Yeah, I paid for the parts and labor and they took care of it before I even took delivery of the car. I'm not much of a DIY type - as demonstrated by my failure to get the blackout tape to work.

I didn't use the regular blackout tape because the rear of the trim on the new Accord gets really wide, and the tape isn't wide enough to cover it. So I got 5" wide vinyl tape from shadowline trim... it's possible one is easier to apply than the other - but it was a massive pain to apply, and although it looked passable when I finished, it didn't look perfect. What I mean is that someone passing by wouldn't notice any difference, but if you stopped and looked, you could see the seams where the strips overlapped, and there were tiny bubbles and creases that I just couldn't avoid, despite spending lots of time on it. So I took the tape off and had it painted.

This could have just been operator error - but I wanted the trim to look smooth without any imperfections, and I just wan't able to get that with tape.

 

same thing i used for my car. props for some good blackout tape!

 

Gaaahhhh!!!!

8 months after getting the chrome trim around the doors painted, some of it started to chip off. I KNEW this was going to happen, and I shouldn't have believed the body shop when they said that the paint would stick to the chrome.

Well, at least it was under warranty and they did it over for free, but this might not have been the right long term solution.

 

good point about the seams with tape - i wouldn't like that either unless they were very well done.

for paint, i think they would have needed to remove the trim, sand off the chrome, and use a primer and paint made for plastics with UV protection, then clear coat.

in my experience, paint doesn't stick to chrome.

or take it to a chrome shop for "black chrome" plating

 

This is a fantastic post! Absolutely amazing! Given me some great ideas, I never even thought to paint the chrome around the windows. Quick question, is that a body kit on the car? I have a 4 cylinder 2009, black, and would love to do somehting like this.

 

Yes, the Honda dealer actually sells Honda-made ground effects for the current generation of Accords - they are available as an option from the dealer. They are called something like the "side spoilers" and underside "front and rear spoilers." If you go to the website and "build your own Accord" you can select these as an option. My grille was an aftermarket grille from T-Rex. If you look hard enough, you can find some aftermarket ground effects also, but these tend to be pretty ostentatious.

 

my rims used to be chrome...what i did is used oven cleaner to "de-chrome" them...and they held up for about a year now...i wanna repaint them tho.

 

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate it, yours look great, not looking for anything too flashy, just something simply like yours. Quick question, do you have snow, or much snow where you live? I'm unfamiliar with Virginia (I'm from Canada, and we just got over a foot of snow last weekend), i'm a little concerned with my car being a little too low. How many inches lower is the ground effects?

 

Wow that blackout tape really does make a difference.

 

Just a couple inches, not too low. I never scrape going over speed bumps and I've never bottomed out, but you do need to watch the corners when you're close to a curb.