What to do about Exterior Black chrome around windows faded and pealing on 1 and half year old Stinger

[Snicklefritz]

Ohhh yes, I forgot about those models.

lol, I understand. until I drove one there was this tendency to overlook the early 2.0l, when it looked different from the gt trims. now Ima fan of the brighter chrome accents. I think that kia did a great job putting them in just the right places on the early 2.0l.

 

[StingerMG]

I removed the dark chrome film off the car. I'm not the biggest fan of chrome but the dark chrome discoloration was a plain to keep up with, so it had to go. I had a chrome delete wrap but the wrap was getting old so I removed it using my heat gun.

It's not hard but very time consuming. I used a mr. clean magic eraser soaked in soapy water, meguiar's ultimate compound, masking tape, couple rags, and elbow grease. It's much easier to open each door not to hit the paint.

 

[Snicklefritz]

smh, of course, open the doors, stupid, it's so obvious why didn't I think of that? so you soak the 'eraser' in the soapy solution and apply the ultimate compound to the strips and go to town vigorously? how much elbow grease does it take and how long to get all the discoloration off?

interesting cf contrast on the hatch window trim pieces, did you leave them or are they the 'chrome delete wrap' that you referred to?

I removed the dark chrome film offy car. I'm not the biggest fan of chrome but the dark chrome discoloration was a plain to keep up with, so it had to go. I had a chrome delete wrap but the wrap was getting old so I removed it using my heat gun.

It's not hard but very time consuming. I used a mr. clean magic eraser soaked in soapy water, meguiar's ultimate compound, masking tape, couple rags, and elbow grease. It's much easier to open each door not to hit the paint.

 

[StingerMG]

smh, of course, open the doors, stupid, it's so obvious why didn't I think of that? so you soak the 'eraser' in the soapy solution and apply the ultimate compound to the strips and go to town vigorously? how much elbow grease does it take and how long to get all the discoloration off?

interesting cf contrast on the hatch window trim pieces, did you leave them or are they the 'chrome delete wrap' that you referred to?

Pretty much. I rotated between the compound and eraser. It me about 2 hours to finish all 4 trim strips, The compound and the eraser will cut though the discolored dark film but it's not a quick process, so go to town.

I have the carbon fiber molding on the rear hatch so that isn't wrapped. They look pretty good in my opinion.

Kia Stinger - Carbon Fiber Rear Windshield Molding Set

Cover fading window trim with Carbon Fiber Rear Side Molding. Made from 100% genuine carbon fiber, they fit all Stinger models & match our Carbon Fiber Visors.

www.k8stingerstore.com

 

[bfglitch]

I just took mine off the car and wet sanded them. Started off with 800 grit I believe, then went up to a higher grit. Finished off with metal polish. It brightens it up so it no longer matches the rest of the "smoked chrome" bits since you're removing the clear coat / smoked coating. I still may wind up wrapping though once I decide on how I want to go with the rest of the trim (mirror caps, grill, vents, etc).

 

[Snicklefritz]

I have the carbon fiber molding on the rear hatch so that isn't wrapped. They look pretty good in my opinion

they look killer because of the cf deck lid. they would look a little out of place alone.

 

[StingerMG]

I just took mine off the car and wet sanded them. Started off with 800 grit I believe, then went up to a higher grit. Finished off with metal polish. It brightens it up so it no longer matches the rest of the "smoked chrome" bits since you're removing the clear coat / smoked coating. I still may wind up wrapping though once I decide on how I want to go with the rest of the trim (mirror caps, grill, vents, etc).

I'll see how it holds up in the long term, I keep my car coated with a ceramic coating so who knows. Worst case scenario I have to get the chrome wrapped again which is inexpensive.

 

[KDM Harley]

pull it off, sand it a bit, and spray paint it gloss black. works like a champ and blends in with the window surround. Also/or, put on the "clover window visors" found on Amazon for $45. looks good, functional, and covers the bad trim.

View attachment 75619

Those do look good!

 

[Landshark]

covered them with window visors, and hit the uncovered portion on the hatch with black Plastidip ...

 

[StingertimeNC]

^^^^Thats how you do it right there!

 

[KDM Harley]

Very nice! Beautiful design.