Paint cracking on plastic outside

[Codejoy]

I am not sure if this is the right area but I figured I would post this picture and ask what I may do about this? It is a used Kia I purchased do quite sure dealership won't help me here. It is the plastic 'inbetween' parts behind the sunroof that have start to crack like this on both sides. The plastic seems fine just the paint.

(I thought about figuring out how to strip it totally, then masking it off and plastidipping this part just to make basically black stripes) but if I can get the dealership to fix it properly that would be awesome, but worried how much they charge (it is a 2018!!!!) Wondering if others have had this issue?

 

[AJG]

I'm having the same issue with my 2018 ceramic silver. It's being replaced under warranty

 

[Aurelian]

I have a silky silver 2018, also with the progressive cracking on both trim strips. Service rep seemed unsurprised when I brought it in, and the warranty claim went through fairly quick. They're supposed to swap the replacements this Thursday, though I'm 1) worried they're going to mar the panels around the trim during replacement, and 2) a little skeptical this won't end up happening again with the new pieces.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Yes, this has been shared quite a bit. Some Stingers have "crazed" drip rails. One solution is to wrap them. Someone simply clear coated the black plastic. Trying to match the body color is the harder way to go. And no doubt more expensive too. Kia will replace the drip rails but they come unpainted. I haven't heard of anyone getting Kia to pay for painting them.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I have a silky silver 2018, also with the progressive cracking on both trim strips. Service rep seemed unsurprised when I brought it in, and the warranty claim went through fairly quick. They're supposed to swap the replacements this Thursday, though I'm 1) worried they're going to mar the panels around the trim during replacement, and 2) a little skeptical this won't end up happening again with the new pieces.

They pop out easily, so we've been told by those who know. The release point is in the back end somewhere/somehow. (Maybe one of our "experienced" members will contribute when they see this thread.) So, the dealer isn't likely to damage the paint on either side of the channel.

 

[Aurelian]

Yes I'm a bit confused on whether the new pieces will be painted. My dealer service rep implied they would be as part of the warranty service, but I guess I'll find out Thursday...

 

[ChaneRZ]

It should be painted from the dealer.

 

[Helo58]

I haven't heard of anyone getting Kia to pay for painting them.

Add me to the list. Kia replaced and painted mine under warranty and did a fairly good job of color matching the strips to the roof of the car.

 

[celwin]

Yes, this has been shared quite a bit. Some Stingers have "crazed" drip rails. One solution is to wrap them. Someone simply clear coated the black plastic. Trying to match the body color is the harder way to go. And no doubt more expensive too. Kia will replace the drip rails but they come unpainted. I haven't heard of anyone getting Kia to pay for painting them.

I got mine replaced and repainted by dealership. My issue was not paint cracking but instead the driver side one was loose at the rear and could not be snapped back in. Dealer replaced and painted it. It did take weeks before they painted it though (something about their body shop having hard time color matching Panthera Metal. In the end they matched it perfectly)

 

[Aurelian]

Update - my warranty repair on these moldings was completed today. They were painted to the body color. Not an ideal paint job - the color matches well enough but there were inclusions and pockmarks that are noticeable upon close examination. But I guess anything other than a factory job won't be perfect, and this is definitely a vast improvement over the cracked moldings. They did end up wedging the rubber from the black trim on one side out of place, but luckily I was able to push it back into place with a trim remover tool.

 

[MerlintheMad]

But I guess anything other than a factory job won't be perfect, and this is definitely a vast improvement over the cracked moldings.

I bet that from five, six feet away, they look perfect. That's my yardstick of acceptable.

 

[rocket23]

I have a silky silver 2018, also with the progressive cracking on both trim strips. Service rep seemed unsurprised when I brought it in, and the warranty claim went through fairly quick. They're supposed to swap the replacements this Thursday, though I'm 1) worried they're going to mar the panels around the trim during replacement, and 2) a little skeptical this won't end up happening again with the new pieces.

Yes I'm a bit confused on whether the new pieces will be painted. My dealer service rep implied they would be as part of the warranty service, but I guess I'll find out Thursday...

It should be painted from the dealer.

