2003 Plastic Wheel Trim Replacement?

V8.

V8.

New member
Is there anyway to remove the crappy lower plastic trim and replace it?

$T2eC16NHJIYE9qUcM8dHBQTQoWYFf!~~48_20.JPG


This is my only problem with the 2003's and if there is a fix for it great. Otherwise I guess I have to live with it.
 
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I had an avalanche with the same trim. I found a paint specifically for it at the auto parts store. Made it look brand new. And it took no time to do it.
 
4rs said:
I had an avalanche with the same trim. I found a paint specifically for it at the auto parts store. Made it look brand new. And it took no time to do it.
Click to expand...

Really. Do you remember what it was called?

Got a few items pop up with "Trim paint".
 
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V8. said:
Really. Do you remember what it was called?

Got a few items pop up with "Trim paint".
Click to expand...

Called bumper coating by dupli color. Not sure how long it lasts for. The truck was beat. I did all the plastics. Literally looked brand new. I was shocked. And I actually sprayed the pvc bolster of the drivers seat that was worn. That also was a perfect match. Then sold the truck shortly after. Looked like a new truck.
 
There are a few threads on here detailing owners attempts to alter the plastic cladding.
"Cladding" is the proper word for it BTW. A lot of info can be found on Jeep and Chevy Avalanche forums.

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?PHPSESSID=j2oau4pn47h5vttr6d8l6ll881&board=113.0

These are the methods I have read about.
Krylon Fusion (spray paint)
Plasti Dip (Spray on plastic)
Duplicolor Bumper Paint (spray paint)
Gatorback (spray paint or roll on)
Heat Gun approach
Wipe New (wipe on film)
Spray on Bedliner

Most body shops won't paint it. I have learn to like mine since it takes a beating and doesn't show any marks.
 
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The biggest problem is getting those panels off. When I bought my 03, the panels were recently painted (same color gray as original), but they were not removed to repaint them. The panel on the driver's door was loose and I recently went to take it off to see if I could fix the problem.

Problem #1 - There's two different parts diagrams for the 03 door moulding and neither seems to correspond to the one we have. I think this model, with the beefy-looking mouldings, was only produced for 3/4ths of a year at the most.

Problem #2 - The plastic clips tend to break when the door panel is removed. The panel-facing part of the clip breaks, and I couldn't figure out how to get the clip off of the door to put new ones on, so I ended up pushing them through the door and taking off the inner door panel and pulling them out.

Problem #3 - Related to problem #1, is which clips are needed to put it back without it rattling. I am pretty sure it's blue, based on how it fit, but this doesn't match what either parts diagram indicates. In any case, orange doesn't fit (even though it's on the parts diagrams), the door-side pin is waaaay too big.

Problem #4 - How to remove bottom section. Couldn't figure this out, could only get top of door moulding off. The bottom is what is rattling on mine and I've had no success in fixing it. I'd love some ideas here.

Problem #5, if you need to remove fender trim: It's pop-riveted on and has to be carefully drilled out and then re-riveted back, afterwards.

-E
 
I have see one 03 that had painted their cladding and it was flaking bad. I have no idea what it had been painted with. I had talked to a buddy at a body shop and he said there is some kind of primer you have to use to make it stick correctly, but is was very expensive
 
Here's a pic of mine with painted cladding. It's not color-keyed (the sun makes it look like the door trim is), it's just been repainted to the original satin grey. It seems pretty durable and I doubt anything expensive was used. Toyota has a TSB on painting plastic and it mentions cleaning the plastic and roughing it up as being essential to gettting good paint adhesion.

4runner-1.jpg
 
Thanks for all the help guys!

Im digging thru the jeep and avalanche forums now looking at all the cladding paint upgrades.

Even though most the jobs are perfect and look very sharp, I can still see the "Ive just been painted" look to them. Look at the body paint, then look at the cladding paint and it doesn't look stock. Mind you from a distance the black cladding or whatever looks fine..with the sun on it, it looks almost shiney..

Heres an example of the "ive just been painted with a spray can look":
IMG_2067.jpg~original


(Front bumper)
1509946103_0640d7af5f_b.jpg~original
 
I personally don't like it when the textured surfaces are shiny like that. i would rather have the textured surfaces a matte color. There is no way to make the cladding match the rest of the body panels unless they are replaced with the Limited Edition panels, that were color matched.
 
V8. said:
Thanks for all the help guys!

Im digging thru the jeep and avalanche forums now looking at all the cladding paint upgrades.

Even though most the jobs are perfect and look very sharp, I can still see the "Ive just been painted" look to them. Look at the body paint, then look at the cladding paint and it doesn't look stock. Mind you from a distance the black cladding or whatever looks fine..with the sun on it, it looks almost shiney..
Click to expand...

That's the problem with OEM color-molded trim vs OEM color-keyed (painted) trim. When you paint the color-molded trim it'll never look OEM, because the part is now painted when it wasn't painted originally - it was molded in that color like a toy army man or a mold-a-rama souvenir.

I don't see any reason at all why you couldn't have the moulding shot color-keyed, it's no different than having a color-keyed bumper repainted or a black plastic aftermarket trim part painted to match, it's done a gazillion times a day with great success. It won't technically look '03 OEM because the molding with those lines never came color-keyed, but I think it will look like what you are looking for. Maybe the question you're asking is "can my trim be painted to match my body panels" and the answer is certainly "yes".

-E
 
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eli_lilly said:
That's the problem with OEM color-molded trim vs OEM color-keyed (painted) trim. When you paint the color-molded trim it'll never look OEM, because the part is now painted when it wasn't painted originally - it was molded in that color like a toy army man or a mold-a-rama souvenir.

I don't see any reason at all why you couldn't have the moulding shot color-keyed, it's no different than having a color-keyed bumper repainted or a black plastic aftermarket trim part painted to match, it's done a gazillion times a day with great success. It won't technically look '03 OEM because the molding with those lines never came color-keyed, but I think it will look like what you are looking for. Maybe the question you're asking is "can my trim be painted to match my body panels" and the answer is certainly "yes".

-E
Click to expand...

Thanks and good to know. Ive scrolled thru a whole bunch of before and after's and everyone is high fiving each other how great it looks. But it looks Spray Painted! As the previous poster said, its because it was molded a certain color and now you're painting it.

For a black car I don't think color matching it perfect would be as hard as say a cream or beige. I would be happy with the color match even if its close. I just don't want that "painted" look to it. Im wondering if using a paint with the least amount of gloss possible will help that..
 
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I just mothers back to black on mine, when I first took delivery of her the cladding was all sun faded and looked like crap. Now almost a year using the mothers, looks almost new, but you have to do it every few weeks. I'm going to be trying the as seen on TV "wipe new" stuff soon.
 
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