I painted the window trim in place on the Calypso Red '95 525i I sold about five years ago. Because I masked it in place, there were some issues that bothered me once it was done. There were angles where you could see that I just was not able to get coverage, and then there were places where I made a mistake or paint peeled off with the masking tape. I could always have redone it, but it was never worth it.
I think painting the trim black is one of the best things you can do for the car. It's up there with '95 skirts and euro trim as a no-brainer for me. I wanted to do it on the '95 530i that I bought with a M70 swap. I decided to remove the trim to paint it and I prefer this method. It is really not bad. I would say the amount of work is about the same as making it in place and it felt like it was done right when finished and not as much of a hack job. The painted trim looks better than the OEM shadowline that I installed on my '91 M5.
An added benefit is that you can replace the clips that hold the trim to the car, which I have had break in other cars and that leads to window trim flying off on the highway or caused rattling sometimes.
Below I attached some videos showing how easy it is to remove the pieces. They are pretty lazy videos and won't help a lot of the experienced guys but might help somebody who is working on the E34 for the first time.
Untitled by Trevor, on Flickr
Untitled by Trevor, on Flickr
Untitled by Trevor, on Flickr
Untitled by Trevor, on Flickr
Untitled by Trevor, on Flickr
Untitled by Trevor, on Flickr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5aW8FvF4c0&t=59s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhNLF8t4gPg
https://youtu.be/oMieh2ifOiM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXU_bKmZFiM
Last edited by TGreene; 02-07-2017 at 04:38 AM.
Current Fleet:
E34 1991 M5 Macaoblau on Complete (ruined)Leather Champagne - http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1705166
Past:
E34 1989 535i 5-Speed AlpineweissII on Natur - Parted
E34 1992 525i 5-Speed Islandgrun on Pergament - Parted
E34 1995 540i 6-Speed ShwarzII on Shwarz - Sold to Sneezy.
E34 1995 525i 5-Speed Calypso Red on Parchment - http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1748143 - Sold locally.
E39 1998 528i 5-Speed Black on Black - Sold locally.
E34 1993 M5 Alpinweiss on Black - http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...lpinweissII-M5 - Parted
That makes a world of difference Trevor. I need to do this on the touring!
Tommy L.
(oOO \ (IIII) (IIII) / OOo)
-o- (##########) -o-
2001 BMW M5 LMB LHD Euro
Bilstein PSS, Black Kidneys, Dinan Rear Anti-sway Bar, Matte Black Style 65, UUC SSK w/DSSR, Alpine iLX-007, Alpine MRV-F 340 Amp, Boston Acoustics Pro components, Alpine MRP-M450 Amp, Infinity Kappa 102.7W Sub x2
Current Garage:
1993 BMW M5
1994 BMW 525i Touring 5spd
2004 Ford SVT Lightning
I think this looks particularly good on black cars. I tried the trim tape originally but it shrunk and peeled. Another spring project for me.
On the calypso red one I have the shadowline looks fantastic. I gave it a clean and disassembled when I rebuilt the door interiors (PO mangled the fibreboard to all hell) - there's a reason eBay sellers sell the door trim clips in lots of 50
I'm not doing it on the granite silver 540 though, it's already got black wheels and the chrome trim offsets it nicely I think
Last edited by bennyg; 02-07-2017 at 05:44 PM.
1993 BMW 540i
Looks awesome. I did mine a couple years ago and love the look (lachssilber).
Bump for the best Shadowline DIY
Current Fleet:
E34 1991 M5 Macaoblau on Complete (ruined)Leather Champagne - http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1705166
Past:
E34 1989 535i 5-Speed AlpineweissII on Natur - Parted
E34 1992 525i 5-Speed Islandgrun on Pergament - Parted
E34 1995 540i 6-Speed ShwarzII on Shwarz - Sold to Sneezy.
E34 1995 525i 5-Speed Calypso Red on Parchment - http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1748143 - Sold locally.
E39 1998 528i 5-Speed Black on Black - Sold locally.
E34 1993 M5 Alpinweiss on Black - http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...lpinweissII-M5 - Parted
E34 BMC 05 Feb 2016 (1).jpg
Maybe I'll do the same very soon.
Do I have to prepare a set of clips when removing the trims?
Shadowline looks good on a white car. I've had mine also done.
Not sure if I just missed it in the videos, but can anyone recommend the best finish for this? Not just color, but the most durable solution. Would it be possible or even advisable to use some sort of heat cured finish or electroplating, or is there a good metals compatible trim paint?
The most durable finish would be powdercoat.
Best finish as far as ease and aesthetics is SEM trim paint. Stuff levels out very smoothly so it'll look like a pro job even if you suck at painting (aka me). As Trevor said, one of the best visual mods I've done for my car.
Well done. I'm pretty sure I'm doing this on my 95 Calypso 540i/6. I think i'm keeping the chrome on my 93 Black 525i.
USC Ralph - Long Beach, CA USA
1989 E34 White 525i (M20) 310,000m (Sold)
1993 E34 Black 525i (M50) 308,955m
1995 E34 Calypso Red 540i/6 (M60) 201,254m
1993 E34 Black 525iT (M50) 138,500m
Trevor, do you recall how many clips, inserts, grommets are needed per side?
Jason Grace
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