I was farting around with my trim pieces today, turns out they are stainless steel strips with a rubber albeit painted tape run over the top to keep water out of the seam when they put the side(s) of the car to the main chassis. They pop right off held on by suppression clips.....I'm taking mine off stripping the rubber off and using a bead sealer under the stainless.......my strips will be polished stainless when done.

 

[rocket23]

update, I took mine off and went right to the wire wheel bench grinder........'bout an hour later I had stripped off all the painted rubber crap and then sanded the strips with 220 grit when that was done I laguered the strips with clear enamel and let dry overnight .......I'm pretty happy with the results, however if you look at it real close , you can see where the side rubber on the strips was marred by the wire wheel......It's not a hack job by any means and it is better than the cracking that Kia ended up with......polished metal wins over paint everyday.

 

[MerlintheMad]

update, I took mine off and went right to the wire wheel bench grinder........'bout an hour later I had stripped off all the painted rubber crap and then sanded the strips with 220 grit when that was done I laguered the strips with clear enamel and let dry overnight .......I'm pretty happy with the results, however if you look at it real close , you can see where the side rubber on the strips was marred by the wire wheel......It's not a hack job by any means and it is better than the cracking that Kia ended up with......polished metal wins over paint everyday.

Well, what happened to "a pic is worth a thousand words"?

 

[rocket23]

I'll post a before and after....or just add an ''after'' if I can find my thread on it.....which got about 4 replies ,lol

 

[Frosty77]

I had this exact problem as well and got them replaced under warranty. Instead of getting them repainted, the service tech told me they actually come with a black rubber coating and recommended that I have them Installed without paint because it will most likely happen again. Here's a pic of what they look like.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I had this exact problem as well and got them replaced under warranty. Instead of getting them repainted, the service tech told me they actually come with a black rubber coating and recommended that I have them Installed without paint because it will most likely happen again. Here's a pic of what they look like.

I think that looks pretty satisfactory. It's not as if this is a cheap piece of black plastic.

@rocket23 polished the black finish off and then clear coated them. In the pics they look pretty good. Neither the black nor the polished steel exactly match any other trim pieces, which is only going to bug someone battling OC. Depending on the day, I'd be alright with either solution, or bugged by the mismatch.

My drip rails are fine 29 months in. But I think that weathering is a cumulative effect: and likely, at some point the paint on my drip rails is going to show signs of cracking/fading. At this rate, I'll be well beyond the 36 months paint warranty if/when that happens. So, the solution will likely be what you're doing: but I think that a ceramic coating over a clear coat will drive back subsequent weathering (which, I fear, will turn that black "rubber" finish a rather ugly, dingy, uneven, dark grey).

A question about this: is the rubber window molding the same stuff coating these drip rails? If so, then how the window molding changes with age could point to how the unpainted drip rails can be expected to look.

 

[Frosty77]

I think that looks pretty satisfactory. It's not as if this is a cheap piece of black plastic.

@rocket23 polished the black finish off and then clear coated them. In the pics they look pretty good. Neither the black nor the polished steel exactly match any other trim pieces, which is only going to bug someone battling OC. Depending on the day, I'd be alright with either solution, or bugged by the mismatch.

My drip rails are fine 29 months in. But I think that weathering is a cumulative effect: and likely, at some point the paint on my drip rails is going to show signs of cracking/fading. At this rate, I'll be well beyond the 36 months paint warranty if/when that happens. So, the solution will likely be what you're doing: but I think that a ceramic coating over a clear coat will drive back subsequent weathering (which, I fear, will turn that black "rubber" finish a rather ugly, dingy, uneven, dark grey).

A question about this: is the rubber window molding the same stuff coating these drip rails? If so, then how the window molding changes with age could point to how the unpainted drip rails can be expected to look.

That's the plan. I have the clear coat but just waiting on a friend to help with it since I have no experience with painting or clear coating. Lol

 

[Frosty77]

@MerlintheMad I don't think they are the same material as the window moldings, they feel different. The drip rails seem to be covered in the same material as those soft rubber coating on plastic cell phone cases. Haha

 

[ChaneRZ]

I had this exact problem as well and got them replaced under warranty. Instead of getting them repainted, the service tech told me they actually come with a black rubber coating and recommended that I have them Installed without paint because it will most likely happen again. Here's a pic of what they look like.

Yup. I wouldn’t mind having that on my white stinger.