Black trim.

[Aether]

I have an 87 325 (sedan), with the aluminum window trim, and it's pretty beaten up and oxidized. I'm going to polish the daylights out of it just to make sure, but I think it's time to replace it. With black.

The E30 318s I've seen have the black trim, which I imagine would fit just fine, but I've only seen coupe models, and I seriously doubt the rear windows are the same size. If they are, hey, cool, but probably not. I'm pretty sure they sold four-door E30 318s in Europe, but I haven't ever seen any in the states.

Did BMW indeed import 318i sedans to America, and is there any reason switching the trim with a 325 be a stupid idea? I'd also like to get an idea of how difficult this would be to remove, if anyone's ever done it before.

Danke.

[angryrobots]

I'm not sure what the trim around my windows used to look like. There are aluminum pieces in the corners and in the middle, but the stuff in between is discolored. I was planning on taping it off and painting it flat black.

[Aether]

Yeah, that's around the front and rear windows. I think that's a window frame that runs under the rubber sleeve, with another cheaper metal inlay overtop of it. But it could just be the corner pieces are aluminum, I'm not sure.

I was talking about the trim around the doors.
But I should probably replace the front anf rears while I'm at it.

[MrM3]

shadowlining the window trim is a pretty popular thing to do. most have success with removing it from the car and painting it with satin black trim paint.

[spiff325is]

woo, your in luck, cuz I JUST DID THAT TODAY!!!!!! WOO! and i repainted the side view mirror casing black also, it looks SOO SWEEET. there will be pics in the Pic Area if you want to see them. here is one of them... its not the best pic, but tomorrow I, hopefully, will take a ton

[Trob]

That looks really good..I might consider doing that. My chrome is in good shape but blacking it out seems to update the look of the car. Did you take it off befor you painted it? Im just waundering how much of a pain in the ass it is to get off and back on. ghead

[Aether]

Ok, so it's not as stupid to paint aluminum as my father made it sound. Always happy to save a trip to the junkyard.

What did you have to do before painting the trim? There's no way I'd trust myself to paint it on the car, no matter the extent to which it was masked off. But in the way of priming it - did you sand it at all, put a few coats of primer on it, or what. Or, what would be really nice, does paint just up and stick right to it? Yeah, right...

Looks good.
That and the Ronals.

[spiff325is]

to do the mirror casing and trim, took about 4 hours, but its well worth it. I didint take anything off, but you need some 3M scuff pads and SEM Trim Paint. I had to tape around the chrome and the mirrors, and then used the big black garbage bag(about 6 total) and sorta covered off my car in the areas that might be exposed to the offspray. takes a while, Im sorry i forgot to take a picture of my car with the bags on.

[LC82]

I have the same problem, i need to replace the trim and i was wondering where i can get the black trim?

[87bimmer]

I've been meaning to do something about my faded black trim- what color trim paint did you get? Satin Black? Flat? any protective/clear coat? also, where did you buy the paint?

[tyro2001]

Bavauto sells some thing that sappoused to make your old trim look like new or something but im not sure if it really works as good or last long, but repainting the trim sounds like a good i idea. i never tough of it

[spiff325is]

Flat black is the best. and no, no clear coat or any priming required, just scuff the chrome or whatever you are applying it to, first. then wipe down what you just scuffed

[Aether]

Awesome.

In answer to the faded black question, get some Mothers Back-to-Black. It's basically a composite conditioner, and you 'massage' it into the surface. My mirror cases, door handles, and mudflaps were all kinds of faded when I got the car, and buffing that stuff in makes them look like new again. Well, sort of. They're still knicked up, and sometimes you have to do it a couple times over to get everything. But it ought to end up looking a whole lot better.

[e30Slave]

Was just thinking tracking down the black 318 trim- is that a dealership type thing? or a junkyard type thing? The few places I've inquired about the chrome trim say they don't handle that stuff. I'm missing one side of my chrome "drip-edge" or whatever it's called-curious how to remove that stuff without mangling. I think the black trim looks very modern and cool.

[Aether]

It was what came on the cars when they were purchased from a dealership..but you'll not be finding any E30 BMWs there anymore. You can get the trim stuff from junkyards, probably. There's always eBay.

So who thinks it'd be safe to follow the trim procedure on the metal bumper surfaces?