Painting the trim on the 3gp is a small project that makes a huge impact on the looks of your car. The following steps are for people that want to do the best possible job and have the trim looking fully restored to a showroom finish.
Items needed:
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I used a large electric sander and then used a dremel for the hard to reach places and for the final buffing.
Here are the rest of the steps, including prep in case you didn't remove the trim and are going to sand and paint it on the car:
Pics from a dirty car (been sitting for 3 weeks) a few years later, but the trim still looking good:
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Other trim to do:
The trim around the front window, this is easy to remove, just lift up (or better yet, remove so you can clean it) the rubber weather strips and unscrew the screws holding it down. Be sure to not lose the clips while doing this.
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Sanded down and cleaned up, ready for primer and paint:
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Along with the front window bottom trim and headlight shrouds (I do not recommend working on the headlight shrouds, they are a pain to work with):
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The cowl trim/air scoop:
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Cowl vent area after getting cleaned up:
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I also cleaned and greased up the wiper gear arms.
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Items needed:
-
Duplicolor sandable primer
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-
Duplicolor black trim spray paint
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- 150 grit sand paper and either an electric sander or sanding block
- Rags
- Newspaper or garbage bags
- Masking tape
- Krylon clear coat
- Pop the hood open
- Unbolt the arms using a 12mm socket
- once the arms are off, pop off the wiper blades where they connect to the arms and remove the plastic holder. Set these items aside.
- Sand down the arms to the bare metal, make sure all the surface is even and smooth.
- Spray on a coat of primer, let it sit for 10 minutes and then spray the other sides.
- Once the primer is completely dry then spray the trim paint. When painting you want to be sure to keep the can well shaked up and spray from about 8 inches away from the surface using slow smooth lines.
- Give the arms plenty of time to dry, apply another coat if the finish doesn't look brand new mint condition.
- Reassemble and install
- In order to remove the rear quarter panel lower trim you need to access the tabs from the inside. This requires removing the interior side panels
- Unscrew the screw under the cushion
- Pop the seat belt holder out.
- In the door seal area, pop out the panel where it holds on, by first pushing forward, then to the side.
- The top part of the panel where it meets the bottom of the window can be removed by first pushing up, then out.
- Now the panel should be removed, next you need to peal back some of the plastic sheeting so you can access the holes.
- Once the sheeting is off, you can put your arm through the hole and feel around up in the body panel for the clips that hold the trim in place.
- Squeeze the clips one by one while pulling up on the trim from the outside, this may take two people since it is easy to break the clips.
I used a large electric sander and then used a dremel for the hard to reach places and for the final buffing.
Here are the rest of the steps, including prep in case you didn't remove the trim and are going to sand and paint it on the car:
- Start with the drivers side quarter window and use the masking tape and newspaper to cover everything around the trim. Just do one section at a time.
- Sand down the trim to remove all the old, dried out stock plastic like covering. Most likely you wont be able to use an electric sander, but a dremel can reach all the places just fine or just do it by hand and build some muscle.
- primer then paint as with the steps for the wiper blades.
- You may want to do a layer of clear coat for that extra protection and clean, shiny, new look. I used Krylon clear coat on mine
- Now, just repeat these steps for the rest of the trim on the car, dont' forget the window moldings around the windshield and rear window.
Pics from a dirty car (been sitting for 3 weeks) a few years later, but the trim still looking good:
Other trim to do:
The trim around the front window, this is easy to remove, just lift up (or better yet, remove so you can clean it) the rubber weather strips and unscrew the screws holding it down. Be sure to not lose the clips while doing this.
Sanded down and cleaned up, ready for primer and paint:
Along with the front window bottom trim and headlight shrouds (I do not recommend working on the headlight shrouds, they are a pain to work with):
The cowl trim/air scoop:
Cowl vent area after getting cleaned up:
I also cleaned and greased up the wiper gear arms.
