Side moldings on Estoril E36M

[upperguy]

I just got my blacked out grills for my estoril blue M and they are a glossy black. I put them on for test fit and love how the gloss black looks in contrast to the light blue. They do not however, look good with the textured rubstrips. This leads to my question, has anyone painted the strips gloss black on an estoril E36? and if so how does it look?

Thanks for the input guys.

[mtechnik]

Would be interested to hear about a estoril/gloss-black strip combo myself

[upperguy]

I may pickup a spare piece or two and try it then take some pics for you guys. Anyone know where I can get some cheap? condition really isn't a issue obviously.

[E36kid]

I personally don't think you should paint the moldings glossy black, I say paint the grill flat black

[NSM]

I'd be interested to see how it comes out. However, you'd have to some how make the strips smooth in order to paint them gloss black and have it look normal. I'd say go for it!

[upperguy]

Originally Posted by NSM

I'd be interested to see how it comes out. However, you'd have to some how make the strips smooth in order to paint them gloss black and have it look normal. I'd say go for it!

Some of the moldings have scrapes and scratches so I would be doing some fixing. The bmw center part is only $12 so I may order a new one and fix/paint the one with holes in it.

[newyorkm3]

Leave them alone. You wouldn't pet a bear taking a dump in the woods would you? Exactly.

[UltimateOne]

Search for CMT's pics, he has had painted moldings which can be another option.

[upperguy]

Originally Posted by newyorkm3

Leave them alone. You wouldn't pet a bear taking a dump in the woods would you? Exactly.

lol, I'm not sure i get where you're going with this...

If I paint my moldings they will maul me?

I picked up a semigloss textured paint and some adhesion promoter that I tried out on the shock tower caps and it looks good, I may give that a shot.

[newyorkm3]

Originally Posted by upperguy

lol, I'm not sure i get where you're going with this...

If I paint my moldings they will maul me?

I picked up a semigloss textured paint and some adhesion promoter that I tried out on the shock tower caps and it looks good, I may give that a shot.

Bad analogy I guess.

Point being, I wouldn't mess around with something that looks fine to begin with.

If anything, I would do a matte black on the grill and call it a day. I think e36's lose too much definition when their moldings are painted. I know you are keeping yours black, but the matte look works for me. It takes away from the contrast of the lines in my opinion.

PS - Regardless of what you do with your car, I still wouldn't pet a pooping bear.

[Black328i]

I think it would look good! It would be a nice color contrast. Go for it! Be different.

[ultima_chi]

Originally Posted by newyorkm3

Leave them alone. You wouldn't pet a bear taking a dump in the woods would you? Exactly.

[328isbmw]

I also say to leave the moldings alone. Trust me you'll regret it as soon as u see it chip.

[stubb]

im gonna have to clean up the bumper mouldings on mine and paint them cos the previous owner did a halfords drive by job of colour coding them to the car body colour , same with my grill . ill post pics over the weekend to see how it goes it cant get any worse , was going for satin black with satin acrylic laquer