went to a bodyshop to get an estimate on painting the chrome trim around the car. i was told that they would suggest not doing it because of the material and in the long run the paint will peel off and would not warranty it. i've seen a few 3gs with their trim painted so wasn't sure if they are respraying every year or if this bodyshop was telling the truth or not?

 

Some shops are scared to do it b/c it might not bond like they want. A good shop will sand it and do it right.

 

is the trim plastic or metal chrome? i'm thinking plastic so i would think just sand, prime, paint and clear would be enough? maybe a special type of primer for these types of jobs but i would think the shop would know this.

 

You can paint chrome wheels the shop that does it has to be really good. You only have one shot at it. a drip and your done lol but the out come looks like it's anodized really nice

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57988545@N08/6070818983/http://www.flickr.com/photos/57988545@N08/6070818983/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/57988545@N08/, on Flickr

Here is mine painted, it was all unassembled, scuffed, sprayed with adhesion promoter, primed, and sprayed. I think it looks great the only thing is if a rock chip hits it there is still chrome underneathe it. Oh well I think it is the ****!!!

 

Just had all my parts painted. Shops shy away from it because most of the materials they have on hand will not hold up on the chrome. My body shop ordered a special self etching primer so they it would stick to the chrome plastic. They also stripped the metalic coating that gives you that chrome look because it is not metal. They will warranty it also. Its all about who you talk to.

 

all the trim around the front of the car can be painted as you see in this pic below. The trim around the window your better off having them cover it in vynl tape. I think someone on here did this with an ISF??

That looks soo good Mine got a few chips but you had to get up close to see them. Really like the direction your going, makes me miss my car

 

Mine is done on my 2nd gen. As these guys have stated it can be done but it's extra work for the shop and some don't like to do it.

 

this is exactly what i want. how long have you had it on the car? other than rock chips any cracking, flaking? i guess i have to find the right shop to do this at.

 

Headlight Trim

 

passnu2 - i notice you are in chicago too. do you know of any shops to go to or recommend? i'm getting my roof painted at boyce bodywerks in naperville and asked if they could paint the trim but they said they wouldn't recommend it or warranty it.

 

I actually just had this done a month ago but no issues and I don t really antisipate having any issues I saw the prep work and the guy who did it is a animal in the booth!!!! It was recommended to wrap the chrome window trim with vinyl since that is actually metal, so I had that wrapped

 

so you had the front trim (headlights & grill) painted and the window trim wrapped. did you also do the trim on the bottom of the door?

 

Man this is just perfect! Not sure I would change 1 thing on your car. Seeing this makes me miss my GS.

 

yep, like your car a lot. only thing I would do without is the window visors. what are those for, anyway?