Hi, MY maxima is gold(91'), but that plastic strip that runs along the side of the car is kinda faded and goldish/black now. Is there any way to restore it to it's former luster(which I don't really know what looked like, but not nearly so faded). It just looks like it had sat in the sun for too long. Any idea's?(cheap ones :P)

 

I had the same problem with my 92 SE what I did was went down to Checker Auto and bought a can of Color Match paint color Champagne it was an almost perfect match. Be sure to sand the plastic strip with 320-400 grit sandpaper and use the Color Match Primer also otherwise the paint won't hold well. Just mask everything off real well and it should turn out good for you. Good luck

 

Thanks! this'll really help! I appreciate the advise, and will try it tommrrow, hopefully in the morn

 

YOu could also just take them off. I advise painting them black, that would look good.

 

just take em off it look pretty good like that

 

hmmmmm... how do ya gettem off w/o mucking up the paint beneath?

also - I'm havin the same issue as everyone else with the rear spoiler - Anyone tried repainting that? Or is it a waste of time.. I was curious if the stillen rear wing is the way to go.

 

You can repaint it, no problem. Lots of people have done it, including myself. Hell, I painted my whole freakin car in a buddy's garage and made it look great! The key is prep... it's all in the prep. (quality of paint is pretty key too, though ) Good luck!

 

you can remove the side panels. i removed mine. it looks good. the only thing is that it takes forever to get the glue off that holds them on. i used goo gone and spen hours scrubbing it off. i am happy with it now but probably wouldn't do i again just because of the time it took to get the glue off. a temporary solution to make it look good it just to wipe them down with armor all. it sounds crazy but trust me, it works.

 

A creation of yours truly

 

I mentioned this in an earlier string, but I had the same problem with the side moldings turning moldy. I found that you can still buy them from the dealer in your body color($60 front, $80 rear). They just stick on with double sided stick tape that comes on them.
You take off the old ones with a heat gun and a PLASTIC scraper. The trick to good adhesion is to clean off the old stickum. I finally broke down, after some work on the stickum, and followed a body shop's advice to go to a auto paint store and buy a rubber pin stripe removal wheel. It cost about $15. I just chucked it in my drill and locked the drill on at maximum speed (1000 rpm) and it took the stickum right off (basically erased it). I then followed up with 3M auto adhesive remover to clean the area. Then just took the tape backing off the new moldings and stuck them on. Looks like new.

92 Max SE

 

I think if you do remove the side moldings from your doors, you should at least fill in the space where they went. It looks much better that way. Leaving the gap where they went kind of looks ghetto in my opinion, but probably a lot better than moldy ones!!!

 

I used turtle wax formula 2001 plastic and vinyl polish, it looks brand new for 2 days now, all you do is spray on a rag and rub it only on the door guards, dont get on the car paint leaves a greese mark...
~ZumBurnOuts

 

T%hat turtlewax didn't do anything. It made the moldyness look darker, but doesn't look anything like original(which I now notice, the underneat of the strips are still good). I guess I'll try that sand/repainting thing :L

 

Sorry dude it worked for me, I had the same problem. Oh well its been a week and it still looks brand new even after it rained numerous times. Well good luck with that other way.
~ZumBurnOuts

 

doomtoo, go black! I'm tellin' ya, wish I could show ya! Call junkyards, post a request, whatever. You should get a complete set for maybe $50-$60. They pull off easily. Just lots of cleaning time with gum remover.

 

Actually alot of guys dont like it with them filled in. It looks like something is missing.

The intend left behind when removing the moldings looks real good IMO.

 

I agree.

I didn't like it very much at first from looking at pictures but since I pulled mine off to do all of my painting I decided I like the look a lot. To me it looks better in person than in pictures