Saturday 318i chrome blackout

[Ryann]

Bought some SEM Trim Black, blue masking tape, a roll of paper, & some razor blades. A couple hours, and blam!

[jquirit]

Looks nice! I should do that to my trim as it's starting to fade/chip in spots.

Imagine getting the part nearby the mirrors was a PITA to mask/spray?

[ejnight]

looks good. I wish I was there to enjoy the sun.

[ck_taft325is]

That turned out really nice, man. No sanding of the trim prior to paint?

The sturdiest thing I've found to actually stand up to the "finger nail" test was this stuff I found in my garage called, "Speed-E-namel" in flat black. Great match on the trim and it's tough as nails. I sprayed one side with it and the other with SEM. After putting on taking off my roof rack for the first time the SEM chipped/scratched off where the rack sat. The "Speed-E-namel" side looks 100% still.

Shame I can't find the stuff anywhere.

[Ryann]

Speed-E-namel, huh? Disappointing to hear about the SEM chipping so easy. I did scuff it with 320 grit and rubbed it down with isopropyl alcohol before I sprayed it. This paint is the best rattle can stuff I've ever used- the surface hardened really quickly so no floating debris had a chance to land in it, and the finish looks factory. Yeah, the mirror area was tricky enough that had I brought my tools home from work I'd have pulled them. The roughest part was actually the seam on the plastic piece behind the rear window.

[ck_taft325is]

That seam took me a good 20-30 minutes to tape off when I did mine. I still have a bit of white paint (PO painted the trim white) showing through riiiiight on the edges.

I'm sure "Speed-E-namel" is under a different name now. Great stuff though. If you run across it, let me know...