Window trim

[Falcondriver]

Hi everyone, first post on Carpokes. I've got a '78 911SC coupe, black on black. Had it about a year, and don't know much about its past. It appears to have come optioned with the "black" window trim, but I can't be sure. Forty four years later, all window trim appears to be bright, with the exception of the passenger window frame. The passenger window frame is the only trim on the car that has retained its black anodized color, all others are bright. I don't know if the passenger frame is original to the car. I'd prefer to have all the trim black, but don't want to go through the trouble or expense of replacing. So I guess my options are to paint the existing bright trim black (I bought a couple of cans of black Wurth paint and primer with the intention of painting the bright work), or somehow stripping the passenger window frame to match all the other bright trim. Any additional thoughts or recommendations? Thanks...Steve

[Tom]

Welcome to Carpokes! Maybe post some pics of that car to give us a better sense, but it sounds like someone installed a black piece on a car that originally had polished aluminum or chromed steel. My experience with old anodized black aluminum is that the black kind of chalks up and fades away, but it's usually pretty obvious/ugly. I've never seen anodized aluminum fade into anything bright and decent looking....

Try a magnet on the bright trim to see if it's steel or aluminum. My recollection is that Porsche used both over the years, though I don't profess to know which they used in '78. If it is steel and chromed, painting can be a challenge, and would push me toward getting a matching bright one for the black piece if your primary goal is just to get them to match. There are primers that are said to work over chrome, but I can't vouch for them. If they are all aluminum and easily paintable, I'd encourage you to use a catalyzed automotive paint. Wurth makes excellent products, but catalyzed paints are way more resistant to chemicals and fading. Paint something with the Wurth and then spray a little brake cleaner on it to see what I mean. They now sell catalyzed paints in spray cans to make it easy. The catalyst is in an internal compartment that you break open to mix and activate the paint before spraying. I have a local paint shop that mixes any color you want, but for black trim, lots of retailers stock it. See, for example....

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sym- ... IAQAvD_BwE

2k paint.jpg (158.5 KiB) Viewed 1373 times

[Falcondriver]

Thanks Tom, it never occurred to me to use a magnet. I'll try that when I get home tomorrow night. I tried loading some pics, but had no luck. They're jpeg, and for some reason it didn't like the file, or file size. Any suggestions on uploading would be helpful.

[Tom]

Thanks Tom, it never occurred to me to use a magnet. I'll try that when I get home tomorrow night. I tried loading some pics, but had no luck. They're jpeg, and for some reason it didn't like the file, or file size. Any suggestions on uploading would be helpful.

Yeah, pics would help for sure. jpegs of any size should work. Here's a PSA on how to post pictures here:

viewtopic.php?t=410#start_here

[Carmagic]

I'm pretty sure on the 78 SC these trim pieces are all aluminum and black anodized. Painting them satin would make them look good for a while for sure. I have done it also that way in the past.

Cheers
Engelbert

[michaelmount123]

Consider powder coat. I had all of my trim powder coated on my '70 911 and it looked great and lasted beyond my ownership. It's fragile stuff, however, so caution the powder coat guys.

[Falcondriver]

Thanks Englebert, sorry for the "late" response 6 months later. I agree that my trim molding most likely game from the factory black anodized. All the trim seems to have faded at different rates. The exterior of the driver side window frame is somewhere between silver and black (the interior part of the frame is definitely black anodized). The exterior and interior of the passenger frame is black, as if it just left the factory. The two rear quarter windows are faded to silver, and the front windshield and rear window trim pieces are faded to silver. I would like to avoid having to remove the windows and frames just to have them re-anodized. I'm hoping to just mask everything and paint them myself so they all match.

I'm pretty sure on the 78 SC these trim pieces are all aluminum and black anodized. Painting them satin would make them look good for a while for sure. I have done it also that way in the past.

Cheers
Engelbert