Piano black trim without the $$$!!

**ignus99** · 10-06-2011 01:09 PM

So like many others, I am absolutely in LOVE with the piano black trim but can't justify spending over $300 for a set of them, plus giving up my stock trim.

This being said, I've decided to paint them.

BUT - my painting has very limited background... using plasti dip to paint my winter rims, touchups on parts that arnt typically shown, or engine bay stuff.

anyone have TIPS for me? I am assuming i'll need to bondo the stock trim as there is a cross hatched pattern that would show after painting, and methods for prep, paint, clear, or specific types of paint i need (preferably from a rattle can) to ensure the best glossy finish.

THANKS!

**groundround** · 10-06-2011 01:11 PM

i have a set of piano black if you wanna buy it off me? $250, i got o carbon

**Peacob** · 10-06-2011 01:12 PM

ground - TIP or man trans? pics of the set? i might be interested

**A4-Wookie** · 10-06-2011 01:25 PM

No need to bondo it!!!

Buy a sanding sponge from home depot.....it will remove the cross hatched pattern fast. Just look up the brushed aluminum diy.

**freaksavior** · 10-06-2011 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by ignus99

So like many others, I am absolutely in LOVE with the piano black trim but can't justify spending over $300 for a set of them, plus giving up my stock trim.

This being said, I've decided to paint them.

BUT - my painting has very limited background... using plasti dip to paint my winter rims, touchups on parts that arnt typically shown, or engine bay stuff.

anyone have TIPS for me? I am assuming i'll need to bondo the stock trim as there is a cross hatched pattern that would show after painting, and methods for prep, paint, clear, or specific types of paint i need (preferably from a rattle can) to ensure the best glossy finish.

THANKS!

If you are going to paint them it's pretty easy.

First this is very important. Work in a clean area you know will not get dirt, dust, or any kind of foreign objects in the paint.

Get some acetone and green bristle pads and take the fish scales off. Scrub the hell out of them. but not to hard because it will scratch the metal, this is okay. :)

LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT coats of black. DO NOT GET IN A HURRY!! When I say light, I mean you can see the silver clearly but the black is apparent.

Repeat x like 5

Once you got the trim completely with very thin coats ( you should be on coat 4 or 5 by now)

Take some very find sand paper - like 6-800 and sand it down under water with a bit of soap.

Clean it up and be careful to apply even pressure and sand evenly throughout the process.

If you sprayed it right, you should expose some of the silver underneath.

Now the process is spray it more, sand it, spray it, sand it spray it. Overall I would say 8-10 coats of light paint is right.

once you are happy with the gloss black take a can of clear coat and simply follow the instructions on the can. Usually it's 2 coats within 40 minutes (that's what mine says) if you want to polish it out then go for it, same process as above but use much higher grit paper like 15-3000. Now you could probably use lacquer on it but I'm not sure how it would react to paint (might wanna test it on an easy to re-paint piece)

Repeat for all pieces.

**ignus99** · 10-06-2011 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by freaksavior

If you are going to paint them it's pretty easy.

First this is very important. Work in a clean area you know will not get dirt, dust, or any kind of foreign objects in the paint.

Get some acetone and green bristle pads and take the fish scales off. Scrub the hell out of them. but not to hard because it will scratch the metal, this is okay. :)

LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT coats of black. DO NOT GET IN A HURRY!! When I say light, I mean you can see the silver clearly but the black is apparent.

Repeat x like 5

Once you got the trim completely with very thin coats ( you should be on coat 4 or 5 by now)

Take some very find sand paper - like 6-800 and sand it down under water with a bit of soap.

Clean it up and be careful to apply even pressure and sand evenly throughout the process.

If you sprayed it right, you should expose some of the silver underneath.

Now the process is spray it more, sand it, spray it, sand it spray it. Overall I would say 8-10 coats of light paint is right.

once you are happy with the gloss black take a can of clear coat and simply follow the instructions on the can. Usually it's 2 coats within 40 minutes (that's what mine says) if you want to polish it out then go for it, same process as above but use much higher grit paper like 15-3000. Now you could probably use lacquer on it but I'm not sure how it would react to paint (might wanna test it on an easy to re-paint piece)

Repeat for all pieces.

Wait.... so you're telling me that the trim is actually metal? I've always thought that the trim was a molded plastic...
Is the fish scale just additional material on top of metal with an aluminum paint on top?? Looks like this job will be an easier job than I thought if that is true.

**DRAKLORE** · 10-06-2011 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by ignus99

Wait.... so you're telling me that the trim is actually metal? I've always thought that the trim was a molded plastic...
Is the fish scale just additional material on top of metal with an aluminum paint on top?? Looks like this job will be an easier job than I thought if that is true.

It prob won't be as easy as you think, you should have really looked up the brushed aluminum diys posted. It will tell you everything you need to know. But honestly if your going to be taking the scales off anyways why don't you go with a clear/black look. Personally ive seen pics of exactly what you want to do. Sanded and painted aluminum trim (forgot the user) it looked good but an awful lot of effort for some pretty bland looking trim IMHO especially of your interior is the tan/grey color.

