I finally got around to restoring my quarter window trim the other weekend. I sanded/painted that along with the trim around the doors and the side mirrors and door handles as well. Before the job my quarter mouldings were pitted so bad in some spots its all I could look at when I would look at my car, they drove me nuts.
I did one side at a time. I masked off all around the trim and windows and bought a few plastic painting sheets and put that over the car and cut out the size of the area needed to paint and taped it down. I started off by sanding them with 180 grit, but the pits were so bad in some spots that the sandpaper wasnt doing ****, so I got out my dremel with a round sandpaper bit on it and went to town on the really really badly pitted spots. After getting all the really pitted spots flat I went at it again with the 180 until the surface had no more pits in it. After the 180 I did it with 300 then 400 then 600. After that I primered it with a few coats and let it dry. Sanded it down again with 600 then painted it. At first I painted it with semigloss black with a few coats and let it dry. It looked better then it did before but it still had that old flat look to it, so I went back to the store and picked up some Gloss black paint. After giving it another sand again with 600 grit I hit the trim and the quarter mouldings, mirrors and handles with a couple coats of the Gloss. WOW the gloss looks so much better then the flat looking black.
The next day I was so happy with how it came out that I got right to work doing the other side. So after it was all done and done it ended up costing me about 60$ in supplies for paint/tape/plastic and sandpaper. The automotive masking tape was the biggest cost becuase I used to much of it.
1 thing to anyone attempting to do this. IT TAKES ALOTT of friggin sanding. You have to keep sanding and sanding and sanding and well you get the point. My fingertips were sanded smooth by the time I was done. I spent probably at least 3-4 hours sanding each quarter window moulding. Possibly more. The end result was so totally worth it though. All I have left to do now is the little bit of trim around the front and rear windshield.
Heres the pics.
I did one side at a time. I masked off all around the trim and windows and bought a few plastic painting sheets and put that over the car and cut out the size of the area needed to paint and taped it down. I started off by sanding them with 180 grit, but the pits were so bad in some spots that the sandpaper wasnt doing ****, so I got out my dremel with a round sandpaper bit on it and went to town on the really really badly pitted spots. After getting all the really pitted spots flat I went at it again with the 180 until the surface had no more pits in it. After the 180 I did it with 300 then 400 then 600. After that I primered it with a few coats and let it dry. Sanded it down again with 600 then painted it. At first I painted it with semigloss black with a few coats and let it dry. It looked better then it did before but it still had that old flat look to it, so I went back to the store and picked up some Gloss black paint. After giving it another sand again with 600 grit I hit the trim and the quarter mouldings, mirrors and handles with a couple coats of the Gloss. WOW the gloss looks so much better then the flat looking black.
The next day I was so happy with how it came out that I got right to work doing the other side. So after it was all done and done it ended up costing me about 60$ in supplies for paint/tape/plastic and sandpaper. The automotive masking tape was the biggest cost becuase I used to much of it.
1 thing to anyone attempting to do this. IT TAKES ALOTT of friggin sanding. You have to keep sanding and sanding and sanding and well you get the point. My fingertips were sanded smooth by the time I was done. I spent probably at least 3-4 hours sanding each quarter window moulding. Possibly more. The end result was so totally worth it though. All I have left to do now is the little bit of trim around the front and rear windshield.
Heres the pics.
Maybe i should redo it myself.
