Chrome bezel modification

[cozbyrt]

So I decided to be a guinea pig and paint my chrome bezel. Used the information from member tban70 and followed his advice on prying the bezel loose. I put the car in neutral and used a couple of plastic "tools" to pry the bezel loose. Started with the end close to the dash and worked my way back toward the cupholders. And then finally:

I unplugged the wire to the light for the gear indicator. Separated the chrome bezel from the black plastic.

Be careful not to break one of the plastic tabs that connect the two pieces together. You can see one of the tabs that I broke below. I then sanded the chrome piece as you can see below as well.

I used Krylon indoor/outdoor semi-flat black spray paint. I painted four thin coats waiting a couple of minutes in between each coat.

I then connected everything back together and this is the finished product:

We will see how it holds up over time.

 

[Ice Blue 06]

krylon is good paint..did you clear it, cause a few coats of clear will help it wear better..but that is a part that won't be touched often..looks good fam..

 

[goobee]

Good job, looks very clean. There's something better you could have used, it's called "Vinyl Dye" which permeates into the plastic and never rubs or scratches off. Good job anyway. Get some epoxy and glue that tab back on. It might creak with it missing.

 

[mmadden2]

You're brave- looks great!

 

[FatherDeth]

Looks great!!

 

[richmusch]

Good job! I also would worry about wear and tear.

 

[BayouBuick]

Looks good! I painted some interior parts on my last vehicle and they lasted 9 years with no visible wear and tear.

 

[cozbyrt]

Thanks for the compliments! I was a little nervous when I started but I think it turned out decent.

 

[mmadden2]

You know how to take it apart now so if it ever gets boogered up just repaint it. I wouldn't sweat it. Looks good and you solved your problem. Worst case scenario you buy a replacement piece someday if necessary.

 

[WDE3287]

This is fantastic. I went on my first road trip in the car over memorial day weekend and 1400 miles later, this glare was awful. Looking to do this soon! Thank you!

 

[Lancer-AM]

Got mine finished, thank you cozbyrt for showing how it is done. I used Plastidip on mine. I also left the cable plugged into the base and just seperated the chrome piece with it still connected.

First coat which is a light dusting.

After about 4 coats

Installed, sorry will try for a better pic during the day.

 

[cozbyrt]

Looks good Lancer. Glad I could help.

 

[NewTekBuzz]

Nice job guys. I think gloss black would look good too, would match the gloss above?

 

[Lancer-AM]

Yeah with paint you can match the gloss black above it. To do a good job you will need to wet sand between coats or it will look pretty bad.

 

[cozbyrt]

Nice job guys. I think gloss black would look good too, would match the gloss above?

I think it would look good too, but I wonder if it would scratch easier than the flat black?

 

[Lancer-AM]

As long as you do the wet sanding it will be more resistant to scratching than matte black will be. You could most likely take it to a auto body shop and they can do it in automotive black and clear for around $40 and it will be as strong as your car's paint.

 

[SilverSportNOLA]

After 5 Days Owning and driving during the day for the last 4 days, I finally got blinded today by that chrome bezel. I guess I will be doing this mod also. I don't think a gloss would be the best thing to do with this, since if it is shiney enough it will glare just as bad as the chrome does.

Well, time to do some night driving and see how much I don't like that bright blue "D". I think a few drops of a tint on the back side of that gear position screen in the area of the "D" will take care of that problem. You guys that have had it apart think that would work from the back side?

 

[Greg B.]

Got mine finished, thank you cozbyrt for showing how it is done. I used Plastidip on mine. I also left the cable plugged into the base and just seperated the chrome piece with it still connected.

Interesting. What was involved in removing the base itself, and in separating it from the chrome bezel?

 

[Lancer-AM]

As cozbyrt said you can insert a tool at the top and work your way around. What I found is the top is actually a hinge so if you can start at the bottom, it is harder to start but less likely to break a tab Then separating the chrome piece you will see the small tabs holding it to the black base when you have it lifted. I was able to carefully work around to each one using my hands.

 

[MikeC725]

My thought on gloss black........

If you're just going for a different look, do it, it will match the rest of the trim. If you have the glare problem, gloss black wont get rid of it. That surface needs to be dull/flat.

I noticed yesterday I was getting some glare off the bottom of the steering wheel....That I'll fix by upgrading to a 2014. 🙂