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View Full Version : Frame & Body SEM Trim Black...not really black?



DMCNY
05-28-2011, 11:58 PM
So today I finally decided to start the repaint on my rear louvre. I also plan to repaint the black on the front and rear bumpers as the PO had all 3 parts redone in a gloss black which I did not care for.

I spent all morning preping the louvre for the reshoot and had 4 cans of the SEM trim black ready. I sprayed it all out and the finish came out nice and smooth, but when it was all done and dried, it was gray. No doubt that no matter how much I looked at it and wanted it to be black, it just wasn't.

So I repreped the louvre again and reshot it with satin black and it was just the color I was looking for.

I've tried to look at many pictures of other DeLorean's and I just can't tell from any of the pictures if the original finish is supposed to have that "gray" look to it. Most of the pictures I have seen look to be black to me.

Does anyone know what the original finish on the bumpers and louvre is supposed to look like?

Jacko
05-29-2011, 12:44 AM
I'm pretty sure the black areas of the facias are not painted. The black is the color of the plastic there.

Michael
05-29-2011, 10:58 PM
Yes, the black rub strips on the fascias are unpainted from the factory. After years of neglect, the plastic loses it's color and dressings/restorers do not cut it and painting is required.

SEM Trim Black is black as night, but if it is applied in high humidity, moisture will become trapped and it will appear milky gray. You can use a heat gun to pre-heat the area, then keep the paint heated until it flashes, but that's a lot of trouble(and dangerous to the fascias if you don't know what you are doing). Best to wait for a nice sunny warm day.

If the paint does not appear right when these conditions are met, return it. You may have got a bad dye lot, although unlikely... I have been through dozens(if not hundreds) of cans of SEM Black, and never had a problem under proper conditions.

DeMopar
05-29-2011, 11:36 PM
Yes, the black rub strips on the fascias are unpainted from the factory. After years of neglect, the plastic loses it's color and dressings/restorers do not cut it and painting is required.

SEM Trim Black is black as night, but if it is applied in high humidity, moisture will become trapped and it will appear milky gray. You can use a heat gun to pre-heat the area, then keep the paint heated until it flashes, but that's a lot of trouble(and dangerous to the fascias if you don't know what you are doing). Best to wait for a nice sunny warm day.

If the paint does not appear right when these conditions are met, return it. You may have got a bad dye lot, although unlikely... I have been through dozens(if not hundreds) of cans of SEM Black, and never had a problem under proper conditions.


What he said!

DMCNY
05-30-2011, 11:04 AM
When I sprayed the SEM trim black the humidity was low and it was a nice sunny day (appox. 80 degrees) I don't feel as though the temperature was playing a role as to the final color of the product, although I have seen this happen before and know what you are talking about. I think that the grayish tone the paint has to it is just what it is.

It's a little hard to describe in words, but the color to me leans more towards a charcoal gray rather than a black tone. Don't get me wrong, I think it's still a nice color and works good for trim areas on certain vehicles, but it just wasn't to my liking for the larger areas of the DeLorean.

What my confusion was, was what color originally, or tone did the black areas of the car have to them when it was new. I knew about the bumper rub strips being the actual color of the urathane bumper underneath (unpainted) from a post a while back from Dave at DMCMW. Seeing how when I bought my car all the black areas of the bumpers and the rear louvre were already painted in a high gloss black, I had nothing to reference to as to what the original color should look like.

To take the story just a bit further, I'm also painting all 4 side vents as they are faded and repainting the top of the windshiled trim strip. Now on the side vents (2 behind each door) they are faded to the point of looking light gray, and the 2 on the side rear windows, the one on the drivers side is faded to light gray while the pass. side one is more of a satin black. On the windshiled trim, the top strip is faded to the point of a lightish gray, while the strips on each side are a nice satin looking black.

So I guess what my original question was, was what color was all the trim supposed to look like new from the factory? Did you have different tones of black throughout the car? For instance, were the bumpers rub strips more of a grayish color due to the urathane while the trim had more of a black color to it? I pretty sure they must have painted the rear louvre, unless they just left it in gelcoat? Was that black or more of a grayish color from the factory?

This is just my OCD kicking in here. I'm sure most people could give two craps about what tone the trim was and if it matched throughout the car, but I just wanted to know to satisfy my own curiousity. I just wanted to come as close as I could to a factory appearence if possible. This may all be a moot point now anyway, as I decided to go ahead with my own plan. :p

I decide to go with Krylon satin black on the louvre, all the black areas of the front and rear bumpers, the 4 side vents & the top of the windshiled strip. The color matches the side window run channel, the two strips on the windshield, and the lower rocker covers, rear lower quarter trims and front lower spoiler.

So far I've painted the louvre, the rear bumper, and both pass. side side vents. I'm going to try and finish up the drivers side vents, the top windshield trim and the front bumper today. I'm thrilled with the results so far. I've had good experience with the Krylon satin black in the past and decided to go ahead and go with it again. Right or wrong, I think it looks great on the car and it has that, what I call "black armor" look to it and looks correct to me to what should have been on the car fom the factory. I think it looks good when all the black areas match tone on the car.

Sorry for the long read, but for anyone else out there who may suffer from OCD like I do or are just confused about which color to choose, maybe this info will come in handy.

mluder
05-30-2011, 03:54 PM
I know you've already repainted but just thought I'd offer this.

My side vents were looking dull and grey too. Someone recomended a product called 303 Aerospace http://www.autogeek.net/303.html?gclid=CPr00a65kKkCFUY0Qgod2lHkng Three applications of that and they look almost good as new and much easier than repainting. It also works great on the fascias. The louver and the upper window trim, being painted, probably won't get the same results. By the way, I bought the 303 at a pool and spa supplies store.

Glad you found an easily accessible spray (krylon) that worked for you. Keep us up to date on how it holds up to flaking and fading.

Steve
#4456

jmettee
05-31-2011, 09:14 AM
Yep, I found the same thing. Painting with SEM Trim Black in high humidity results in a non-black & poor surface finish.

DMCNY
05-31-2011, 08:12 PM
I know you've already repainted but just thought I'd offer this.

My side vents were looking dull and grey too. Someone recomended a product called 303 Aerospace http://www.autogeek.net/303.html?gclid=CPr00a65kKkCFUY0Qgod2lHkng Three applications of that and they look almost good as new and much easier than repainting. It also works great on the fascias. The louver and the upper window trim, being painted, probably won't get the same results. By the way, I bought the 303 at a pool and spa supplies store.

Glad you found an easily accessible spray (krylon) that worked for you. Keep us up to date on how it holds up to flaking and fading.

Steve
#4456

I think my side vents were just too far beyond any dressing to bring them back to life. I tried a few, but there were areas in the vents where you could see what looked like strands of what the material was made from that were turning a white color as well and they still always showed through no matter what I tried.

I did badly want to restore them without painting, but I just couldn't get satifactory results and knew I would never be happy until I just painted them. :) I think it all worked out for the best though, they look pretty nice IMO.

As far as the durabilty of the Krylon paint. I've been using it for years and have always had good results. Although my car may not be a good test bed as I garage the car most of the time and don't like leaving it out in the weather (hot, sun & rain) mostly because I don't want interior fade, ect.

The prep is the big thing when it comes to flaking, and I'm a fanatic about proper prep so I don't antisipate and problems, nor have I had any with it in the past.

I have been throwing around the thought though of doing a real world test with the Krylon just to see how tough it is, or is not. I have some scrap pieces of gelcoated fiberglass and some spare urathane parts that I was thinking about painting and let sit out in the weather to see how well it does. I think I'll do that and let you know. :)