E30 Zone

after looking around for some black plastic window surrounds, people were wanting £75 for a set pfft supply and demand I assume...

bmw want £250 plus vat for a set...

these aren't the kinda prices i wanted to be paying to make my trackslag look a little neater...

looked on ebay for the "dechrome film" at £12.50 per roll, you'd need 3 rolls to do your car - which is near on £40...

so i went out and bought myself the most expensive roll of insulation tape I could find - cost me £1.90 for a big roll, but it says its heatproof, withstands water, durable etc on it...

so i gave it a bash

be sure to get some half decent stuff, which is super sticky, not brittle... and get a carving knife, or stanley blade... i had neither - so as long as the misses doesn't find out - its cool



this is how the side of it looked to start with



after doing the larger outer, from front to back, i did around the rear pop out window



as you can tell - looks ace (top is done, bottom isnt)



all complete



looks much better in my opinion, i'll let you know how it stands some weathering

Looks good mate!
Nice and cheap too,although i could have sold you the de chrome set cheaper than £75 ,but not as cheap as £1.90

lol doh!

cheers tho bud, tucked it all in behind the rubbers and sliced of the unnecessary bits

if it doesnt work out in the long run - i'll be giving you a shout ;)

Looks good mate - im definatly a dechromed man!

good thinking, i like to see inventiveness! looks good mate, but not as good as your line round that right hander did anyone mention to your the art of quick cornering does not mean full opposite lock

dude that looks sweet, i might have to give it a go, as mine is half chrome and half black at the mo, was it hard to get it neat?

Looks good mate, I did this on my G-reg 318i about 5 years ago. It doesn't last too long unfortunately because in hot weather the tape shrinks and exposes the chrome and then the rain gets underneath and it starts to peel off Mine lasted about 6 months before I had to re-do it but for a couple of quid and some sticky fingers it's worth it I reckon, well done mate.

ppcsam - ahhh i figured so! never mind, if it lasts 6 months i'll be happy!

lukeb - only took me about 10mins, really easy to be honest, and if you go wrong.... do it again - its that cheap! LOL

did it add any horsepower to the motor though
definately looks faster

Nice work! De-chromed looks much better, finally got round to doing my grill last week and it's looking sweet.

Shockingly Good....

or you could just buy a touring? dechrome as standard

looking like a good effort there mate-neat job-bravo

ver nice mate, i have the same colour car 4 door 325, i have re-spreyed front and back screen surounds, and now off to buy tape for the sides!! looks superb, how do know if its 'quality tape' tho?

im goin to get some black spray paint and black electrical tape right now!

you also need primer ^

How easy is it to remove the chrome and spray off the car?

I dont think the tape will last long with the heat but looks good

That looks pretty good actually.

thanks all

hey it might not last years, but at the end of the day, it takes 10mins, and costs pennies!

lukeb & mike seen it this morning, they seemed to like it

nice job mate ..... whats next?????

my other antics are here

looks v good....

...well done for the money saving idea

done mine again today as it started to chip.

rip off matt black spray from chavfords

Tinnie wrote:you also need primer ^

How easy is it to remove the chrome and spray off the car?

I dont think the tape will last long with the heat but looks good

Here's a good write up