Chrome Trim Refurb

[theboysmiffy]

I am thinking of dechroming my mk1. The screen and rear window chrome are easy enough but the sides seem more tricky. If I remove all of the side glass and the seal/rubber will the chrome trim slide out of the rubber? It looks like it might be part of the same mold? I can probs try and dechrome without removing them but was hoping to do a more thorough job and have them powder coated. Does anyone have any experience of this? Its a 79 Storm. Thanks

[jimmy h]

Yeah it all comes out (the trim) absolutely hilarious trying to get it back in though! You might be ok if your rubbers are old. It takes a lot of patience and care not to scratch the paint etc. I de-chromed all mine, polished for hours and hours with auto sol, cleaned with thinners then sprayed with laquer ( so it still looks chrome -ish)..

[theboysmiffy]

Thanks. Did you remove the glass and rubbers to get the trim out?

[jimmy h]

Nah, you don't need to take the glass out. First remove the 'boomerang trims' above the rear quarter glass by gently pulling/levering off ( don't lose/break the black plastic clips that hold the trim to the body) they are rare as hen's teeth and unobtainable!

Then pull lever off the B pillar trims (vertical satin black trim that meets with the door ) The trims just push into the window rubber, but don't bend or distort them if you want to make your life easy getting them back in. I find it best to get under a corner where they meet/went under the B pillar trim, and hook a small tie wrap under it or a piece strimmer line under the chrome trim and run it the full length under/around the trim breaking the contact with the window rubber - you'll get the gist!

The door trims, start by prizing off the door B pillar trim and work forward. Remove the inner glass rubbers The upper chrome trim just pulls down and off, now you'll have to remove the satin black front quarter stiffening guide. M6 hex head bolt at bottom of door and two M5 cap head set screws - one at the top - one in the middle of the door. The one in the middle of the door can be a PITA to remove. Normally rusty beyond belief and well hidden in the door to get access to - you might be lucky...

Once that is out, pull the front quarter glass backward towards the rear of the door and it should come out with the rubber leaving the chrome trims attached to the door. The chrome trims then just pull off from the door skins..

Easy enough for you? Let me know how you get on and I'll let you know how to get them back in!

[theboysmiffy]

Thanks for that comprehensive guide! I think I will try this now, tho slightly worried about boomerang removal! Is getting them back in impossible?

[theboysmiffy]

I mean getting the chrome trims back in not the boomerangs. Cheers

[mark1gls]

Side windows are easy, a little silicone lub helps, it's the front and rear windows which are the pain the pain but as your car is a 79 you may have the plastic insert on the front and rear window and not the chrome type?

Pictures.




You can see the difference in the black clips so be carfull with them as the black clips are very hard to get hold of.


I made a mistake here, you need to fit the chrome first then fit the rubbers, so you may need to remove all the rubbers etc before the chrome.

[theboysmiffy]

I am sure mine are the aluminium type on the front and rear screens although the rain gutter trims were plastic before I removed them. I am going to mask the front and rear trims and spray them with Frosts Liquid Wrap rather than removing them as I don't fancy taking out the screens.

My major concern with doing the sides is removing the boomerang without breaking/loosing the clips. Is there a best way to do this?

[jimmy h]

You might be lucky. I think my struggle was due to me using NOS rubber for the rear quarters and hence had never had the chrome insert in for 30 odd years! The chrome insert should just slide/push straight back in using a suitable lubricant. Do in the reverse order, chrome trims, b pillar trim and then boomerang trims. The boomerang trims just pull off / push back on though they can be a pain if the black plastic clips are not aligned for the grove in the trim they locate or they are worn. Also, the plastic clips can come off with the trim and can be a pain to get out of the trim. The black plastic clips have a dowel which goes through the middle to spread the locating lugs, the dowel is slightly tapered and will only go in one way. Don't push the dowel through the clip to remove, as they fall into the depths of the car never to be seen again! If you need to remove the plastic clip - pull the whole thing off with some large pliers.

The boomerang trims need a fair bit of force to push back on.

Also, the chrome inserts have a tiny wire/spring at the very bottom rear corner that holds the two trims together -don't lose that!

When I had my old GLS I did this job, Satin Blacked the lot and it was an absolute doddle! I can only surmise it was a PITA on my Storm as using NOS rubber and lots of fresh expensive paint work around!

Also, with the NOS rubber, it was pushing the chrome trim out of position which made getting the b pillar & boomerang trims very difficult.

[theboysmiffy]

Just had a look at this and managed the rear quarter in about 5 mins, was very simple to do! Thanks for the top tips! I will do the door next weekend then get them all powdercoated. Cheers

[james butler]

isnt the trim made from some sort of alloy? can it not be re chromed?

[theboysmiffy]

Yeah I think it is chromed aluminium alloy but I am going to de chrome the whole car, not a chrome fan!

[james butler]

if yours is in good nick it may be worth swapping with money your way for a not so chromed set if theyre as rare as everyone makes out.
that way you get the no chrome look and money in your pocket and someone else gets the chrome they could otherwise not lay hands on.
just a thought

[theboysmiffy]

Unfotunately it is a bit tarnished and doesn't polish up well. Made it easy to decide to de chrome it. I think the dechrome trim might be more rare? Tho goid chrome is probs scarce these days.

[1lazza]

The trims in the doors and side windows are alloy and are anodised, not chrome plated. Quite a few places that do chrome also do anodising, and they can chemically strip off the old oxide layer, carefully polish and re-anodise - need to be very careful polishing as they are so delicate.

I refurbished the trims on my GLS this way - not Concours perfect but very acceptable.