Can M3 moldings be painted as they are?

[/M/M/M3]

Can you just paint them? Im asking because they are textured. Will that be a problem?

[blu3m3]

From what I hear, I think you may have to sand them down a bit and make it a bit smoother but not too smooth. You want it to have a bit of course scratches in it so that the primer has some place to stick and hold onto. Once the primer is on there and adhears to the small course scratches from the sand papers, it should smooth out. Then you apply the coats of paint which will turn out looking smooth like the rest of your car.

If there are any professional painters in the house maybe you can elaborate more?...

Good Luck.

[Guillermo]

but I would agree with what Blu said!

[Rel44 M3]

For you guys that have painted the moldings, is that all you had painted, or did you do the door handles and washer nozzles too? I'm thinking of doing all of that. Just wondering what the rest of you have done and if you have any pics, etc., that'd be helpful.

[vroo//M]

Willy with the red 328 (Stylin) did this, I've seen his writeup less than a coupla days ago.

tip: Don't do a search on his handle name, cos' you're gonna get tons of result. He's a maniac poster:P

-E-

[Kenshiro]

Can you powdercoat moldings, or will they melt? This seems like a good alternative, since if moldings get bumped (as they're bound to do) paint will tend to chip whereas powdercoating is much tougher...

[blu3m3]

Originally posted by Kenshiro
Can you powdercoat moldings, or will they melt? This seems like a good alternative, since if moldings get bumped (as they're bound to do) paint will tend to chip whereas powdercoating is much tougher...

Well may look good on a white car hehehe....
I'm not an expert on powder coats but if they can widthstand the heat on the wheels, then they should be able to widthstand the heat on the moldings. May have a problem getting it to stick to the plastic moldings tho. Not sure but good question...heheh

[Stylin]

Powercoating them would be a problem.. as u have to still clip them onto the car.. theres only enough space to clip the moldings in for the original plastic hooks. Nothing more.. powercoating it will leave a thicker film around everything and probably wont fit the hooks into the bumpers. Same for the sides.

Any professional shop should be able to paint them for u. They wont want to coz they cant guarantee them.. just tell them ur ok with that and u wont hold it against them. as long as they take they're time with painting them.. u should be fine. The MAIN problem with painting moldings is that their plastic and they cant bake the plastic at high temps to dry quicker. So it takes them more time.. and we all know how body shops when it comes to time.. :rolleyes:

I dont believe mine was sanded.. the side moldings are silky smooth.. the front and rear still have a lil texture to them.. barely noticible. If u sand them.. they will most likely end up uneven and look terrible.

And howd I get dragged into this post whoring thing again..!! :D:D

[TITANIU///M3]

Willy...car looks hot!!!

[Stylin]

Thanks Jeff!!! :p

[Kenshiro]

Originally posted by blu3m3


Well may look good on a white car hehehe....
I'm not an expert on powder coats but if they can widthstand the heat on the wheels, then they should be able to widthstand the heat on the moldings. May have a problem getting it to stick to the plastic moldings tho. Not sure but good question...heheh

The melting question was about the trim melting, not the powder... since powdercoating requires baking

[/M/M/M3]

So sanding them down is not a good idea? They should just be painted as they are, even if they are textured?

[Stylin]

Originally posted by /M/M/M3
So sanding them down is not a good idea? They should just be painted as they are, even if they are textured?

Thats how mine are.. the textures arent noticible and get pretty flattened anyway by the paint. The side moldings however are baby smooth!! :)

[808M3]

For texture on the moldings, it seems that '95 M3s don't tend to have too much texture. I compared my moldings with my brother's (98 M3 4dr). My 95 has much less texture. I'm planning on painting mine and after talking with a friend that owns an auto body shop, he was saying that I guess generally you would want it smoother which is easier to paint, I guess. But keep in mind that many times the paint doesn't stick as well so if someone bangs the molding and it chips of flakes off the paint will probably start to peel in time.

just my 2 cents

[TITANIU///M3]

New painted moldings and Limited Edition R1 tail section.

[Kenshiro]

Originally posted by TITANIU///M3
New painted moldings and Limited Edition R1 tail section.

Huh?

[TITANIU///M3]

Just showing the painted moldings, without painting the door handles, spray nozzles, front lip and rear diffuser. And for the guys who know me, the I got the new tail for the R1.:D

[Rel44 M3]

Originally posted by TITANIU///M3
Just showing the painted moldings, without painting the door handles, spray nozzles, front lip and rear diffuser.

Thanks for the pic! What size rims do you have? And what % tint?

[TITANIU///M3]

19 x 8.5


30% tint

[Kenshiro]

Originally posted by Kenshiro


Huh?

Aha!

I have sig's turned off because Kevlar's wide-ass picture throws everything out of whack... now I see the link. Nice ride, Titanium!

[TITANIU///M3]

Thanks:D

[Stylin]

NICE JEFF!!! I want to see the tail of the R1 tho.. :) The M looks great.! :p

[TITANIU///M3]

How's this shot?

[/M/M/M3]

Hey TITANIU///M3, tell us, were your moldings textured or smooth?

[TITANIU///M3]

As Willy previously said Thats how mine are.. the textures arent noticible and get pretty flattened anyway by the paint. The side moldings however are baby smooth!!

[Stylin]

I WANT UR BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!! Im jealous..! Ur R1 is PHAT! :p Thats a nice shot of ur rear.. Whats next??

[TITANIU///M3]

That's it for the bike...well actually strobe, then that's it!!!.

I am going to focus more on the ///M now....got mucho plans for it!

[Stylin]

Originally posted by TITANIU///M3
That's it for the bike...well actually strobe, then that's it!!!.

I am going to focus more on the ///M now....got mucho plans for it!

Sneaky sneaky Jeff.. what are u planning..?? :p

[C.Yang]

There are 2 types of M moldings. One type is textured, the other is smooth. If you have the textured ones, you should sand them down. If you don't, the coarse texture will cause the paint to look different on the molding than the rest of the car. I talked to a real paint guy for advice on this. He aslo said that to do the job correctly, it would take around 11 different types of paint, so it would be cheaper to let a good shop do it.

[Rel44 M3]

Originally posted by C.Yang
He aslo said that to do the job correctly, it would take around 11 different types of paint, so it would be cheaper to let a good shop do it.

How long does it take for a shop to paint them? Couple days, a week?