Roof molding questions

S

stsimon65

New member
My roof moldings are faded and blotchy on my 2009 Nissan Altima. I am not sure if it is due to the Sun (I live in Houston, TX where the summers are extremely hot and I have had to park my car outside most all of the time) or due to the products I used on them as follows: Meguire’s Ultimate Protectant, Meguire’s Ultimate Detailer, Vinylex protectant (made by Lexol) and Bondo Restore Black, although the package label makes it seem like it is very harmless, I have since found that the ingredients are not that benign.

My first question is does anyone have experience with any of the above products causing fading and blotching on the roof moldings and, if so which product or products above caused it?

My second question relates to how the moldings are made. I have been told my some sources that they are aluminum coated with plastic or rubber while others say they are aluminum with a coat of plastic paint or some other type of paint applied. Can anyone tell me the composition of the roof moldings?

My third question relates to the following. I am very obsessive about any damage to my car so I do not want to have the moldings removed and replaced. A detailer whom I trust has proposed that he would paint the moldings with flat black paint without removing them. I like this idea since the moldings would not be removed and I believe the paint would be less subject to the fading and blotching. My third question is whether anyone has had experience with painting the moldings, and if so what kind of paint was used and what were the results, i.e. how was the appearance, what kind of paint was used, i.e. flat black, etc., and was it some kind of plastic paint, etc.?

My final question relates the to the Autopedia Forum sites. I choose this site to post my questions related to the roof moldings since it seemed to be the most applicable one. However, I would appreciate any members suggestions regarding possibly better Autopedia Forums or under sites to post my question. I have already posted my questions on the NissanClub.com site with no results. I will not contact Nissan USA because when I have called them in the past they always refer me to a dealer – their only purpose seems to be to sell Nissans.
 
Not sure the make up of the mouldings. Haven't painted them, but regular paint may not last long. Check into some Plasti-Dip if you decide to go that way.

As for splotchy, I tried the Bondo stuff and recently posted this in another thread:

Nth Degree said:
I used Forever Black and it lasted 6+ months easy. I had used it a few years ago on my car. I was not thrilled at first, as I couldn't seem to keep it from looking steaky or splotchy. Once it dried and I put a dressing on it it looked much better. Over time it evened out well on the side moulding, but I was never really happy with how it looked on the plastic window frame where it is a different type of plastic. (Think B pillar)

Fast forward 2 years and the trim started looking a little faded again. I picked up some of the Bondo trim dye from Wal-Mart to do a side by side test. Don't waste your money on that crap. Streaky, uneven coverage that didn't last.

So after 6 months I finally decided to fix the one section of trim that I used the Bondo stuff on. I wish I had taken a picture. It looked horrible compared to the rest of the trim on the car. Two coats of Forever Black did a great job evening out the look and gave it a nice rich, new look. Still looked uneven when first applied. Waited 10 minutes between coats. After drying for about an hour it looked much better. On the adjacent door the trim that had been dyed 6 months prior with Forever Black still looked pretty good, even next to the freshly dyed piece. I hit it with a coat as well, though, just for good measure. Tried to remove the uneven coverage on the window frame. IPA, Denatured alcohol and Mineral spirits barely touched it.
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If it is a coated aluminum, the dyes probably won't do much for it, but the Forever Black is only $11 and will cover quite a bit. Plasti-Dip at Lowe's or Home Depot is about $6. Has a flat look and is pretty durable.

Good luck. Post before and afters and let us know what works.
 
Thanks for the message. I was a little confused by your reply, however. When you talk about the Bondo product are you talking about “Restore Black” specifically? Bondo was bought by 3M sometime ago. They now call it 3M Bondo. My package has a “3M Bondo” sticker stuck over the Bondo information on the back.

I thought you may have been talking about Bondo “Restore Black” when you referred to a product you bought at WalMart and said you used on your trim. However, just searched on the WalMart web site and I could not find Restore Black or anything similar in all the Bondo products .

Please tell me what the name was if you can recall it or tell me that you cannot recall it if you do not remember for sure what it was so I will know whether or not the "Restore Black" may be the culprit or not.

