i got the chorme/stainless steel look going on...i think im gonna paint my black like it orgianlly came....

 

Did you leave your car in the garage when your paint was drying? I wonder if parking in the sun would "bake" the finish. In any event the paint job looks really good.

I never liked the trim. It seems to me that since it wasn't flatter against the windshield it made for a lot of wind noise.

Any one else feel that way?

Rich

 

Hey Ray, how about some tint on the rear windows? It would help keep the car cooler in the summer and it looks really good! Completely stripping down and repainting/clearcoating the wheels would be awesome too!

 

looks good gonna have to work on mine

 

you did a good job

 

No special precautions with the paint job beyond the steel wool and isopropyl wipe, I painted out in the drive and there are a few bug landing zones if you look closely.

It probably would be a good idea to find out the best possible preparation and finish for adhesion, endurance and appearance to that slick stainless steel surface. I'm sure there is something better than the rustoleum B-B-Q paint.

Any paint gurus out there that can say how it should be done?

Certainly I will do a little research before refinishing my "x" wheels, which should be done before Tim gets to his window trim. (Sorry, no cheesy tint on my mint GSL).

 

black dragon auto sells them for pretty cheap.

if you call mazda for they they want like 150$ or something ridiculous like that for all the little clips




also i used trim black for mine.....prep is generally more important when it comes to painting that the paint itself.

the best way i found to get good adhesion on those is to actually pull them off. if there is still a lot of raised older paint knock it back with a very fine sand paper. then take some scotch brite to it and rough everything up a bit. after that clean it VERY well. i used a grease and wax cleaner from ppg but rubbing alcohol will get the job done too.

 

I had good results with this, on carefully-bare metal:

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/pro_specialty.html

 

^^that works well too

 

2cute 52,775 posts is a lot of posts, even for an elitist.

How did you do that?

And thanks for the tip on the trim black, that looks like it could be just the right thing, maybe has some binders in there to make it stick better.

Same goes for DivinDriver's Duplicolor trim paint, I probably should have gone out and picked up something special for the job.

 

very very very nice. i re painted mine but when we went to paint my car blue and we masked of trim then the paint came off with the tap

 

Live and learn Damien. Just for the record I had to do a major touch up on this job too after the wind blew the newspaper onto the fresh paint.

 

I agree, it looks great. I had a Z28 in the late 70s and early 80s. Back then I used to shop at JC Whitney alot. They used to sell a roll of thick black tape made especially for the trim you painted. It was similar to vinyl electrical tape, but the adhesive was much better. I bought some and taped it on to my windshield trim and it looked great, not to say a simple process. It lasted beautifully for as long as I owned the car.

 

Cool, you mean you can get black vinyl tape with an adhesive backing that you can cut to cover the stainless trim?

What a concept.

 

Yup, it was wider than the typical rolls of electrical tape at the store. If I remember the width was a perfect fit over the trim. Wrapped around it edge to edge. Idoubt it was e. tape though. That stuff does not weather very well.

 

both of the above are jokes

 

Two related questions: First, what can be done about the plastic edging that goes between the UPPER windshield trim and the bottom of the painted roof line? In other words, sans any photos, it is a thin, black plastic that is attached underneath that upper metal strip and the exposed thin edge touches the body as it terminates at the trim. Hope someone (anyone) understands this. Anyway, this (OEM) plastic tends to harden and 'chip' away with decades of heat. Can it be sliced off once trim is removed and then the small (left to right) gap left as-is?
Second question is about the black, plastic? mirrors. Can they be painted with the same (I'm leaning to semi-gloss black) paint as used on the molding pieces? - or should something better such as Krylon FUSION be used? thank-you. P.S. K-FUSION can go on almost Anything - except rust of course, and that includes hard surfaces.

 

the rubber trim on the edges of the metal you are referring to cannot be painted because they will just crack. maybe a plasti-dip may work but whatever it is will need to have a fair amount of flexibility

the rear view mirrors car be painted but i have found that if they have sun damage the paint doesnt last long and it shows through.

 

What he is talking about is not rubber but a hard plastic. I just treated it as part of the trim
when masking and painted over it. Turned out fine. I think its key to use an etching primer
otherwise the paint won't adhere to the stainless very long. Mines lasted for a number of years
now and is starting to show some highway nicks here and there but still looks great.

 

^ I did mine almost exactly the same. Only way to go in my opinion. Light sanding followed by a couple of coats of self etching primer. Let it sit for about 30 minutes and then shoot it with 2-3 light coats of Rustoleum semi gloss black. Looks great every time!

 

Thanks for info, guys. I didn't (specifically) mention that my own plastic edging is already half gone - due to heat and age - so there is no point in 'detailing' what is left. I simply want to get rid of what is left. There will be a very slight gap (between trim and lowest forward edge of roof-line and I am predicting that dirt and other contaminants will find their way inside. I suppose a black (RTV?) caulking can be used once the trim is back into its' proper location.

Also, has anyone here ever had to paint those OEM mirrors? No way you can use automotive paint so this is why I suggest the Krylon Fusion. I've yet to see a better paint out of a 'jiggle can'. thanks.