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Painting window moldings

L

luckyg817

New member
Hey guys. Got an 04. The moldings around the windows are pretty faded in color. Is there a certain type of paint I need to use? I'd rather paint them than go and pay for some new ones.
 


Are they gloss or a flat color?

If flat just use trim paint.

If gloss use some dupli color paint with a clear coat. Then buff it out after it dries and cures.
 
Not sure what color they are. I mean they're black but I would guess a glossy black cuz isn't all the new rubber molding glossy to a certain point? I bought the car that way but now it's a big eye sore compared to the other appearance mods i've done to it. I wanted to paint it matte black to keep the 2 tone color look I got going on the rest of the car. I wanna paint the pillars too. They could use a touch up as well.
 
02NavyBlue said:
Paint mine while you're at it lol. Btw do they come off the door easily? I want to paint mine off the car.
Click to expand...

Haha. Yea right. And i'm not sure if they do or not. I was just going to paint them on the car. I really don't want to spend all day removing and reinstalling them.
 
what molding are you talking about? the one at the bottom of the window on the outside? if so its coated in plastic, if its smooth still just faded you can repaint them.

if they are cracked and pealing, you need to scrape/cut/sand it smooth, then paint and clear, wet sand, buff to a shine.

i did mine, and they were cracked and cutting people.

if you open the door, the latch side under the molding you'll see a screw, take it out, and then loosen or remove the side view mirror, then slide it back a inch or so and then lift it up and off.

if your a 4 door, the back door screw in in the front of the door, so open front door look for the screw by the molding. same deal lift up, pull back, then lift off, you'll feel it un hook.

mine came out like this, that white crap is compound.

windowtrim1.jpg
 


Yes. The ones that are touching the glass if that makes sense. They are not cracked or cut. Just like sun faded black. Well they don't sound too bad at taking them off. I thought they would be more of a pain to get off. What about the pillars on the outside of the doors? Do they just pop off?
 
i looked them up once, iirc theres a few hidden screws under the door rubber seal, and maybe 2 at the bottom once you get the lower trim off. not 100% sure tho, its been a while since i looked it up.
 
make sure you can park in a safe area, cause with these trim pieces off it looks as if you could jimmy the lock open for sure with ease.

or start early in the day. i left mine off over night to dry then wet sanded and buffed them the next day, then put them back on.

they are super easy to paint tho, nothing to tape off, i laid them on cardboard and had at em. 3 or 4 coats of black rustolium, and 4 or 5 coats of clear. used like 1200 grit wet paper, and cheap turtle wax liquid compound.
 


That really is simple, I've got an 05 but I bet I'll find the hidden fasteners pretty easily, so I'll have to do this in the summer. My only problem is my driver's side reveal molding (where it contacts the window at the bottom) has a tear on mine, and holy hell are they expensive new. I have to wait for a part out of an 04+
 
easy 50 each, thats why i cut and sanded all that crap off and painted mine. 200 bucks for 4 doors, or $15 in paint supply's? no brainer really.
 


id try to compound the crap out of them before painting. they just look a bit weathered and beat up. still solid looking under the finish.
 
But I think in order to pull this off, i'd have to paint the door trim and even the gloss black piece right behind the side view mirrors all the same so it won't look out of place. Right?
 
not sure what you mean. the triangle is part of the mirror. and what other trim?

if you can buff that lower trim to a shine all should be looking good again.
 
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