Black Chrome Discoloring

[nhcowboy28]

I'm half tempted to not even bother with the dealer and just Vinyl coat it piano black, because the trip out to the dealer is such a pain in the ass.

When in doubt, black it out.

 

[bpang1]

Possible, but anything you use shouldn't be affecting ONLY this trim part, you know? My Mirror cap, front bumper, and front brake vent trim are all perfect, so is the paint.



Nah. I'm 20k miles and a year and a half into the car. If there's plastic on the trim, it's so baked in that you'd need a scalpel to separate it. I feel like it has to be fading clear coat, because it goes away if I get it wet or grease it up (McDonald's french fry fingers and morbid curiosity. It looked good for a day or two. Lol).

At first I thought it was just oils from hands eating away at the trim (It started right above the black plastic, where one might be touching the trim more), but it's doing it everywhere on the trim pieces, so something is funky.

I'm half tempted to not even bother with the dealer and just Vinyl coat it piano black, because the trip out to the dealer is such a pain in the ass.

Blayde, I feel like we are having the same exact problem but I have not tried using french fry finger oil on them to see if it is outside or inside the trim.

Update on my progress - I called the Stinger Hotline, got a guy named Edward and sent him some photos. He is supposed to be following up with Kia of Portland but I haven't heard back in weeks. Going to call at some time this week but I am busy.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I'm half tempted to not even bother with the dealer and just Vinyl coat it piano black, because the trip out to the dealer is such a pain in the ass.

Even if the dealer were just around the corner they would be a pain in the keister for something like this. With nothing to lose, I'd try different things as they occurred to me. French fries oil! That's a good one. Hey, if it looks better for a day or two, something else in that direction might work longer. Is dark chrome wrap available? That would be my solution. A whole lot less costly than bothering Kia/the dealer for a replacement trim piece.

 

[Kyle_Gates]

Cant be combined cleaning products for me since I'm a "lazy cleaner". Keep the car clean, wash often but I just use Adam's car shampoo and.....that's it. (And I use it on the G35 and the Pacifica and the Odyssey as well and, no issues on them)

 

[MerlintheMad]

Cant be combined cleaning products for me since I'm a "lazy cleaner". Keep the car clean, wash often but I just use Adam's car shampoo and.....that's it. (And I use it on the G35 and the Pacifica and the Odyssey as well and, no issues on them)

Lol, I am even more "lazy" than that: hot, soft water and lots of terrycloth towels, dry off with microfiber. I have been known to wash my car six times in nine days (that's the frequency record so far). Keep washing it every time it gets rained on; and once a week otherwise; I seldom go longer than that.

 

[Rob 02]

I have this issue with my mirror cap on the passenger side.

 

[MIGULZZ]

I ended up just wrapping mine because people have the issue even after replacements,

 

[mhal8876]

I ended up just wrapping mine because people have the issue even after replacements, View attachment 29435

Looks Good! Where did you get the gloss black vinyl? link?

 

[MIGULZZ]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071W57Q86/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I still have about half of the roll because I messed up a few times and re did one of the trims

 

[Rob M]

Here's mine. I noticed soon after taking delivery sep 2018. I have an appointment in a couple weeks for recall and a couple other issues. Unfortunately, my original dealer closed their local kia dealership and kind of left me hanging. This is obviously UV damage to the poorly finished trim, and i'd be curious to know if others garage their vehicles overnight. I think that condensation forming on these trim pieces overnight on my outdoor stinger results in the sun being magnified through dew drops before they evaporate. Nontheless, it is a defect as far as i am concerned. If i get it replaced under warranty i'll just try to wax it monthly. My stinger sat in a lot for 9 or 10 months before i took delivery.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Here's mine. I noticed soon after taking delivery sep 2018. I have an appointment in a couple weeks for recall and a couple other issues. Unfortunately, my original dealer closed their local kia dealership and kind of left me hanging. This is obviously UV damage to the poorly finished trim, and i'd be curious to know if others garage their vehicles overnight. I think that condensation forming on these trim pieces overnight on my outdoor stinger results in the sun being magnified through dew drops before they evaporate. Nontheless, it is a defect as far as i am concerned. If i get it replaced under warranty i'll just try to wax it monthly. My stinger sat in a lot for 9 or 10 months before i took delivery.

