Ways to black out trim not involving plasti dip?
 

So I have a jet black 330i and can't stand looking at the chrome window trim. I gave in today and purchased a bottle of plasti dip from Lowe's. I taped off my 330i badge to test and was reminded I suck at arts and crafts. I've done it twice, 4 coats each time, and wasn't impressed with what I had done. $7 is a great price tag but I'd rather pay more to have it done right. Is there some sort of tape option? Will I get looked at like a loon if I took it to a local window tenting to ask them to black out the chrome?

Thanks for the advice

A coworker of mine had the trim on his M3 cabrio covered in black vinyl... Looks good... I would think any auto-wrap service shoul be able to help ou out or at least guide you to someone who can...

Any idea what he paid for it? The plasti dip, when I did it atleast, looked good from afar but cheap up close. Also the flat black look didn't match the car even on a cloudy day so I'd hate to see what it looked like in the sunlight

$150 sticks in my mind, but I could be totally off-base... But you figure it's a lot of detailed work (if done well) making sure there are no visible seams, and that everything stays on the car. There was a guy posting for awhile from CA who was putting "carbon fiber" vinyl wrap on cars... You might look for his posts and see what he suggests is realistic... :thumbup:

Back in the '70s and '80s I used to use black electricians tape to mask off chrome trim that I didn't like. It even held up to Michigan winters for years. :thumbup:

These days there's a lot more different kinds of vinyls and wraps to choose from that will probably do a way better job and look better as well.

I had mine wrapped in vinyl, and I think it looks really good. I just don't get the whole plasti-dip thing.

Did you wrap it yourself? If not what were you charged? Going to go up to a local detailing shop tomorrow and ask about doing a vinyl wrap and curious about what is a proper price. The plasti dip looked cheap. Glad I only did the 330i badge and didn't waste the time taping off the whole trim. It may look good on others cars but on mine there were a lot of imperfections up close.

Plasti-dip works really well on simple emblems/badges and grilles. It's cheap and easy. Some people even do their wheels and sometimes their entire cars. Again, cheap and easy.

Vinyls and wraps work better on larger, flatter surfaces.

I will use the plasti dip on the 330i badge because I have it and might as well. Just didn't want to use it on the window trim because on the small practice area (badge) I noticed a few imperfections, and I could only imagine noticing more imperfections on a larger area. I'd rather pay someone to do something right than me halfa$$ it :)

You can probably do it yourself and save some money, but I didn't think it would turn out well if I did it. I paid a local guy $120, which I thought was fair. A bigger local place wanted $200. That was too much IMO. For that I would have bit the bullet and bought new trim.

I can see badges, but new black badges are pretty cheap. I understand cheap and easy. I wouldn't do it myself though...

Last I checked there were no black badges for the 335is, too small a market, which is why I used Plasti-dip on mine.

Anyone have any pics after the vinyl wrap? Gloss black or matte black?

Here matte on my car.

Went to a local auto detailer/tinter hoping they'd be able to do it but no luck. Have to call some not so local places to see if/when I can get the vinyl wrap done. Attempted plasti dipping the badge again and kept it on a couple hours but just bothered by the way it looks up close. Leaving the badge chrome or just taking it off

I'd look over on E90post. I'm sure someone over there can recommend someone who can do it for you.

Thanks :thumbup:

Bummer first quote came back at $240. Not sure I want it that bad

sup guys, #1 DON'T plastidip the window trim!!! that stuff gets really deep behind the trim and is a PIA to "peel" off in the areas behind the window trim and along the rubber areas. a guy came to me with a audi a4 and had plastidipped his window trim, he removed as much as he could and i ended up vinyl wrapping it. but you can still find little chunks/ strips of plastidip along the gap area btwn the window trim and the frame of the car. wasn't that bad since it's a darker color car but i can only imagine what it would look like on a lighter color car. iono, the e9x cars have a larger division btwn the window trim & the body of the car so maybe you can peel off any over spray/ tape it off really nicely to get rid of this problem... i haven't done this b4 but i don't think it would be a good look...

i do vinyl wrapping in Seattle WA. i use 3m 1080 matte black, 3m 1080 gloss black, oracal 8300 light gray transparent (gives it a black chrome look). window trims typically $125-$150.00 takes around 2-3hrs labor depending on what needs to be removed/ how wet the car is when it arrives for the job. for e92 i remove the side mirrors so i get full coverage on the trim just below the mirror. on e90 this is not a problem since the mirror sits above the chrome trim. for e92 i cut a long strip with a 12"x12" box connected to the end so i can cover the curve along the rear quarter window all in 1 piece. for e90 the rear quarter glass section is a separate trim so this is not a problem.

i'll post some pics for you guys of gloss black, matte black, black chrome look shortly...

sorry guys i don't have time to go thro my photobucket to insert pics, heres some links to my fb page albums with some various window trim wraps:

BMW e90 3m 1080 mte blk roof wintrm mirror caps, mte smke lights
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5764420&type=3

BMW e92 335i 3m 1080 matte black window trim
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5764420&type=3

audi q5 black chrome window trim light smoke taillights
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5764420&type=3

bmw e90 matte black window trim Wu! Wraps
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5764420&type=3

bmw e92 gloss black window trim oracal 970ra gloss black
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...5764420&type=3

oh and for those that are wondering where/how you find people that are willing to do this for you:
1- don't call fastsigns, some vinyl graphics printing/makes taxi signs to do this
2- call tint shops/ custom car shops/ guys that do clear bra, smoke taillgihts
3- look in craigslist in the automotive services section in your state and search vinyl wrap/ car wrap/ smoke lights etc...