Went down the garage today to have a look at what else needs doing to the bodywork and realised I'd forgotten about something that needs major attention: the outside trim.

 

I can take the remaining front wipers and scuttle panel off and spray those myself quite easily but it's the black painted (not sure what it is really as it almost looks rubberised?) metal trim that runs across the roof that I'm wondering about. As I imagine most people find, it's peeled off in places exposing the metal underneath (see attachment: excuse the photo, the metal looks black due to the lighting and the black covering looks grey from the filler dust! ;)).

 

I was wondering if it might be feasible to strip this covering off, prep the metal underneath and body colour it when it's resprayed? How do people usually approach this problem?

 

Cheers,

 

Leigh.

I went with new black trims, I had a horrible feeling that it wouldnt take too long for a fresh coat of paint to start peeling again... I may be wrong though... (probably am!! :D )

If you were looking to keep them black, then there not that expensive to replace. The small 3" one thats worn in your pic are about £6 each from zcentre.

I know tattoman had his sprayed to match the body work. I think ill have mine repainted in a graphite kinda colour when i get my body work done. You can buy new ones from the Zcentre but they cost a packet

Here you go;)

 

http://www.zcentre.co.uk/interior/trim_seals.htm

Cheers for the info fella's! :) Nice to know someone has resprayed them bodycolour as I think that's the route I'm going to take...in keeping with my "keep it smooth" bodywork philosophy! ;) :D

 

Leigh.

Cheers for the info fella's! :) Nice to know someone has resprayed them bodycolour as I think that's the route I'm going to take...in keeping with my "keep it smooth" bodywork philosophy! ;) :D

 

Leigh.

 

remove them and fill :D

remove them and fill :D

You may be joking but...do you reckon you can? ;) :D

You may be joking but...do you reckon you can? ;) :D

 

 

Nay!!! I know a guy who done something similar to a (cough) Corsa (cough). It all just cracked. Might have just been a shit job though?

 

I reckon your best bet is to paint them. A darker colour would help break it up a bit. All one colour might look too much. Bring on the photoshop experts. :D

Could be that he just fillered in the gap left by the struts? If it was too deep then the filler would have a tendency to crack. I'd do what was done on my rear bumper if the gap was deep (see my Journal!;)) and tack weld steel rods where possible and get the fibreglass matting out. I'll have a closer look at the situation tomorrow I think.

Would be good to see a Zed with them photoshopped in body colour! ;)

I think you could fill the spaces with a lead based filler - I remember an old Max Power feature Golf VR6, where the guy totally smoothed the body using this. The reason being lead flexes with the bodywork and doesn't crack........

 

To tidy up my black trim I used black football boot polish - £1.95 from Sainsburys :o

 

worked a treat though and it's water-resistant!!!

 

Richard

Once the plastic coating comes off the roof trims you you are left with a strip of Stainless Steel, which is shiny and fekkin hard. Getting a "key" on the steel to hold paint is bloody difficult. If you do it you will need to finish the job in Super Hard two pack clear laquer .

i have just bought a tin of "Plasti Dip " from Frost Restoration. This is a liquid plastic/rubber sustance . i havent yet tried it out. But the hope is that it will adhere better than paint to the stainless steel.

Richard and Pete: Thanks guys, some good info there :) I'm going to strip the coating off this week as it's beyond repair anyway. I might de-grease a section with solvent and test spray some primer to see how it takes.

Friday as pete said you need to give it a really good key but i,d also reccomend you use etch primer on them , its available in aerosols from any good paint supplier. It is,nt etch primer as used in bodyshops because thats acid etch which eats slightly into the metal to get a key but its the next best thing . HTH :D

Can anyone let me know if these trim sections just pop off? I had a quick go - but they didnt want to move...

hey leigh..

 

if you remember i did mine ages ago.. posted it here somewhere too.. all i did was strip em down to the metal and then roughed em up with a file, de-greased, primed then covered with plasti-kote satin black then laquered with plasti-kote laquer. and to this day they are still ok.

Blimey, return of the living thread! Cheers Si, but if you check out my journal I found a good way to do this in the end...and my Zed's now with Steve at Bodywork Plus so it's all being finished off nicely ;)

 

RS200TEZ: they do come off, they just need a bit of persuasion! Just be careful you don't snap the clips holding them in ;)

Can anyone let me know if these trim sections just pop off? I had a quick go - but they didnt want to move...

 

A couple of useful links:

Removing trim bits

 

and:

 

T Top Trim Removal

 

Cheers

Went down the garage today to have a look at what else needs doing to the bodywork and realised I'd forgotten about something that needs major attention: the outside trim.

 

I can take the remaining front wipers and scuttle panel off and spray those myself quite easily but it's the black painted (not sure what it is really as it almost looks rubberised?) metal trim that runs across the roof that I'm wondering about. As I imagine most people find, it's peeled off in places exposing the metal underneath (see attachment: excuse the photo, the metal looks black due to the lighting and the black covering looks grey from the filler dust! ;)).

 

I was wondering if it might be feasible to strip this covering off, prep the metal underneath and body colour it when it's resprayed? How do people usually approach this problem?

 

Cheers,

 

Leigh.

 

 

hi mate, I had the same problem, i was lucky enough to find someone breaking a Zed and the strips were in good condition, so it cost a fraction of the price.

 

good luck mate

I used black electrical tape and a stanley for a quick fix for my black zed..worked a treat..took 5 minutes and cost nothing..still on too!!