9 to 10 months outside and the trim was fine? You would have seen those spots easily upon delivery. So this has happened since then. I don't think that your theory holds up. And the trim finish is not poor, in my experience.

 

[Rob M]

9 to 10 months outside and the trim was fine? You would have seen those spots easily upon delivery. So this has happened since then. I don't think that your theory holds up. And the trim finish is not poor, in my experience.

No. Damage existed when i took delivery. But i didnt notice because the trim channels were still wet after dealerership washed the car. It was prepped hastily because i took delivery late aftn on labor day, and there were few staff working. I reported the problem to the dealership within a few days, and was waiting for an appt to get several issues, including the wire harness recall, taken care of at the same time. But then the parent company closed this particular kia dealership. I have an appt to get it looked at later this month at a different dealership. The fact that there are several people posting pics of similar damage on new cars would suggest there is an issue. Someone in this thread even mentioned that the trim starts deteriorating quickly again after replacement.

 

[Revvdmedia]

The trim definitely leaves water spots and marks easily, it also does not clean easily. For those of you with what appears to be defects, try to remove it with clay bar if you can. I thought I had the same issue as some of you, but after a good wash and then a semi vigorous clay bar on the trim, the spots that I thought were defects disappeared. If you think you need the trim replaced, I'd say it doesn't hurt to try. Just make sure the trim is nice and clean before clay bar.

I do have a defect on my lower grill, looks to be a small bubble/bulge. It's a 6-inch-away type defect so I don't think I'll do anything with it.

 

[Rob M]

The trim definitely leaves water spots and marks easily, it also does not clean easily. For those of you with what appears to be defects, try to remove it with clay bar if you can. I thought I had the same issue as some of you, but after a good wash and then a semi vigorous clay bar on the trim, the spots that I thought were defects disappeared. If you think you need the trim replaced, I'd say it doesn't hurt to try. Just make sure the trim is nice and clean before clay bar.

I do have a defect on my lower grill, looks to be a small bubble/bulge. It's a 6-inch-away type defect so I don't think I'll do anything with it.

I spent about half an hour compounding the trim on the passenger side and got the same result you describe. By the effort required I'm thinking i was simply removing what was left of a damaged clear coating. Can anyone confirm whether the door channel trim is plastic? Any chance it is clearcoated aluminum? Reminded me of trying to polish/clean aluminum wheels once the clearcoat was gone. I will leave the driver side trim to see what service department says next month.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I spent about half an hour compounding the trim on the passenger side and got the same result you describe. By the effort required I'm thinking i was simply removing what was left of a damaged clear coating. Can anyone confirm whether the door channel trim is plastic? Any chance it is clearcoated aluminum? Reminded me of trying to polish/clean aluminum wheels once the clearcoat was gone. I will leave the driver side trim to see what service department says next month.

You said you compounded. If compounding or polishing, you are removing material. This works on some piano black trim and likely has the same effect on this black chrome. I used clay which is not an abrasive, but is rather a tacky material that pulls off surface contaminants rather than remove material. Not to say compounding/polishing cannot or should not be done, but when detailing it is best to use the least aggressive method first. You may have achieved the same result I did, although with a more aggressive method and with a tiny removal of material at the surface.

 

[Rob M]

You said you compounded. If compounding or polishing, you are removing material. This works on some piano black trim and likely has the same effect on this black chrome. I used clay which is not an abrasive, but is rather a tacky material that pulls off surface contaminants rather than remove material. Not to say compounding/polishing cannot or should not be done, but when detailing it is best to use the least aggressive method first. You may have achieved the same result I did, although with a more aggressive method and with a tiny removal of material at the surface.

