Restoring shadowline trim

[Jozi]

I've just removed all the shadowline trim from the old shell and doors so I can put them all onto the newly painted sheel/doors. The trim is old and has faded and I'm looking for advice on how to restore it back to it's former glory.

The way I see it I have possible 3x options or a combo of any.

Paint - Reluctant to do this as I'm not sure how long it will last compared to the original trim. It's difficult enough to remove and having to re-paint it in a few years wouldn't be high on my list of things I want to do.

Polish - I've run the DA over some old trim and it seems to lift it a nice bit but I'm not sure how close to original this is? Once polished I'll probably need to keep it protected with something.

Trim restore - Not sure how well these last or how often they need to be re-applied (Have some C4 to try out). As with painting, if it's a bad option and trim needs to come of again for paint I would be very annoyed.


I'm not really sure if it's painted, powdercoated or if it's some sort of etched finish thats on the trim?

[harry_p]

I've previously polished mine up with autoglym super resin polish, which works well, but does need doing every now and then.

Don't really like trim restorers, they're for plastic trim rather than plasticised coatings, and don't seem to last and tend to attract dust and dirt.

[Jozi]

I've applied some wax and trim restore (C4) on a piece will see how it holds up over the next few weeks.

I don't think I would actually mind if I had to polish them from time to time so long as the original finish can be achieved or something very close.

Tbh, they cleaned up alright!

[polsta]

if its all removed- get it all re painted professionaly, had all mine done along with door handles and it looks fantastic on the car after the full re spray, would be daft to put it back on if its tired , its originaly painted anyway and no trim restorer will last long

unless your on about the actual door moulding/bump strips ?

[Jozi]

Those bump strip door mouldings are another story all together!!

Are you sure it's originally painted? I thought it might be anodized or maybe some sort of electro plating.

I've had a chat with the painter about it and he reckons to just paint it up myself. I just keep thinking that paint can chip of or will get dull over time :/ Got any before/after pics of your own?

[bigbird76]

I did all the trim on my m3 as it was looking tired but it looks great now.

The only thing I can suggest is good preparation and a lot of very thin coats of satin black, Plasti-kote if I remember right was what I used and it has lasted pretty well.

Also in a warm place to spray and warm the trims up a little.

[polsta]

i think it was painted, maybe with specific paint for the purpose or machine/mult laquer , as when you sand it down to re paint it sands down like normal paint, i presume if it was anodised/electro plated it wouldnt ?

if your having the car re sprayed just get it painted by them and re fitted properly rather than do it yourself to get a decent finish and it should last years, its not easily scracthed and with a newly painted car im sure youl always be careful of things like that anyway, plus if they damage it or do an iffy job on it- you can say sort it out

[Jozi]

I might try someone local to paint it, painter who did my shell isnt the fastest and I don't want to be waiting another year for the trim :/

[polsta]

mine looks super , and its a no brainer to have done rather than re fit worn trim and mess about constantly with trimm stuff, particularly around glass and rubber seals and edges, id go as far to say as all the black work being pristine on an e30 really sets the car off/makes it

[polsta]

you can paint it yourself- although the cost of the paint, primer,laquer, the time sanding it all down nice and layering the paint properly, and then the risk of the slightest thing near the end messing it up, meaning re do it, like a finger print if youch too wet or a little run or whatever, as its quite tricky to paint to get 100% coverage (depending where your painting it) and how skilled and patient you are , you just aswell pay a pro £30 or 40 quid to have it come back looking perfect, materials will cost you £20 alone

[Jozi]

That does look very good!

[polsta]

Quick get discovery in now new wheeler dealers he's doing this very job

[Jozi]

Don't think we have discovery here

I'm going to call my painter tomorrow and have a chat with him.

[pukar]

did it really just cost £20-£30?

[polsta]

30-40 I said , that's at a guess 40 quid if its all removed by you its not much metal as such would not take long to paint or use much paint , would depend on the sprayer and how friendly you are with him

[Jozi]

It's fiddly to prep though and there's a lot of trim to setup on stands for paint.

I'll let you all know what it ends up costing ;)

[jimmyoldskool]

Can you not have it powder coated?

There are some really good finishing companies out there that use powder with some fantastic results and it'd be really durable too.......might be a bit more than £40 though!

[polsta]

Only thing with powder might be it getting in the back bits and cause issue with re fitting it ?

[jimmyoldskool]

Only thing with powder might be it getting in the back bits and cause issue with re fitting it ?

Mask it up???

[Brianmoooore]

Vinyl wrap?

[Cloggy Saint]

How do you even remove these parts (pillar covers)? I've had a quick look but it didn't look obvious.

[Jozi]

You pretty much need to strip down the whole door

Rubber/guids for the window need to come out. The bottom one comes of first, the rubber and trim are seperate. Then the side or top pieces. I spent about 90mins doing them all yest, I did have the front glass already removed though.

There's clips holding the trim on the sort of half pop the trim of if you bend them out, the vertical pieces also had some sealant holding them in place on mine.

[Cloggy Saint]

Sounds far too involved, I'll leave it!

[polsta]

Vinyl wrap would be ropey, there are vinyl nuts holding the door bits I behind the inner pillar trim, its not hard to remove them and having it re painted vastly improves the car

[polsta]

Only thing with powder might be it getting in the back bits and cause issue with re fitting it ?

Mask it up???

The issue you'd have is with the gutter trim as it has the curved top and the gap being so thin it would be tricky to do

[jimmyoldskool]

Only thing with powder might be it getting in the back bits and cause issue with re fitting it ?

Mask it up???

The issue you'd have is with the gutter trim as it has the curved top and the gap being so thin it would be tricky to do

Do you mean where the gutter trim slides together with the quarter window trim?

[bigbird76]

Guys not telling you how to do a job but your best to do the trims in situ if you have not already removed them as they are easy to bend and you would probably have to replace the small clips that hold them down. also the door pillar parts are a bit awkward to remove too,

If I was doing this agin I would mask off most of the car and paint them in place.

Leigh

[Jozi]

I wouldn't like to take them of again which is why I'm looking for the best option. Mine are being moved from a donor to g painted shell

[Jozi]

Had a chat with the painter and he's going to do them for me. Should a get handles done as well while I'm at it?

[Mitchen]

This looks such a good look for the overall appearance of the car, but God this looks like a lot of work.. I can see if the cars already been stripped for re-painting etc. but taking all this out and getting it painted?.. or painting it whilst on the car.. with the difficulty in getting it right with no drip marks, even coverage etc.

I think I'd be more tempted to take it to a decent body work place and get them to do it.. can't be more than a couple of hundred and then it's done and dusted, no aggro.. Would be worth it for finishing touches.

[Mitchen]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-Series- ... 3381e4f3f5

How about this quick fix here

[Cloggy Saint]

Hmm, interesting ... although some of the feedback comments aren't great.

[Mitchen]

30 negatives in comparison to 3500 positives.. from reading most are just mix ups like not received etc.

I'm thinking to give this a try.

[Kos]

mine looks super , and its a no brainer to have done rather than re fit worn trim and mess about constantly with trimm stuff, particularly around glass and rubber seals and edges, id go as far to say as all the black work being pristine on an e30 really sets the car off/makes it

Your glass isn't original BMW

[Jozi]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-Series- ... 3381e4f3f5

How about this quick fix here

Can really make that our to well on my phone but no time for quick fixes. Painter is going to paint them and they won't need doing again for another 20+ yrs, I hope.