mcdream

Hi guys, long time no posts since I've been very busy but now I found some time to tinker a bit with my car.
I searched around the web for info on getting the chrome trim to look nice again but didn't find anything great.
I thought I'd share my work and result with you.

1. I used some random no name polisher I found in the hardware store. Worked nicely and had 7 different speed settings which was enough.
2. Meguiars NXT all metal polish as product (had this on the shelf and tried it few years ago on another window trim part which gave quite good results). Maybe not the best product for the job but got the job done.

Rear corner window trim on both sides was in a bad state. I've asked car detailing services to try some stuff on it to make it better before but looks like after some time it has gotten even worse.
I'm most likely replacing the trim in the near future but I still wanted to give it a shot. Since it was already quite bad I wasn't too worried about damaging it.

Trim before polishing

Half way through polishing

Final result

Some damage still left

Lower left side of the trim has some clear coat removed

I did about 8-10 rounds of polishing before it wasn't getting noticeably better and it started to look like I was starting to get through some kind of clear coat (last picture).
1 round = maybe two passes at 3/7 speed and then wait a bit to let it cool down (after 2 passes it was warm).
Some of the damage seems to be quite extensive and most likely just cannot be repaired. Maybe by removing the clear coat but I got the result I'm happy with for now.
From some distance it looks quite ok (way better than before).

After this I did a quick automated car wash at local gas station to remove all the white residue and dust I created. Shampoo and pressure wash only.

After a quick drive home it looked like some of the damage was starting to come back. It had more visible damage than before the wash. I just put some wax on it and it seemed to work. After wax it looked just like after polishing.

It seems like whatever damage has been done, cannot be fully fixed and is quick to come back. We'll see after few washes and weeks.

All thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

Since I've had the car for about 7 years now and still love it, I'm hoping to keep it for years to come.

Orlando Smith

yea mines did exactly that. it seems the wax will wear off in due time. i wax mines alot however i end up finding leftover wax in the cracks and crevices. I was considering coating it. im not sure which one but i was thinking something along the lines of a thin layer of liquid glass coating. It retains shine better than wax and has h-9 hardness so its nearly scratch resistant. I think it lasts a year or so and it looks better than those white oxidized dots. If you find anything let me know.

Aceler8

I wonder if chrome vinyl wrap would work on these pieces? Guessing it would be difficult for a DIY project, but if you can find a professional vinyl wrapping company, i bet it would look great.

Orlando Smith

i seen a photo of a guy who took 1/4 inch chrome stripping and put horizontal lines on his grill. he attempted to emulate the w12 grill. it looked awesome. i am seriously considering this $15 upgrade. as far as the trim i dont see a color that would look as nice as chrome unless you have a custom paintjob.

mcdream

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm gonna try the liquid glass on the trim. Tried it on the whole car few years ago but the end result wasn't as good as I got from wax. Wax seemed to give a better deep and wet shine. Not sure what was the brand of the liquid glass but for wax I use zymol (around 300$ for usual size box).

As for wrapping the trim, I looked at 3M chrome trim (should be quite high end stuff) but it was quite different. The chrome wrap was much more shiny and would have given it a cheaper look IMO. Maybe there's some nicer ones but I'm going for the OEM look.

Orlando Smith

i dont think the liquid glass should cost over 30 bucks for a small bottle. talk to me about the subwoofer installation. i want to do it to mine.

Aceler8

i agree the 3m could look cheap, but i'm thinking about a professional vinyl shop. The local Audi dealer here offers vinyl wrapping as a service so if they have a chrome 'look' then it should be professional.

mcdream

Subwoofer installation was quite easy for this car. Original subwoofer in the back was removed and got the input from there. Battery is also in the rear so not much hassle with the power. I also have audi OEM cooler (factory option) in the rear which I kept and added 12" Alpine subwoofers on each side. They fit nicely but rear trunk size is cut in half compared to the original.
From factory it has Bang and Olufsen audio system but for me everything was perfect but wanted a bit more bass. Bass level can be controlled from the MMI and usually I have the bass level about 50% (in the MMI the indicator is in the middle position). More than enough for me.
In my previous car I had one 15" speaker which took about the same amount of space but 2 x 12" ones seem to play much better. Bass is much cleaner.

Orlando Smith

did u put the subwoofers in a separate box and keep the bose playing as well. my goal is to keep my current setup and install something in addition to it. should i use the previous wires to the old sub to jump to my amp. could i splice the speakers wires to rca and have rca input for my amp, and possibly even use that same wire as a control/ remote wire??? is that not safe?? Am i pulling too much power off those thin wires? how do i access the bose sub i heard its on the same side as the battery.

mcdream

Yup, each of the subwoofers is in a separate box. My original subwoofer was located below the back window (mine is B&O but Bose is probably in the same location) and for better quality I removed it.
Since the input comes from the original sub I can control bass level from MMI.
I had everything done by a professional that I've used previously.