I use clay as well, but went with compound in this case since there is no risk to be a little agressive on that oxidized material. Here's why: it isn't black chrome, i'm now convinced that it is anodized aluminum. If it had a protective coating, it is gone. I guess i should be happy that kia went upscale on these 6 trim pieces, but they will take some effort to keep looking good. They do make products to protect aluminum finish. I'll look into that later.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I just noticed some more of these light colored spots showing up on the trim on my driver's side door this morning. I'll go over it with clay and see if it cleans up. I'm thinking I'm also go to try a product to seal the trim to hopefully make it easier to clean and hopefully keep it from oxidizing or whatever seems to be going on.

I think I should stop by my detailing store after work and pick up something like that and maybe a bottle of ONR.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I use clay as well, but went with compound in this case since there is no risk to be a little agressive on that oxidized material. Here's why: it isn't black chrome, i'm now convinced that it is anodized aluminum. If it had a protective coating, it is gone. I guess i should be happy that kia went upscale on these 6 trim pieces, but they will take some effort to keep looking good. They do make products to protect aluminum finish. I'll look into that later.

I'd like to know what material this trim is. I actually always thought it was a colored plastic trim, much like the fake chrome grilles in most cars. Knowing what the material is will help us protect it. I still think it's plastic, and if that is the case, whatever helps keep piano black plastics in good shape should help with the black chrome since I'd imagine the surface clear coat would be similar.

 

[Rob M]

I'd like to know what material this trim is. I actually always thought it was a colored plastic trim, much like the fake chrome grilles in most cars. Knowing what the material is will help us protect it. I still think it's plastic, and if that is the case, whatever helps keep piano black plastics in good shape should help with the black chrome since I'd imagine the surface clear coat would be similar.

Try this - do a Goober images search on "anodized aluminum car window trim". You will be 99% convinced that is the material we are dealing with. It is nothing like the piano black painted ABS plastic. What it will require is a long lasting coating made to adhere to aluminum. There are products out there like ProtectaClear for this purpose but I have no idea of their efficacy. I don't think that a typical car wax will have much staying power. Maybe if waxing/polishing at least monthly. The good news is you can be aggressive in cleaning it up (being careful to avoid the painted parts, masking not necessary unless using an orbital). Clay is a great product IMO, but it's also relatively expensive, easily contaminated, and best saved for paint correction. No paint here, just bare oxidized metal. Let me know what you think. And sorry, if this is hijacking the black chrome thread. I could always start an anodized aluminum trim thread with pictures if that makes sense.

 

[Revvdmedia]

Try this - do a Goober images search on "anodized aluminum car window trim". You will be 99% convinced that is the material we are dealing with. It is nothing like the piano black painted ABS plastic. What it will require is a long lasting coating made to adhere to aluminum. There are products out there like ProtectaClear for this purpose but I have no idea of their efficacy. I don't think that a typical car wax will have much staying power. Maybe if waxing/polishing at least monthly. The good news is you can be aggressive in cleaning it up (being careful to avoid the painted parts, masking not necessary unless using an orbital). Clay is a great product IMO, but it's also relatively expensive, easily contaminated, and best saved for paint correction. No paint here, just bare oxidized metal. Let me know what you think. And sorry, if this is hijacking the black chrome thread. I could always start an anodized aluminum trim thread with pictures if that makes sense.

You could very well be right. One of the disadvantage of aluminum over another metal is it is non-metallic. If it was a real metal and was metallic, this could easily be confirmed with a magnet. I used a magnet to see if our hoods are aluminum or steel, which I confirmed to be steel.

I'm actually surprised if Kia used a real metal on this trim. Considering how convincing artificial materials can look, I'm a bit surprised when they spring the extra cost to give us the real thing.

As a counter to your notion, I wonder about the black chrome accents in the bumper. On my lower grille, I've found a bubble in the material, leading me to believe it is a fake overlay like fake chrome grilles. There is no way this would happen on a true metal surface. Also, there are those here who have found chips down to plastic (it appears) on the front black chrome as well.