florida! I always try to match the other windows though if they came factory tinted.

Isn't nighttime driving difficult with tint that dark?

nope not at all

Did you ever get your side steps wrapped in matte black? Curious how that turned out.

I am planning to wrap mine soon - I have a shop making me the strips now and will post pics, etc. when I get done, if it works of course!

I am trying to get the same blue solar tint on mine! How did you go about this? For some reason all tiny shops near me are confused when I bring it up.

The tint is black. The glass has a blue tint which is emphasized once tint is applied. That’s why everyone is confused, what you’re asking for doesn’t exist lol.