Fascia black trim - to paint or not to paint?

[jawn101]

I know this has been discussed before but it seems to be spread out over a post here and there in other threads. I'm hoping to get some real ideas of the ups and downs to painting the raw urethane section of the fascias.

Some background on my own situation. At some point in the car's life, a PO had the fascias painted silver. It looks like they were trying to color-match the stainless and I hate it. The funny part is that only the painted areas *above* the black urethane were painted. The small strip of paint under them was not done and is still original. They did not paint the urethane sections, so they are still raw.

There is the tiniest bit of overspray onto the black areas from a less-than-perfect tape job.

My goal is to get the fascias back to their original color, and I'm fortunate to have those factory original sections to have color and gloss matched. But I'm not sure I like how the black painted urethane looks. I've also heard some anecdotal statements indicating that the urethane doesn't really take paint well and you might have peeling or bubbling later. But given the fact that I've got some overspray (and license plate holes in the front that I'd love to have repaired) do I really have any options?

I'm also worried that if I paint the fascias, I'll end up having to paint the louvers/engine cover/side vents and replace all the rub strips to get it all to match the fresh black.

But I may have to paint the louvers anyway as there's a crack that needs repair.

Help :)

[jmettee]

Mine's painted with SEM Trim Black (satin) & it looks pretty close to original as far as paint goes. No issues with peeling or bubbling yet & it was painted in 2009.

[Kenny_Z]

I'm going to paint mine with SEM trim black. I think if I use the proper adhesion promoter I won't have any issues. I'll be painting the trim, louvers, and everything I possibly can so I'm not worried about a color match issue.

[louielouie2000]

My second DeLorean had all it's black trim painted in a high gloss finish. The only area that had an adhesion problem was the louvers. My guess is years of products like Armor All being applied to the louvers combined with engine heat is probably what caused the paint to bubble up there. I never had an issue with paint bubbling on the black trim on the fascias.

[jawn101]

Does anyone have any 'before' and 'after' side by side pics of their black bumpers? As I recall, the ones I've seen painted seem to be shiny, which I don't really like. Maybe those owners opted for a paint with more gloss?

[SIMid]

An owner on FB suggested TR-3, which I have not found in the Auto Stores yet.

[jawn101]

An owner on FB suggested TR-3, which I have not found in the Auto Stores yet.

Hmm... what's that? A quick google turns up a product used to shine paint up, which is exactly what I don't want :)

[SIMid]

Hmm... what's that? A quick google turns up a product used to shine paint up, which is exactly what I don't want :)

Sorry mate, I've never seen the product. I think I know what yr after. I got this black trimming stuff (cant remember the name, stuffs at home) and you apply it on black trimming and leaves a film on the surface that is like satin black. It states it's a dye, so you have to be careful with it. The applicator looks like a show polish bottle.

The only problem with it (tested it on the Mrs car), is that if the surface is not prepared properly, it will chip off when you wash or rub the surface too hard. Looks great though when applied.

[jawn101]

Sorry mate, I've never seen the product. I think I know what yr after. I got this black trimming stuff (cant remember the name, stuffs at home) and you apply it on black trimming and leaves a film on the surface that is like satin black. It states it's a dye, so you have to be careful with it. The applicator looks like a show polish bottle.

The only problem with it (tested it on the Mrs car), is that if the surface is not prepared properly, it will chip off when you wash or rub the surface too hard. Looks great though when applied.

Oh, I see what you're getting at - a way to shine up the other black parts after the bumpers are painted so it all matches. Got it :)

Definitely one option to consider...

[krustydmc]

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[Rich]

Some background on my own situation. At some point in the car's life, a PO had the fascias painted silver. It looks like they were trying to color-match the stainless and I hate it. The funny part is that only the painted areas *above* the black urethane were painted. The small strip of paint under them was not done and is still original. They did not paint the urethane sections, so they are still raw.

There is the tiniest bit of overspray onto the black areas from a less-than-perfect tape job.....My goal is to get the fascias back to their original color....

Here's a potential solution that might work for you, Jon.

Before moving in the direction of painting the black urethane sections consider having them polished. I don't mean super-shiny, just enough to bring back the deep, black color that's in the urethane. It should also get rid of your overspray, which you'll want to do anyway.

These photos are from a few years back when I needed to paint the front fascia. When the job was done I asked them if they could do anything about the black, which was just a little bit "faded", a problem visible only in certain lighting conditions. Told them I was thinking about painting the black urethane.

They whipped out their polishing wheel and selected a liquid polish they figured would work well. 10 minutes later it looked great so I had them do the back fascia to match. Took a little extra work to polish the embossing in the rear fascia, but came out fine. They wouldn't even take my money for the extra work. And the fascias still look great. I can still paint later on if I want to...but it looks like it'll hold another 30 years so far.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

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[SIMid]

Oh, I see what you're getting at - a way to shine up the other black parts after the bumpers are painted so it all matches. Got it :)

Definitely one option to consider...

Found the product.

http://www.foreverblack.com/products.html

[Rich]

I'm also worried that if I paint the fascias, I'll end up having to paint the louvers/engine cover/side vents and replace all the rub strips to get it all to match the fresh black.


Save the rub strips. Try Black Again or Meguiar's Natural Shine a few times a year. Keep it off the stainless. Rub out the excess. Brings back faded rub strips nicely, cheaply, quickly.

Also decent on the black louvers between door and rear quarter window, even for the rear louver. Not the same as Armor All as far as I know.

[DMCMW Dave]

Here's something else to try, and it often comes out pretty nice. The black surface is not painted from the factory. It is the natural color of the urethane. If you WET sand the black part only using progressively finer paper, starting at about 600 grit and working your way up to 1200 or even 1600, you can remove small scratches and get rid of the oxidized surface. Try your technique in an out of the way area (underneath) and avoid hitting the painted surface. It's a lot of work to do correctly, and should be done by hand. If it isn't in terrible shape, start with a finer grit.

[jawn101]

Thanks guys, this is all great info.

Rich - do you still have the contact info for the guys that did your fascias? Did they do them on the car or did you have to take them off? I'm sort of in the "off the car" camp since it will get better coverage but I know there are issues with supporting the parts structurally to paint them, etc.

The black on yours looks great. That's MUCH more in line with what I'd like to do.

Dave: I've never wet sanded anything before. Knowing me I'd find a way to screw it up :) But that's good info to pass on to whatever shop ends up doing the paint for me. I picked a car without paint specifically because I don't like dealing with it, and yet here we still are.... :lol:

[Rich]

Thanks guys, this is all great info.

Rich - do you still have the contact info for the guys that did your fascias? Did they do them on the car or did you have to take them off? I'm sort of in the "off the car" camp since it will get better coverage but I know there are issues with supporting the parts structurally to paint them, etc.

The black on yours looks great. That's MUCH more in line with what I'd like to do.


Thanks for asking - PM sent.


For the record the fascias stayed ON the car with no obvious issues. The only little problem related to this was some bits of the masking tape adhesive transferred to the hood. All gone now.

No regrets about any of it.

[AugustneverEnds]

16560165571655816559 Good timing for this thread. I painted my louvres and engine cover and I would like to improve on the urethane bumpers.