I will look into the Plasti-Dip.

I have a separate “horror story” regarding my using “Restore Black” on my windshield molding across the top of the roof, but since that is a separate issue I am going to post it later in a separate thread.
 
Your should take a look at Dupli-Color to paint the roof molding to match you car paint color.
 
Thanks, but since the roof moldings on all Altima's are black and since I have a "Dark Slate" color Altima, which is a charcoal metallic color, not a black, I would rather use a flat black or similar color to try to duplicate the factory color and not possible detract from the value of the car.
 
stsimon65 said:
My roof moldings are faded and blotchy on my 2009 Nissan Altima. My first question is does anyone have experience with any of the above products causing fading and blotching on the roof moldings and, if so which product or products above caused it?
Click to expand...

If I am reading your question properly. What I think you are looking for is a trim restorer. You may want to check out PoorBoys Trim Restorer. I have used it with some success. Though not permanent it returns the trim back to its black color. There are other links available here also if you search them out. Hope this helps.

Link: Poorboy’s World Trim Restorer
 
I apologize for the following question, but I am just starting to use forums and it would help me out if you could answer the following question which is could you read my original posting about the roof moldings which was rather long, was posted by me today, and covered, among other things that I did use a trim restorer made by 3M Bondo called “Restore Black” and I am very suspicious that it may have caused the fading and blotchy look.

I also used "Restore Black" on my windshield molding over the roof and I am about 99% certain it damaged the molding due to ingredients in it. I was told by the official rep for 3M Bondo (I have since found he is or at least was the only rep when I was corresponding with him for the website for Bondo products) that it would cause no harm. However, I later became suspicious when I was seeing damage to the weather stripping part that lies against the roof, i.e. it became puckered across the entire length of that part of the weather stripping, etc. I became suspicious and downloaded the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the product from the 3M site. I found it contained a large percentage of ammonia, and other ingredients that looked like they could definitely be harmful. I therefore called the 3M rep again and told him what I had found. He told me he would refer my concerns to the 3M lab department. Within about five minutes I got an email from the lab department that said something to the effect “Do not use Restore Black on your windshield molding. The chemicals and solvents in it will be very detrimental to the molding.”

I asked the 3M rep why he had told me before that “Restore Black” was perfectly safe for the molding. He told me he had been told before that it was. Apparently he was told by someone who was not qualified since the lab department definitely contracted that.

Since my experience with Restore Black and the windshield molding I am definitely apprehensive about using a product on my car without knowing its composition and potential hazards and without knowing what I am applying it to is made out of.
 
The product was Bondo's "Restore Black". No 3M label. Just stumbled upon it once and figured I'd give it a shot. When you mentioned the splotchy look it reminded me exactly of the result I got from it.

I think you'll be happy with the look of Plasti-Dip. It is fairly durable, but if you don't like the way it looks it can be removed pretty easily with some mineral spirits or laquer thinner. Maybe spray a scrap piece of metal or plastic to test. Cheap experiment for $6.
 
stsimon65 said:
edited for shortness...Since my experience with Restore Black and the windshield molding I am definitely apprehensive about using a product on my car without knowing its composition and potential hazards and without knowing what I am applying it to is made out of.
Click to expand...

My other suggestion would be to submit a claim to 3M, telling them about your problem. Ask for replacement costs. I can understand your reluctance to harm your car any more. IMO. Other than replacing both of the strips ($30-50 ea.) I would have the detailer remove and paint them. They look like they are held on by clips. You will be more satisfied with the results.

FYI. Most of the people here will give you their advise, been there done that. They have made alot of the mistakes and are willing to share their results with you. The last decision is yours. What's best for you.

(My pet peeve is the disrespect people have for someone elses vehicle while you are shopping. Alot of shopping carts have slammed into the sides of vehicles and people will just drive away).
 
Thanks for the information. I am going to post my windshield molding problem later and maybe you can help me with that.
 
Thanks for the information. I am going to post my windshield molding problem later and maybe you can help me with that.
 
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