How To: Painting Trim (DIY)

[silentdaredevil]

How To Paint Side Moldings & Side Skirts

Ive seen many people with faded side moldings or any other exterior trim so i decided to paint mine and throw a how to together as well, so here goes...

Parts List-
-2 rolls of 2" masking tape
-Duplicolor Exterior Trim Paint
-Newspaper
-Resporator or dust mask
-Nail polish or rubbing achohol





First thing you want to do is take your 2" masking tape and tape off around the side moldings making sure that you get all them edges pressed tightly to make sure there is no over spray on the paint.



Next thing you want to do is take some newspaper or any other kind of masking and mask off a pretty decent portion of the car so that no over spray gets on the car. I would recomend to not "under do it" here because if you under do it and get over spray you will be kicking your ass later so take your time and do it right.



Next take your can of paint and shake for a good 5 minutes to ensure a good bond. Spray the side molding staying about 6-8 inches away from the molding. Here i went with two coats so spray the first coat wait 10min and spray the second then leave it sit for a good hour for drying time.



And the after math after a quick wash. Note i also did my side skirts, just repeat steps to the side skirts.
Hope this helps anyone who wants to do this little very simple and cheap project.

 

[DYNAMIC714]

what is the nail polish or rubbing alcohol for?

 

[CiVIcCFAsST]

this will also work for lips, and mirrors

 

[Mask0rz]

why no wetsanding ? other DIY articles sand them over and over again.

 

[CivicDX94]

i did this also with the metal trim that is on the door wondow. the platic coating cracks and breaks with the years so i sanded the remaining plastic coating and repainted it with trim bumper coating paint. it has been 2 months and so far so good
here are pics of before and after:

 

[defvayne]

why no wetsanding ? other DIY articles sand them over and over again.

should of wetsander...the paint my chip or peal.
Nice DIY but i would of removed the trim from off the car for painting.

 

[silentdaredevil]

no need to wet sand unless u want an absolutley smooth and glossy finish but i was after the oem look

 

[charles_00Civic]

When you tape off the moudins so they get covered from head to toe? wouldnt it be easier to take em off and reinstall them??

 

[silentdaredevil]

if u take them off your chancing breaking a clip of even kinking the side molding... and ive had this for about 6 months n0w and it still looks like the day i did it

 

[KnightRiderCivi]

Quick question. I have been painting for about 6 years now and i have never spray canned a car so i might be wrong....but do you not use any kind of clear coat? or like stated above wet sand and use a buffing compound to keep the orange peel look away? cause paint cans have a tendacy not to spray even with long applications as the arosol lessens. aslo how close was your match. in the picture it looks close but i am wondering a couple washes and sitting in the sun for about a month how close it stays with no clear or paint protectant? not trying to question your talent just never done it and want to know more!

 

[Jspec Ej6]

i painted my CTR rear lips myself with a spray can, but what i did was get the paint code off my car and try to find a match......it took 2 cans of paint, and 1 can of clear...and the match was pretty good....considering i use to work at a body shop hehe....here's the pics, i don't know if you could really see it.

 

[qwikxr]

knightridercivi -
you dont clear it, because Trim Black paint (you should know) is a satin, to a semi-flat finish. Not a gloss. This restores the trim to a factory luster. I did this to my VW Passat about 3 yrs ago, and my wife's Grand Cherokee Limited a year ago.. Still looks extremely nice and 'new.' Prep-sanding would take the texture away from the moulding, thus making it smooth. I can see doing this IF you want to paint them body-color, but not to return the factory-look.

Regards!

 

[Vtecademics]

Why not just take the side moldings off to paint? it will turn out much cleaner.

 

[ej6-hatch]

i have a silver paint job and i want to piant my black sidemarker. should i just prep and paint or should i wetsand? my paint is not that glossy so im thinkin no.

 

[cgpEJ6]

i cant believe you did it while they were on the car, lol.

 

[Boricuanology]

For those of you thinking that it is a lot easier to remove the molding from the car for painting go ahead. But before you do, in order to remove them the right way you have to remove the interior panels in order to get to the clips, be carefull not to break the plastic clips that holds the interior door panels, or worst yet break the area where this clips attach to, if you do, you wont be able to connet a clip there again and the panel may be loose in that particular area. Also there is a bolt that hold the outside molding to the door, in order to get to it you will have to open the door and you will see it(fender side of the door) but be carefull they break easyly. I was very carefull and I broke both of mine but mines were rusty so I guess that did it. So pretty much just the clips are holding the molding. For the ones in the fender I belived you have to remove the plastic cover from the inner fender to get to the clip and you will need a set of long plyers to get to the clips. So there you have it, Is it easier to remove the exterior molding for painting? You decide! and even if you do all that you still have to be carefull not to break the clips.

Silentdaredevil, excellent write up and the pictures are excellent! but what I did on mind that I saw from another diy was to not wash the car/molding before painting them because even when the car is dry there is always water stock on the inner side of the molding and it might drip and wet the area while you are painting and kind of mess the final product. Just use the alcohol to kind of clean everything good using something that doesn't leave any material on the molding like cotton ect. Also being that the molding is like rubber I use a heat gun/ hair blower to heat the molding that way the rubber expand absorbing the paint a lot better that way the paint wont crack later on by the molding being on the sun on a hot day.
Hope this help guys.
Once again good write up and excellent pictures silentdaredevil!!

 

[nukedawhalez]

I have a question, my car is milano red and i want to paint the side moldings that. but my moldings are black, should i wetsand them or just paint them over?

 

[Vtecademics]

Wetsand those bitches, I did the same when I had a Milano Red and it turned out wonderful.

 

[nukedawhalez]

I'm actually gonna do what he did. I'm gonna keep a black and red thing going for my car. Without the primer and coat will the paint last. Sorry for being such a n00b.

 

[Jase]

i did this also with the metal trim that is on the door wondow. the platic coating cracks and breaks with the years so i sanded the remaining plastic coating and repainted it with trim bumper coating paint. it has been 2 months and so far so good
here are pics of before and after:

when you sand them outer window moldings, what grit sand paper do you use? or is there a better way to get rid of the scratched paint? I know i don't want to take off the molding, cause i'll have to either take the friggin door apart, or risk breakin the damn thing when pryin it out'

Anyone here has a even more detailed D.I.Y for this? sorry.. i'm totally retarded when it comes to paintin stuff, jsut wanna be extra careful ya know!

cheers