Shadowline Finished!!

[clavinZERO]

nice clean car btw. real nice.

[Fred]

Good work Bobby, I'm glad it came out so well!

[bmwannabe]

yeah what do you do to take it off, im guessing flat head screwdriver, and some gentle prying...?

[RCWells]

yeah what do you do to take it off, im guessing flat head screwdriver, and some gentle prying...?

I had pm'd Mr325 a complete "write-up" on how-to. If there is some way to do it, maybe he can post it here so I wouldn't have to go back thru it all. If he can't, pm me, and I will try to do it again.

[MR 325]

Here's Bobby's writeup on shadowlining.......

Well the first step was removing the detailers tape that the previous owner had put on all the trim (Major PITA!!), then the adhesive. I know this prolly doesn't apply to you but it makes my story better.

***Take note as to where the trim is lined up so that when you put it back on the car, you will know how to line it up!! I didn't do this, and it took me a few minutes to figure out where everything lined up***

***Make sure that when you run masking tape (3m about 2in. wide is best) underneath the trim to be painted, that it is flat on the body. If it is touching the trim when you remove the tape you may pull off some of the paint from the trim****


1. On the rain gutter piece (the long one that runs from leading edge of the door to the top rear of the quarter window) there is a joint that is covered by a sliding piece located over the rear quarter window. Slide this little clip forward.
2. Take off the piece behind the quarter window pulling straight out and starting from the top. (this piece has the painted part attached to it). Be careful to pull straight out so as not to break the plastic tabs that hold it on. This part you will have to paint the trim attached to the piece. So tape it carefully and cover it good. Take care in the crack not to cover any of the chrome!!!! Make sure you tuck the tape underneath very well.

**Pull the sail panels(tweeter panels) off the inside of the doors. Then disconnect your power mirror(if applicable) wiring harness. You will need an 8mm socket to remove your mirrors.**

3. Now, with the door open , from the a-pillar area outward pull on the rain gutter rail. When you get it started you have to kinda twist upward on it and it will begin to pop off. You may have to carefully take a srewdriver or somethiing and from the lower edge push outward from the car to encourage it. This is kinda tedious, and you have to take care not to scratch anything.
4. The next piece is the bottom trim on the door. It is on there really tight. I chipped my paint in a couple places with the screwdriver on this part so be careful. Somehow you have to pry this part straight up from the door. Once it gets started, it's easy.
5. The piece under the quarter window stays on the car unless you wish to try and take out the quarter window. I chose not to, BUT if you leave it on, make sure to tape up everything really good or you'll wind up with overspray like me Okay, it's not anything to smile about, but CLAY BARS RULE!! My clay bar will handle the overspray. Again, take care here to get the tape underneath the chrome trim far enough and flat enough so as not to cover the trim itself.
5. Scuff all the surfaces to be painted. I used 220 grit sandpaper, you could go a bit more coarse than that if you want to. Make sure you scuff up all the chrome really really good. ALL edges. ALL. Make sure you go over everything to recheck to make sure you get ALL surfaces to be painted. Prep is everything in this job.
6. Clean all surfaces to be painted thoroughly. Alcohol 70% rubbing is what I used.
7. SEM trim paint, and I think I gave you the part #.
8. Paint as directed. Several coats are best imo. Like I said, I used 2 cans. Make sure to check and double check all your surfaces in between coats viewing them from different angles to make sure you get all the edges. I had to redo because I didn't check good enough.
9. Allow proper dry time. I waited a couple days. ( I spoke with a rep that sells SEM and hes says that in warm climates, you don't have to wait 48 hrs for drying. It usually will be dry enough in a couple hours, but it is up to you. I think that 2 days was excessive, but it took a couple days for O'Reilly to get in another can when I ran out of the first, so I had to wait anyway.
10. Reinstalltion: start with the piece that came off first. The one behind the quarter window. This will give you a reference point for your rain gutter rail. Again, it helps to know where everything was lined up before.
11. Then whatever order, door or rain gutter really doesn't matter. It may help to have an extra pair of hands in all this, I did not and wished that I had.

If you have anymore questions, let me know. No one did this for me, and It would have helped to have a "step-by" on this deal. So I will gladly help you if you need it. If you want, you can call me and I can even talk you through some of it by phone. Let me know.

Hope this wasn't too remedial, and I hope I was clear and didn't leave anything out. Ask me any questions before you get started, so it will go smoothly

[Eric Giles]

:up: Excellent write-up Bobby! This should be very helpful for those that want to try this for themselves. Maybe the moderato could make this a sticky for a while or add it to the Technical section of the site.

BTW-I stopped by Bobby's house last night and saw the trim in person. It looks excellent! So much better than the ghetto trim tape job I put on it a few years ago :oops: That would be my one E30 mistake that I am embarassed of....

[RCWells]

:up: Excellent write-up Bobby! This should be very helpful for those that want to try this for themselves. Maybe the moderato could make this a sticky for a while or add it to the Technical section of the site.

BTW-I stopped by Bobby's house last night and saw the trim in person. It looks excellent! So much better than the ghetto trim tape job I put on it a few years ago :oops: That would be my one E30 mistake that I am embarassed of....

Aww shucks. It was nuthin'.