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      07-07-2011, 12:49 AM   #1
geordie
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Just Installed the Chrome Interior Trim Kit Myself

Basically, the kit is a bunch of stickers, I was thinking it would 'snap on' or something, but basically, it's just plastic strips with 3M adhesive stuff on the back.

It was pretty simple to install, and the instructions the dealership's parts dept printed off for me were a must (they weren't included in the box...). The part is flagged in BMWs system as "no special tools required".

The only thing to watch out for is the "3M primer" which comes on a few little sponges and needs to be applied 10 minutes prior to installing the moulding itself. This stuff was VERY sticky and is REALLY hard to apply just in the thin strips you're looking to apply it to. A bunch of it 'ran over' the area where the trim was going to go due to sloppy swabbing of the sponges. But to be honest, I don't' think I could do it 100% cleanly even if I had a another crack at it.

I tried cleaning up the overrun with the alcohol wipes they supply, plus some rubbing alcohol I had handy, and that worked great for the wood trim and the plastic areas, but NOT SO MUCH on the dash grain as you can see in the photo by that shows the nav screen (look at the streaking on the left of the leftmost nav strip I'm not entirely sure how to clean that off, the primer is almost like a glue compound of some kind.

Anyone have any ideas to safely remove it from the dashboard?

I know it's going to drive me nuts looking at it now.

Anyway, here's the end result, happy to answer anyone's questions:










Last edited by geordie; 07-07-2011 at 12:54 AM..
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      07-07-2011, 01:23 AM   #2
aussiem3
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Thanks for posting. Looks nice. But if they are stick-on do you really notice it unlike having it in at time of manufacturing?
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      07-07-2011, 05:54 AM   #3
mibmwx3
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Do you think the dealership would have something better to clean the primer off with? Do you think that if they had applied it, the results would be the same? Still trying to decide if it's worth the ridiculous price for some strips of plastic and if I should try installing it myself. Looks nice on the picture. Are you satisfied with the quality of the product?

Last edited by mibmwx3; 07-07-2011 at 05:59 AM..
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      07-07-2011, 06:37 AM   #4
Powerrunner
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I would check with the dearler on options to clean off the primer, other than that looks very nice. Thanks for sharing your experience and photos.
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      07-07-2011, 01:12 PM   #5
geordie
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It's definitely worth the price of the kit itself I think, it looks awesome. Even though it's just stickers, the end product doesn't look cheap at all, and I think it's well worth it.

I'll ask the dealer about getting that primer off, I think they would have charged a half-hour labour to install it minimum, so it's not really that expensive to have them do it, but I was impatient and didn't want to wait for an appointment
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