I get home from work today and Mrs. Blue Sky asks, “Did you see what happened to my car?”
When I go outside, I see that the black trim that runs along the doors just below the windows is peeling off. She had gone through a brushless car wash and the water blasted right through the paint(?) exposing some shiny, yet rough-feeling metal. It’s worse on the driver’s side, but the passenger side is about to go as well. It appears that the sun has taken its toll on the paint(?) and is has gotten dry and brittle. Rather than take it to a body shop, I’d like to try and repair it myself (despite not being mechanically inclined). What is this metal and how can I paint it?
I’m not certain what part of the car you’re talking about. The paint that is peeling is black paint, not body color paint, correct? If so, that’s good, because it will be easy to match. You might even be able to remove the trim parts from the car and sand and paint them then, so as not to worry about masking the rest of the vehicle.
-Andrew L
It’s not the body, thankfully. There’s a strip of molding that runs along the bottom edge of each window. If I could figure out how to safely remove it, I could paint it.
It’s a strip which is attached to the window trim, I believe. Unfortunately my nephiew still has my Haynes manual. Soon as I can get it back I’ll post again, or go look it up in your local library or buy a Haynes manual yourself. there’s a whole section on body/trim repair/removal. Odds are good it’s not paint but a thin film of powdercoating. Might be able to find a replacement in good nick at a yard.
b
I’ll take a stab here, based on the description, this is a piece of window trim, originally painted black, that separates the window from the body panel. You can probably repaint it while it is still on the car. I would guess that removing it will be a major PIA. It may be screwed on, which would require a lot of disassembly to get it off.
For paint, you can use a product like this. The product labled Trim Black is designed to match most black trim finishes. Check with your local auto parts store.
I would scuff the piece with some fine sandpaper, maybe 300grit or so. Just to knock off any remaining loose paint, and provide a decent surface. Tape the trim piece off with regular yellow masking tape and plastic (newspaper would work, though I’d double it up) and spray the paint following the directions. Take your time taping it off, that is where the job goes good or ill. Tip, get as close as you can with just the masking tape, then tape the shield material to the applied tape, it’s much easier than trying to do it in one step.
Billy Rubin: The trim piece appears to be attached to the door shell itself and is probably held in place by a series of likely-fragile clips so I’ll forego removal :D. I checked out a Haynes manual and it doesn’t address that specific piece.
Cheesesteak: I’m gonna go this route and just tape everything off. I can get my hands on brown kraft paper which is what some body shops use. I’ll look for that paint.
Thanks to all for the info!