DIY: Permanantly restore your faded black trim to its brand new OEM glory... for $10

[DOHCstunr]

So I know that just about everyone on here gets pissed when they look at their faded plastic grills, windshield wipers, and wiper wells. :mad:
You armour-all them every time you wash your car, and later that day it looks faded again. You try mothers "Back -to-black and its worthless after a few days. :mad:

Well here is the end-all, permanent way to restore your trim, to look and feel brand new. Seriously guys it doesn't look fake or fony, it looks like you just installed new trim fresh out of a plastic bad with mitsubishi logos all over it.

It is simple, costs about 10 bucks, and only takes about an hour, with typical household tools.


:arrow:So lets start.

Required materials:
-Duplicolor Trim Spray ( i picked it up at Autozone for about 5 dollars)
-can of denatured alcohol or some other non-acetone solvent(I chose alcohol because it evaporates without leaving any residue)
-screwdriver
-a basic socket wrench set



So here is a picture of my engine bay(sorry its dirty and a little unorganized in this old pic)
Pay attention to the top of the picture where my wipers and wiper well cover are. rusted, faded, aweful.
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/7053/dsc01654cq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/dsc01654cq8.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img116/dsc01654cq8.jpg/1/)

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1393/dsc01657su2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/dsc01657su2.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img116/dsc01657su2.jpg/1/)

So lets do somemthing about it.
Lift your hood,
:arrow: take a flathead scredriver and pop the cap off your wiper arms
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/7809/dsc01664tg7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/dsc01664tg7.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img393/dsc01664tg7.jpg/1/)

:arrow: once you've removed the caps use your socket wrench(should be a 12mm on the 7g) and remove the wiper arms. Be careful to reference their orientation so that you can have everything properly lined up during re-installation.
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/5856/dsc01665sg4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01665sg4.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01665sg4.jpg/1/)

:arrow: Use yoru screwdriver to pry up any retaining fasteners that remain. Be sure to keep these because they will also be painted.
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/7338/dsc01667nh0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01667nh0.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01667nh0.jpg/1/)

:arrow: Proceed to remover the well cover. Now is a good a time as any to clean out the well. Remove any leaves you may have, and wipe the paint down with some denatured alcohol. Make sure there are no obstructions in the intake to your HVAC blower motor.
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/303/dsc01669ya8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01669ya8.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01669ya8.jpg/1/)

:arrow: Take your denatured alchohol and clean every piece you intend to paint. setup a clean, well ventalated area in low humidity, temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees. Other conditions may effect drying/curing times, as well as pain adhesion, and time between coats. (read the can for the best directions)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/9692/dsc01670pb5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01670pb5.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01670pb5.jpg/1/)

Here is the Trim Paint
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4784/dsc01661yf7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01661yf7.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01661yf7.jpg/1/)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1327/dsc01663hp1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01663hp1.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01663hp1.jpg/1/)

Proceed with the painting proccess. You'll want to make even passes, while pushing straight down on the nozzle(for best results I use a clip on trigger sprayer available for about 3 bucks where you buy your paint. It will eliminate finger fatigue, as well as give even constant pressure to the nozzle so your stream will remain uniform.
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9581/dsc01674fv8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01674fv8.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img227/dsc01674fv8.jpg/1/)

You'll want to spray it with 3 or 4 thin coats, and until everything is nice and covered. You don't want to put it on too thick because it will not bond well, and it may run. allow 3 to 4 minutes between coats.

If you have the time, let it dry over night. Otherwise, it will be dried and fully cured in about 2 hours under ideal conditions.
Reassemble everything, and admire how such a simple task, can have such a dramatic effect on your car's appearance.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7498/dsc01675jr0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01675jr0.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01675jr0.jpg/1/)

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/396/dsc01682cq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01682cq8.jpg/1/w800.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img406/dsc01682cq8.jpg/1/)

Use this same procedure on your grills, anything under the hood that is plasic, but you want to look brand new and OEM again.

[SleekGTZ]

Nice! They look like original OEM black now.

I need to paint some of the black stuff on my car (ex. battery holder is full of rust!)

[02redgalant]

great tutorial

[DOHCstunr]

The pics clearly do no justice. With the flash on the paint looks a little shiny, but its perfectly matte just like oem.

I did this on the black GS and it went two years with no signs of fading.... and absolutely no chipping.
These pics of the White GS are from march. everything looks great till this day.

I have another use for this trim paint up my sleeve.....
I'll make a tutorial for it as well, and you guys are garunteed to love it.

[guynlidia2006]

that is my next project ... the wipper cowl drives me crazy... i already powder coated my wipper arms so all i need to do is the cowl..

[IceDouTGaLanT]

wow great thread, i need to hit my wiper trim also

[Bezzle]

x100. Great tutorial to clean some years off any 7G.

[SkylineG1]

The pics clearly do no justice. With the flash on the paint looks a little shiny, but its perfectly matte just like oem.

I did this on the black GS and it went two years with no signs of fading.... and absolutely no chipping.
These pics of the White GS are from march. everything looks great till this day.

I have another use for this trim paint up my sleeve.....
I'll make a tutorial for it as well, and you guys are garunteed to love it.

Actually the flash made it look like you put amour-all it. I will be doing this next sunday.

[qnz]

watch out when cleaning the car tho. I did this to the 2g and it looks nice and new. Except the gf took the car to a car wash some months later, and the cleaning detergents caused some paint to fade. need to do it again

[9G]

nice.