Side window trim - paint...

[Reifle]

I have seen a lot of information where the owners are removing the black from the side window trim. How about painting the trim black. The P/O on my car used either fine steel wool or another product and removed the black. I have taken a lot of the trim off and have discovered that the original trim was black! I would like to restore it to the original finish again (it does not have to be exact but close is good). Any clues and/or advise on how to... I realize painting may be an option but what do I use - any special product or technique...

[Elombard]

To do it right have it re-anodized. Powder coating is easy and accessible in most decent sized towns may not be the best for trim? Hard to get a really nice job with rattle can but might be Ok for a while. Having a body shop paint it properly would be a few bucks but would probably look nice.

[Joe Bob]

Cheap....use the SEM Trim Black 39121143. See my prior posting. On sale right for 2/3 the normal price.

Click the link....

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[jackb911]

I did mine with Rustoleum 7777 Satin Black which is easy to find and is very durable if applied correctly. I also did the door handles and engine grill with the same stuff. It also works well on black Fuchs wheel centers.

Use a gray Scotchbrite to lightly burnish the bare metal, wipe with some wax & grease remover and then spray 2 or 3 very light coats of the satin black. The hardest and most time-consuming part is the masking. It looks as good as anodizing if you do it correctly and costs less than fifteen bucks for a can of spray paint, a roll of good masking tape and some masking paper. Do not use newspaper.

I don't have a close-up picture but this one shows how it looks. In person, you'd never guess it was done with a rattle can.

[Reifle]

Jack, please tell me about your mirrors please!

Thanks for the tips... Please continue with them...

[jackb911]

Originally Posted by Reifle

Jack, please tell me about your mirrors please!

Thanks for the tips... Please continue with them...

They are Vitaloni Sebring mirrors mounted on the original flag mirror mounts. They come in a textured black finish. I sanded them smooth and painted them body color.

Here are some better pictures...

[alterednines]

They are great. Can elaborate on how they are mounted with the original flag mirror mount?
Do you mean the have the same type of base or you adapted them to us the flag mirror base?
Thanks

[jackb911]

The mounts that come with the Vitalonis have to be modified to work on the factory bases.

Here's the Pelican thread that explains the install "how to" in detail. It does involve some creativity but it's not a difficult mod:

Flag mirrors gone - welcome Vitaloni Sebring Mach 1 Mirror

For anyone who does this mod, I highly recommend that you order the "convex" mirror for the passenger side. They offer flat and convex versions. Both of mine are flat and I ended up using a 3" stick-on convex mirror on the right side as it was impossible to position the flat mirror into a useful position. The Vitaloni mirrors are obviously a lot smaller than the stock flag mirrors and they do take some getting used to. Sometimes the cool factor outweighs practicality...