For me I want to try sanding down to brushed aluminum look, THEN using nightshades put a translucent black finish on the trim. Then a professional clear over the top of that.
Just my .02

Shane Drake

**akalito** · 10-06-2011 02:02 PM

im thinking about doing the same thing. what I'm going to do is

1. Sand down the fish scale
2. Hit it with filler primer to make everything even and smooth
3. Sand down the primer
4. Hit it with black acrylic spray paint enamel to give it that glossy look
5. Wet sand the paint
6. Finish it off with acrylic clear and wet sand it with a 1500 grit

**akalito** · 10-06-2011 02:03 PM

its real hard to get the fish scales off trust me I attempted to do it when i wrapped my trim with the dinoc carbon fiber. Gonna take a lot of sanding

**freaksavior** · 10-06-2011 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by ignus99

Wait.... so you're telling me that the trim is actually metal? I've always thought that the trim was a molded plastic...
Is the fish scale just additional material on top of metal with an aluminum paint on top?? Looks like this job will be an easier job than I thought if that is true.

Yes the aluminum is actual metal.

Originally Posted by akalito

its real hard to get the fish scales off trust me I attempted to do it when i wrapped my trim with the dinoc carbon fiber. Gonna take a lot of sanding

It's not that hard, a couple hours for all the pieces.

**DRAKLORE** · 10-06-2011 02:27 PM

How come you no keep do noc? IMHO looks good if done well

**BoSNiaN** · 10-06-2011 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by DRAKLORE

How come you no keep do noc? IMHO looks good if done well

Was gonna say the same thing...Do people actually sand down the aluminum fish scaling though? All the guide I've seen just involve cleaning the trim with soap and using an exacto and hair dryer to apply/cure the stuff on

**A4-Wookie** · 10-06-2011 02:54 PM

plasti dip that ho!!

Plasti dip fixes EVERYTHING! ROFL

**ignus99** · 10-06-2011 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by A4-Wookie

plasti dip that ho!!

Plasti dip fixes EVERYTHING! ROFL

hahahaha i was tempted to do that, but i really like the gloss look, i GUESS i could clear a plasti dip, but id rather do it properly. I'll leave the plasti dip to my winter rims and emblems, easy removal when i get bored.

**freaksavior** · 10-06-2011 03:14 PM

You could use plastidip as like a primer then paint it with the gloss paint. Suppose to turn out decent. maybe test it ;)

**jimrobbington** · 10-06-2011 03:15 PM

I tried plasti dip on the trim, and it worked for a while. The rubber catches dirt too easily, and it can't be washed very well. Also, in the summer heat, the plasti dip would stick to parts of the door cards/dash and peel itself off a little. Not a good solution for the interior. I never thought of niteshades. Maybe I'll give that a whirl. I've got everything except for the dash pieces down to brushed aluminum, but am unhappy with the finish so far. Just don't know what to do yet.....

I heard the niteshades comes in red, and blue also.

**ignus99** · 10-06-2011 03:24 PM

Another option potentially would be to powdercoat. Does anyone know if the entire trim pieces are aluminum, or do they have plastic clips on the back?

**doublezero30** · 10-06-2011 03:25 PM

is the black with the titanium package considered piano black? or is it a different name? if so, my piano black is going to get vinyled gloss white to go with my ibis white sline.

**freaksavior** · 10-06-2011 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by ignus99

Another option potentially would be to powdercoat. Does anyone know if the entire trim pieces are aluminum, or do they have plastic clips on the back?

Plastic molded underneath

Originally Posted by doublezero30

is the black with the titanium package considered piano black? or is it a different name? if so, my piano black is going to get vinyled gloss white to go with my ibis white sline.

Yeah pretty sure that's consider piano black.

**ignus99** · 10-06-2011 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by freaksavior

Plastic molded underneath

Is this removable? Powder coating would be ideally the best solution if the plastic was just glued on, or can be removed somehow.

**jimrobbington** · 10-06-2011 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by ignus99

Is this removable? Powder coating would be ideally the best solution if the plastic was just glued on, or can be removed somehow.

Already checked about that one. Matt @ ocarbon told me it would be impossible to remove the aluminum from the plastic without destroying it. I have also checked with local anodizing shops, and they would not allow the plastic in their chemical baths. Powdercoating would get too hot I believe. There is no other option other than trading, painting, or buying new.

**ignus99** · 10-06-2011 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by jimrobbington

Already checked about that one. Matt @ ocarbon told me it would be impossible to remove the aluminum from the plastic without destroying it. I have also checked with local anodizing shops, and they would not allow the plastic in their chemical baths. Powdercoating would get too hot I believe. There is no other option other than trading, painting, or buying new.

DAMN! You basically answered every single option I was going to explore on my day off tomorrow, I guess I should thank you for that =D
btw, nice setup, looks like your mods are very similar to mine, good taste in products.

**jimrobbington** · 10-06-2011 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by ignus99

DAMN! You basically answered every single option I was going to explore on my day off tomorrow, I guess I should thank you for that =D
btw, nice setup, looks like your mods are very similar to mine, good taste in products.

Haha, thanks! and your welcome? Yeah, I have changed my trim from fishscale>carbon wrap>plastidip>brushed aluminum. So far, brushed aluminum is the best...