Anyone have and tips/advice for removing chrome trim?

[Insomniac912]

I have an early model cabrio and would like to remove the chrome trim line so that I can have it shadowed, but I have heard of numerous disaster stories of pieces breaking off in the process. This is especially the case on the trim from the convertible top storage. Would anyone like to give me any pointers/ tips/ techniques on removing them. Thanks in advance.

[CabrioPunk]

Paint while on the car.

Use black out tape.

Buy new/used and paint, then remove old stuff to replace with newly painted.

[mccor023]

Practice on cara at local junk yard. Not fun, and needs patience so I failed.

[Insomniac912]

I wanted to powdercoat though.. Hmm..

[CabrioPunk]

See part three of my post. Used/new trim. Get it how you want it. Tear off old.

Practice in a junk yard.

[Ceeker]

you can do it with some finesse. Small flat head screw driver. A credit card and some patience. this is one way:

place cc under trim and screw driver on top gently pry up making sure the head of the driver is underneath otherwise you could slip and scratch it. See if it moves work your way from one end to the other and then back over until it pops off. only go straight up with the trim.

When you lift up on the trim with the flat head you may cause small divits in the trim bottom edge. this may or may not be noticeable when you re-install it.

I have not tried the vert roof cover so I can't comment.

[Insomniac912]

you can do it with some finesse. Small flat head screw driver. A credit card and some patience. this is one way:

place cc under trim and screw driver on top gently pry up making sure the head of the driver is underneath otherwise you could slip and scratch it. See if it moves work your way from one end to the other and then back over until it pops off. only go straight up with the trim.

When you lift up on the trim with the flat head you may cause small divits in the trim bottom edge. this may or may not be noticeable when you re-install it.

I have not tried the vert roof cover so I can't comment.

I will try the same method on the vert cover as well.. Does anyone know where to buy the complete trim or just individual pieces if i unfortunately break them?

Thanks for the suggestions btw.. really appreciate the input

[Insomniac912]

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/ksearch/PEL_search.cgi?command=show_part_page&please_wait=N&make=BMW&model=BE30&section=BDYcon&page=2&bookmark=12&part_number=51-13-1-932-800-BOE

Holy crap. This just puts that much more pressure on the situation.. overly expensive much?

[Fixcinater]

Polish the chrome and leave it be.

[io_RobbieRodgers]

I haven't done this on E30's yet, but on my old E34 it was best to get the door panel off first, then just pry it up from under the clips. Plastic trim remover tools are a godsend, though I've never used them. I just ended up marring the trim with metal screwdrivers. And if you go this route, make sure you have extra plastic clips for the trim, they're almost guaranteed to break.

[ProjectCab]

Resurrecting this thread after a search for 2 reasons.

#1 I want to remove the vinyl from the convertible lid and replace it with alacantra I bought
#2 de-chrome the trim.

Has anyone successfully removed the trim from the convertible lid cover?

Thanks