The black 'paint' on the window frame (I have a 2015 XV and am pretty sure it's not unique to my model) - is it just an overcoat over the factory paint, or...? If I managed to scrape off a fairly large swathe of it...would it require a trip to the body shop to fix, or would it be just some touch-up paint? :/ I ask because I bought a set of these...and after a couple of months decided they were probably the worst use of $100 I've ever encountered. I should have simply set the money on fire and used it to keep warm for a few minutes instead. They're noisy, they block your vision, and at highway speeds they actually funnel water up into and over any cracked open window when it's raining. So, I tried to remove them the easy way...with a razor, and pulling them. This worked great for 3 doors, but the 4th...it scraped off a bit of the black on the window frame. To make matters worse, when trying to scrape off the left over gum on another window frame using a razor, the razor actually went through and lifted off some more of the black paint... Fortunately underneath it looks like body color paint so it looks like the black stuff is just some sort of "protective coating" or something, but still. The car's brand freaking new, and while I'm a butterfingers...I've never had that happen before, with a razor going through a car's paint when trying to remove a decal/adhesive. Oh, and hey, anyone want a set of Impreza/XV window air deflectors? They'll need new adhesive, fyi. Only used a couple months. Cheap! Anyway, any ideas on the paint? I'll probably wind up calling/dropping by my dealer later in the week to ping them about it, but figured I'd ask the internet for advice first. What's the worst that could happen?
Worst case scenario you could vinyl wrap the area on all four in matte black or something. That is if I'm thinking of the right area without looking at a pic.
Since the doors have frames around the windows, I suspect they were painted body color before the black was applied. I don't think Subaru sells touch up paint in spray cans anymore. And even if they did, it has been my experience that "accent" colors such as this do not have a specific paint code. Most likely you are going to have to have a body shop fix it (what I would probably do while punishing myself by withholding Starbucks, energy drinks, or whatever your preferred poison is until I have it "paid off"), or spray paint the trim on all four doors yourself to get it all to match. You might also check with Automotive Touchup to see if they have some "generic" black that would be suitable for this repair (I was too lazy to check their website myself). They make top quality products. http://www.automotivetouchup.com Next time use a hair blower to heat up the adhesive and it should pull off easier. Good luck.
Ouch. Total bummer all around. Next time try fishing line instead of a razor or a plastic razor if necessary. Heat and/or a mild solvent helps too. Pics of the damage? Not familiar with the car or the area you're talking about but sounds like 3m trim paint (or similar) and careful masking would fix it.
Yeah I think I would agree that a body shop might be the best option to get a factory look. But the vinyl wrap of the doors will be cheaper, and still good looking.
I wish it was that color, then I would know for a fact if it's body color under the black, or what...as it is my car is silver, so either I scraped it down to bare metal...or I didn't. Hard to tell. Yeah I think today I'm going to hit up Morries on my way home and see if I can get someone there to look at it real quick and give me a steer on it..
Oh! Well that explains that...according to the parts guy at Morries that I spoke to, it's just tape. That explains why it basically cut and peeled. Well hell, I'll just hit up Home Depot and buy a few rolls of duct tape. Problem solved, problem staying solved.
