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Old 06-02-2014, 10:04 AM   #1
Unabomber
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OMGHi2U How to fix janky trim

My WRX is 11 years old and starting to show her age, so here are the results of my putting lipstick on a pig for you to follow, replicate, or hate on.

1. Find janky trim pieces. In my case, the pieces were the wiper arms, trim along the bottom of the window, and the rear trim piece behind the rear window. I used the same techniques/materials discussed on all parts though the pics below are only for the driver's side pieces.
4. Assemble supplies. The pics below show what I used and all in, its under $20 including the blingy blue tape which is shockingly expensive.
3. Clean pieces first. I used Stoner's glass cleaner which probably isn't the "best" cleaner, but give a guy a break.
4. Mask. This is where you need to channel your inner OCD as this is the most critical step. If you aren't good at perfection, trim painting is not for you.
5. Overmask. I used a dropcloth and several old towels. This is all the protection you really need as the 2ish inches of tape absorb 95% of the paint force unless you totally suck at spray painting.
6. Priming. 1 "scratch coat" of primer AKA super light coat. Wait until dry ~3 minutes, then a full coat.
7. Painting. 2-3 coats with the trim paint.
8. Let assembly stay a full hour before removing and then do so carefully as the paint has not fully cured. Its tempting to remove sooner, but even the slightest touch with screw up the paint within the first hour. 24 hours would be the minimum cure time I'd recommend before really touching the surface.

My work on the trim has only happened in the last 2 weeks, so I cannot report on the longevity, but as to the appearance of the product, I am highly impressed with the Rustoleum products featured as the trim paint makes for a perfect OEM like finish with a slight sheen.

Supplies



Janky trim closeup. Notice....the bottom window trim piece is divided into 3 sections. There is a small bottom rubber section (1/16th of an inch or so), a middle metal section (3/8ths of an inch or so), and a top rubber section (3/8ths of an inch or so) that makes the real window seal. You have to mask the top rubber parts (super easy) and the lower rubber section (not bad, but takes more time) as you do not want to paint rubber....some overspray may happen, but you never want to paint rubber.

(sorry pic is dead)


Masked Step 1



Masked Step 2



Closer shot, all done. Notice the rubber/painted/rubber sections I was talking about above?




Broader shot, all done

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Last edited by Unabomber; 06-16-2023 at 04:08 PM.
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Old 06-02-2014, 12:43 PM   #2
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Thumbs up. That rear piece behind the window drives me nuts, seems to be the only one that decides to chalk out on most subies I see including my own.
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Old 06-02-2014, 12:49 PM   #3
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Mine came from Florida so it was sunbaked for 15 years before I got it. The trim is worse than that, it's getting so bad that the rubber strips are coming off and curling up.

I'm probably just going to suck it up and spend a couple hundred on new trim when I repaint it, the clear is gone off most of the top surfaces too.

I've repainted a few wiper arms and it held up for years, not sure about the side trim.
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Old 06-02-2014, 12:49 PM   #4
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Looks really good!
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Old 06-02-2014, 01:06 PM   #5
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looks good.
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Old 06-04-2014, 11:07 PM   #6
Dale2011WRX
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So the only surface prep you did was a wipe down?
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Old 06-05-2014, 03:03 AM   #7
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ron...what ya REALLY need is a big burlap bag full of cats and a bucket full of kerosene and.........
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Old 06-05-2014, 06:45 PM   #8
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I'm loving the excessive use of the term "janky", thanks for that Unabomber

Looks good btw. Also, the use of towels in the last masked pic is epic.
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Old 06-06-2014, 06:49 PM   #9
motobanditio17
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great tips
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Old 03-07-2015, 10:14 PM   #10
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Not to drag up an old thread but I was wondering how this has held up 9 months later? My trim could use a little touch-up too. Nice Diego towel btw ***55357;***56859;
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Old 03-08-2015, 10:54 PM   #11
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I did this, using pretty much the same steps. Held up fine for years.
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Old 03-09-2015, 03:53 PM   #12
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spiffy!
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Old 03-09-2015, 07:39 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Isick View Post
Not to drag up an old thread but I was wondering how this has held up 9 months later? My trim could use a little touch-up too. Nice Diego towel btw ***65533;***65533;
Esssss OK, zero fade or flaking anywhere as I put a great eye on it this weekend. My only missgiving is that, had I to do it over, I would use long sweeping spray strokes in line with the trim pieces. As in panel shaped like -------- gets sprayed like --------- and I can see where I went perpendicular on long pieces. Maybe no one else will notice, but my spidey OCD sense tingles when I notice it. Still....100% better than super jank pre-rattle can days.
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Old 03-16-2015, 02:05 PM   #14
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My temporary solution was to use tire shine on the UV damaged plastic parts. It worked better than products specifically made for trim pieces. It always made the parts look like new for a while, even if it was prone to collecting a bit of dust. It always worked great on the parts that can't be painted like the seals as well. I am just going to bite the bullet and try this instead when weather permits.
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Old 03-16-2015, 02:13 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SSAF View Post
My temporary solution was to use tire shine on the UV damaged plastic parts. It worked better than products specifically made for trim pieces. It always made the parts look like new for a while, even if it was prone to collecting a bit of dust. It always worked great on the parts that can't be painted like the seals as well. I am just going to bite the bullet and try this instead when weather permits.
I suggest the paint method, or apply Cquartz...
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Old 03-16-2015, 02:29 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anjuna View Post
I suggest the paint method, or apply Cquartz...
Especially since I recently acquired a compressor and spray gun, it would be silly to not at least attempt to paint I guess. I will have to look into Cquartz as well and see how it compares to previous sealers I've used. Could that just be used straight over unpainted plastic trim as well? I am assuming painting, then using Cquartz would yield the better result.

Last edited by SSAF; 03-16-2015 at 02:42 PM.
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Old 03-16-2015, 08:32 PM   #17
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I've been meaning to do this too. Nice work man.
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Old 03-19-2015, 06:33 PM   #18
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I just want a new job that gives me a place to work on my car, a place to park the beater while I work on the other beater....and...

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Old 04-13-2015, 08:18 AM   #19
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Looks really good!. Did the same thing with my camry before.
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Old 04-13-2015, 04:15 PM   #20
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Nice job on the re-finish OP.

I've seen people paint rubber trim with plasti-dip with very reasonable results. Wondering if you considered that option?
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Old 04-13-2015, 04:37 PM   #21
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Plasti-dip, in my mind, is temporary. I wanted as close to permanent without outsourcing as possible.
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Old 04-26-2015, 10:48 AM   #22
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Plastidip is good for trim, I've found that Flexidip adheres better. But in all honesty...if you wax your trim once every 3 months you shouldn't have issues at all. The sheen will still be satin as theres not much gloss to most trim. when you wax your paint....wax everything (not spray way....what a waste). A good carnuba paste wax is best for trim.....but thats just my .02
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Old 04-27-2015, 08:11 AM   #23
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God I need to do this so bad. I have all the supplies, I guess seeing other people do it will be the kick in the #ss I need. Turned out great man. Cheap and effective
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Old 09-24-2015, 07:24 AM   #24
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Did it almost exactly like the OP. I think it turned out really well. Went a little overboard with masking things off, I actually did more than what is pictured but hey better safe than sorry.





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Old 05-02-2017, 08:36 PM   #25
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Digging up the old thread to de-jankinize my 04's trim. Thanks dude!
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