[GreenMachine]

Just wondering if anyone every painted those black door moldings on their focus. i think it looks alot better when they're painted to match the car like on some newer foci and svt's. Anyone have any good techniques, tips, pics? greatly appreciated.

All i know is you have to sand it down, clean it and i guess get like touch up paint or something? Do i just call the factory to get my paint color or what?

 

[jgustafson]

you can get color matched paint from a lot of places, I got some from expresspaint.com for a spot on my hatch that was screwed up and it worked great.

I'm not sure on how to taking the moldings off though

 

[GreenMachine]

the moldings come off really easy actually, just pop right off. but there is a little bit of sticky material involved on holding it in

 

[Noob4Life]

This really isn't any help to your question but I like the color of your focus. I've never seen any that color before.

 

[mikebontoft]

y'know......I never got this...... how come my SE has colormatched side moldings? it's a 2002 as well [dunno]

 

[GreenMachine]

and i went to that site. i have no idea what exact color green my car is so it didnt help me that much with the list of 10 different color greens for my year hah

 

[ajp]

my 02 zx3 wasnt colormatched... maybe it depended what day it was made lol

 

[GreenMachine]

yea thanks, i really love the color too...never see anyone else rolling around in it. and i dont get it either why the colors are on the se but not zx3. i saw one for sale on craigslist and i was about to call the guy and trade haha

 

[trailbikerider]

y'know......I never got this...... how come my SE has colormatched side moldings? it's a 2002 as well [dunno]

Mine's like that too, and I thought it was just because mine's a ZTS, but apparently not. But yes, get it color-matched. You could probably go to your local auto parts store and get it matched with a spectrometer.

 

[GreenMachine]

yea ill look into it once i get it back from the shop this week....OR i could just ask my dad's buddy who is doin all the work on the car and ask him what color i twas becasue he was doin all the body work and had to paint the parts. well then i guess all i need to know is the right way to do it.

 

[GreenMachine]

photoshop took care of me haha

 

[Noob4Life]

Mine's like that too, and I thought it was just because mine's a ZTS, but apparently not. But yes, get it color-matched. You could probably go to your local auto parts store and get it matched with a spectrometer.

Ya mine are color matched to, it might just been originally ordered from the factory like that or came with only certain packages. I have color matched moldings with the strip on the back chrome.

 

[mikebontoft]

Ya mine are color matched to, it might just been originally ordered from the factory like that or came with only certain packages. I have color matched moldings with the strip on the back chrome.

yeah that's pretty weird...... I have the color matched side moldings, but the part on my trunk is the black plastic.

I think Ford just wanted to screw with us all, knowing we'd make a forum and keep guessing on things for years to come.....

btw, I finally found this page again, it should really help you find your paint code. it should be somewhere on that sticker on either your door frame, or the door itself......mine's on the door [thumb]

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178824&highlight=color+codes

 

[GreenMachine]

hmmm alright thanks ill look into when the car comes back...but anyways to get back on topic...who knows of any good ideas to do this! lol

 

[mikebontoft]

lol I'd say, if you can pop it off.......just do it like a mirror cap...... sand it down slightly, prime it, paint it, clear coat it, and you're set! then just take some silicone maybe and run it down the back of the strip to make sure it stays stuck to the car.

 

[GreenMachine]

well then looks like this problem is solved haha thanks

 

[thisdude_05]

I painted mine to match. TAKE UR TIME OR YOU WILL BE KICKING YOURSELF IN THE ASS IF YOU MESS UP!

Molding has double sided tape on the back so you can just SLOWLY take off the molding. If you try to yank it off you will end up bending it and will have a crease in your molding. I used a razor blade to get the old tape off on the car and the back of the molding. Don't worry about scratching the paint on the car because the newly painted molding will cover it. Prep your moldings using Prep All to remove oils, wax, etc... Sand it with 400 grit sand paper to start. Once you get a decently smooth finish, clean it again....and again. Spray Bulldog Adhesion Promoter, on your molding so the paint will stick. Lay a few coats of primer down. Sand with 800 grit. Clean it again, and again. Lay a few more coats of primer. Sand with 1000 grit. By now you should have a very smooth finish. If you want lay one more coat of primer down and sand with 1200 grit paper and you should be just about ready for paint.

Start you paint coats with a few light coats. Let dry for about 10 min in between each coat. Lay your final coat of paint and let dry for a long time. Then finish with clear coat the same way you laid your color coat down.

Like I said, TAKE YOUR TIME. Here's how mine came out:

 

[TerryB]

I doubt you'll find a color like yours, but I used Fusion paint for plastic two years ago. No sanding, primer or anything else. I haven't even had to touch it up yet.

 

[thisdude_05]

If you want paint to match go to a local auto paint shop, they will match up your paint color and put it in spray cans for you. That's what I did. You'll want a clear coat, base coat acrylic enamel paint.

 

[Riverratrider]

^was wondering if you were going to post. I'm going to paint mine this spring....I promise....really it's going to happen in the spring...seriously