Has anyone painted their door moldings?

[rcoman]

My trim moldings have faded and no longer show up black in the correct areas. Has anyone ever tried painting the moldings while still on the truck? I'm scarred to remove them :-) and I don't want to buy all new moldings at this time. Thanks for your input

[jocko]

I haven't done it on the truck, but this technique may help ease the masking pain... When I paint these things I mask off all but the upper and lower narrow black band, paint, remove tape, let dry completely, then go back and mask off all but the inner large band. Reason is it's easy to use the chrome divider/protrusion between an outer and inner band as an anchor point for the tape - but it gets harder to do it if you're trying to mask off JUST that divider and paint the whole thing all at once. If that makes sense... If doing on the truck, I'd just insert masking off the truck first - good painters tape easily slips in behind the trim and eliminates any overspray on your body paint.

[rcoman]

Originally Posted by jocko

I haven't done it on the truck, but this technique may help ease the masking pain... When I paint these things I mask off all but the upper and lower narrow black band, paint, remove tape, let dry completely, then go back and mask off all but the inner large band. Reason is it's easy to use the chrome divider/protrusion between an outer and inner band as an anchor point for the tape - but it gets harder to do it if you're trying to mask off JUST that divider and paint the whole thing all at once. If that makes sense... If doing on the truck, I'd just insert masking off the truck first - good painters tape easily slips in behind the trim and eliminates any overspray on your body paint.

Posted via Mobile Device

[rcoman]

Great feedback, thank you. How would you suggest I paint the upper trim moldings? I was thinking about using a pinstripe brush and just hand brushing the black in the groves.
Posted via Mobile Device

[jocko]

Originally Posted by rcoman

Great feedback, thank you. How would you suggest I paint the upper trim moldings? I was thinking about using a pinstripe brush and just hand brushing the black in the groves.
Posted via Mobile Device

You could certainly do that - but I know if I tried that I'd have black paint all clumped up all over the place, ha! I think it would be hard to get the factory sprayed look - but it might not be a bad option for someone with a steady hand. If I tried that my trim would quickly join my last set of golf clubs in the lake. When I painted mine, I masked the outermost edges where the black would end, then sprayed ALL the middle, then while it was still tacky, ran a rag wrapped tightly around my index finger with a wrung out soaking of paint thinner across the top of the two outer center ribs that should be bright (note that the very center rib remains black - be very careful not to rub it in the process). The key is to wring out the rag that has been wetted with paint thinner very thoroughly (and I'm not talkin a WHOLE rag, I only dip or spray about a 4" square section and then wring it out). I use my finger instead of a small block of wood because I want to get the majority of the rounded upper surface of the rib cleaned off. It's worth having a known good factory example to go by to see how well you're replicating the factory look. It's kinda like how we used to paint ribbed M/T or vette valve covers in the past - but experiment on a scrap first, spray the black lightly and don't let it dry - I only waited a few minutes before wiping, wring out the thinner rag thoroughly, and fresh dip it often for best results. Hope that helps - and that's just how I did it, there are many ways to skin the cat - you could use pinstripe tape and mask the outer two center ribs when spraying the black - and just lay the pinstripe tape across the top (stretch it slightly as if laying pinstripe lines) and spray straight down past it to create the faded effect the facory had. That's another approach, but I like the wipey one better. You could also just mask rows in phases like described for the lowers if you wanted really crisp lines (which the factory ones didn't seem to have). The best luck I've had replicating the factory look is with the rag. Here's a pic of some upper trim I redid, figured it was close enough for government work on a beater I was trying to spruce up.... Pic 2 shows how the bright ribs/black wrap around the blunt edge of the upper trim (i.e front of bed, rear of door, rear of fender, etc).
EDIT: Also, it's important to thoroughly clean the trim with paint prep fluid (like Eastwood's "PRE" paint prep, or some sort of wax and grease remover) to ensure it will last.

[notsolo]

Thanks Jocko, Just what I needed to know. I need to paint my upper trim and had not gotten the correct idea on how to do it....Nice looking 3/4 ton BTW.and whats the cable in the stake pocket?....Ed

[jocko]

Thanks - wish I still had this old green turd, it grew on me right about the time I sold it (it was a 71 Cheyenne Super Custom Camper, I like that combo!), but I guess that's how it always goes (funny how quickly all the little must-do projects get done once one decides to sell...). The cable is an aftermarket camper wiring harness - it comes up between the cab and bed like the factory UY1 option does but I had the plug stuffed into the stake pocket so it wouldn't flop around.