Refinishing window trim

[Akula69]

In the build that my son and I are doing we will be going through most of the truck. In the process we struggled with how to recover the trim around the windows as the 20 year old plastic coating was peeling in places and looked rough.

 

What I found as an alternative is a rubberized coating called Plastidip (made by Performix), which is an aerosol coating that appears as a fine grained rubber which sticks to virtually anything.

 

 

At first I tried to peel the rest of the old AMC plastic coating off the trim, but as luck would have it it was stuck on pretty well. Kinda made me wonder how it had peeled in the first place.

 

Then, I hit on heat, specifically a heat gun.

 

 

The heat gun made short work of the rubber but left a film of adhesive behind, which was easily removed with the orbital sander and 220 grit paper. The sanding also roughed up the surface as the plasti dip recommended. Remember that the trim will get a little warm while doing this...don't try to hold it in your hands!

 

A shot showing a finished trim piece and a freshly sanded one.

 

Close up of painted trim.

 

All-in-all the finished product was really good. The finish is slightly rough to the touch but looks smooth, and has a rubbery texture. The only drawback I can see that might possible happen with this finish is if you get car wax on it, I imagine with would be very difficult to remove.

[fiatslug87]

How did the pieces look after you removed the coating but before the sanding? Do you think the adhesive could be removed with a solvent? The reason I'm asking is that I would like chrome side window trim, were all the pieces chrome?

[maddzz1]

Thats a nice idea. Mine are all wrecked too, from the wipers going over them before I replaced the bushings.

[dasbulliwagen]

How did the pieces look after you removed the coating but before the sanding? Do you think the adhesive could be removed with a solvent? The reason I'm asking is that I would like chrome side window trim, were all the pieces chrome?

 

They are not chromed, but they are stainless steel. They are available polished as well depending on the trim level of the vehicle. I pulled a set of polished ones of a CFC wagoneer and plan to install them soon, should be a cheap pull at a PNP junkyard if you have any near you.

[fiatslug87]

They are not chromed, but they are stainless steel. They are available polished as well depending on the trim level of the vehicle. I pulled a set of polished ones of a CFC wagoneer and plan to install them soon, should be a cheap pull at a PNP junkyard if you have any near you.

I've been looking, but all the XJs at the yard have had black trim. I was very fortunate to find stainless drip rail moldings off an MJ.