i've been lookingat pictures of bimmers that have the bumper molding the same color as the car........ the bumper molding on MY car is mat-black all around........ i wanted to take these off and paint them silver....... now what i want is for the molding to look smooth like the original paint on the car...... how hard would this be to do and what kind of paint and primer would be needed.....

some people wrap it with 3m vinyl.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=497694&highlight=3m+molding

thanx smilez!!!!!

now just so i can get an opinion from everybody......................

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v30/easyman1211/DSC00361darker.jpg
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/582/moldingsqm8.jpg



BLACK MOLDING OR SILVER MOLDING???????

i personally like the black, but since i just got an m3 bumper that doesnt have the molding, going to get my molding painted.

a shop can do it very well. ive had mine painted since september and its an exact match and no flaking or anything. im not sure how hard silver is to match tho.

in that pic above i say keep it silver unless it doesnt match.

ive wanted to do the same thing for sooooo long but how hard would it be to match topaz blue??

well a paint shop should match right up. 3m not sure.

Personal choice really, I just got a 2000 328i with M3 bumpers and black molding. I'd have to say the black gives the body that extra "elite" look, a nice accent to the overall beauty of the car, I mean, the machine. :cool

I'd def stay with the Black molding..

i personally like the black, but since i just got an m3 bumper that doesnt have the molding, going to get my molding painted.

Yep +1 :D

the 3m vinyl, how does that go on, does it stick, will i have to cut it for the side moldings? and what is punched, should i not get punched?

you can paint it your self. use kylon fusion for plastics paint to prime it. it bonds to plastics without prep. i would recommend using a kylon fusion color close to your cars color, then buy some custom mixed 12 oz rattle bottles in your cars color. there are internet stores which you pick your car and color and they will send you a rattle bottle with your cars color. i bought it for my other car and painted the moldings it matched perfectly.

not quite the same car, but I have a silver e46 that I just 3m'd the moldings on.

3m vinyl ftw

cheap and easy

Silver molding +1234