Silver strip on door

[Datsun-Fever]

Hey guys, the silver plastic strip that goes on the door trim fell off, can i replace it?

[EScanlon]

Nope, it's heat welded to the vinyl on the door panel.

Unfortunately when the "chrome" finish starts peeling, it reveals a blue plastic.

I've heard stories of people using aluminum tape, silver foil, etc to repair, but have not seen any of them to comment.

Enrique

[MikeW]

Originally posted by EScanlon

I've heard stories of people using aluminum tape, silver foil, etc to repair, but have not seen any of them to comment.

I've done this and was quite happy with the outcome. I used metal repair tape which I then polished. At first I polished it using a board to back it up but the wood grain pattern came out on the tape. I then used a clean piece of plexiglass to avoid that particular problem. After getting it highly polished I used a metal straight edge and a razor cut a 3/8" x 34" strip. The metal tape will easily hold the radius required unlike some metallic pinstrip material that I had tried earlier. I had to peel off a few remnants of the orginal material to get a nice smooth surface. The only tricky part was making sure that it was aligned properly. It would be quite difficult to do with the door panel on the car because the tape would want to sag. I took the panel off and placed it flat on the floor to avoid that problem.

Keep in mind that it's quite difficult to photograph this properly but attached is a good attempt I shot a few minutes ago. Please note that my door panels have been dyed gray.

[240 in OZ]

I re-did mine years ago with aluminium tape that I purchased from a boating supply store. It was a little tricky to cut but I am happy with the results and it has held up well for years now.

I even managed to match the messy ends like Nissan; more by accident I think!

Regards

Joseph

[texasz]

Originally posted by MikeW

I've done this and was quite happy with the outcome. I used metal repair tape which I then polished.

Where'd you get the metal repair tape? I'm interested in this fix and it doesn't sound all that bad or expensive to do.

[MikeW]

Originally posted by texasz

Where'd you get the metal repair tape? I'm interested in this fix and it doesn't sound all that bad or expensive to do.

I think I just bought it at Ace hardware. It would be nice to find tape that's already the proper width but it's more like a two inch wide roll.

[keiths71240Z]

You can also use chrome foil that is used on plastic models. Would probably find at a hobby store.

[Datsun-Fever]

Great, thanks guys.