SquaredArches.com - VN / VP Online Car Club

	One tin or Quik Strip will leave you with heaps left over and will cost under $10. A decent scraper will probably cost the same but they start at a couple of dollars. The old paint brush was lying around. For those interested, the complete set of window trims came from UPullIt at Elizabeth and cost $30.

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Polish your window trims Written By SquaredArches.com Applies To: All variants of VN Example Vehicle: VN Calais Estimated Time In Beers: A lot Tools Required: Paint scraper, paint brush, phillips head screwdriver, flat screwdriver & plenty of rags Parts Required: Paint stripper, maskingtape, sandpaper of varying grits (I went to from 600 to 1200- potentially this is only limited by how much effort you want to make) & black paint Outside of the sportier VNs, the thinkers at GMH decided that the best idea for window trims would a drab grey. Honestly, nothing screams excitement like grey. Thankfully, the trims are aluminium and as such with a bit of effort can be sanded down and an awesome shine achieved. With a bit of elbow grease and less than $20 in products, its easy to get a much classier look that lends a custom appeal to your VN. If you'd rather paint your trims, you could do a lot worse than follow this how to so that you have a perfect starting point for painting. Firstly, you'll need to strip your pieces from the car. Each side consists of five pieces- the lower window pieces (front and rear doors), hockey stick moulds beneath the rear quarter glass, rear quarter piece above the rear quarter glass and the main body of the guttering that covers both doors and runs down the A piller. I got a second set from the wreckers in case I made a mistake and also so that I didn't have the car looking unfinished while I had things off for polishing. To remove the lower window pieces I simply prised them up and then slid them off rearward. Obviously this take a fair bit of care so you don't bend them- especially on the fronts as you will be sliding them out from beneath the side mirrors. The main gutter piece unscrews from the upper door jamb and pulls off very easily (take a small philips head screwdriver with you). The upper rear quarter strip is held on with some of the dodgiest clips I've come across and are extremely brittle from age. From memory I gently wiggled them loose but broke one anyway. There is a single screw in the rear upper door jamb so undo that and it'll come off easily enough. The hockey stick moulds are held on by fairly sturdy black plastic clips and can be removed by applying downward pressure and pushing forward. You'd have to try pretty hard to break the clips but it is completely possible to dent them and it will be noticeable once polished. With the pieces off the car I gave them a quick tub up to remove the crap that had accumulated over 17 years and untold months sitting at the wreckers. Thankfully the rubbers weren't in too bad shape but you'll need to be picky if you are buying a second set. Some were terrible and got left behind when I was on the scrounge. If anyone knows how to recondition them I'd love to hear about it! Although you could start sanding to remove the paint, I went on the recommendations of other forums and got my hands on a few tools from Bunnings.
	To strip the paint just follow the instructions on the tin- paint on, wait a couple of minutes and scrape off. After a short time, the paint will begin to blister and you can begin removing the paint. Although I used a scraper to get the paint off I have also read that hitting it with a bit of water pressure or rubbing with a rag will have the same result. If you are using a scraper- be careful not to gouge the metal so you don't have to try and repair the damage by sanding it out.
	Pay attention to getting all of the original paint out of the groove closest to where the window will be and also at the bottom so that no paint will remain and ruin the look. This is especially important on the upper gutters and I made the mistake of not taking into account the viewed angle when back on the car and left a bit of grey around the ridge. Lucky me then had to take it off and go again. The more paint you get off prior to the sanding stages, the less work will be required so carefully inspect the pieces to ensure you have as much of the grey removed as possible. Keep in mind that once stripper has been applied and the paint rehardens, it is usually more difficult to remove.
	Prior to sanding I masked the rubbers so that they weren't damaged by the abrasion. I started with small squares of 600 grit paper working along the length of the trim piece. The intial sand is the most dramatic and you can really see the difference in the photo to the left with the piece only partially done. Keeping the trim and the sandpaper wet will keep the dust down but it's still a messy job.
	As you work through the grades of sandpaper- I went from 600 to 800 and finally 1200 although I know of other people going much further than this- the surface continues to be refined. Smooth is shiny, and the more fine scratches (some not so fine) and imperfections are removed the greater the reflection.
	Once you are happy with the sanding (the trim should be very smooth to the touch) the final stage should be breaking out the metal polish and getting to work. Initially I smeared a thin coat of autosol over the piece as seen in the photo and then went to work with a rotary tool. Alternatively you could go by hand, but the rotary tool with a polishing attachment will work the polish to a greater degree and how finish off any last imperfections (ultra fine scratches).
	A variety of metal polishes exist on the market and many have a property so that a protective finish is left on the metal to lessen the need for repolishing. A lot of people are worried about the upkeep on polished items, however I have found that even only an occasional once over after a wash is enough to keep them looking their best.
As a final step, on the upper guttering pieces, which are visible with the doors open, I gave the existing grey a light sand and then hit with the gloss black paint. It's a small- perhaps unecessary- step, however it helps tie in with the existing rubbers and with them already off the car it was a perfect time to obliterate all of the grey. Overall, it's a perfect weekender that can lift the look of your car for not a lot of cash so it's a win in my eyes.