Getting rid of chrome trim on my GLE

I really love my GLE for everyday cruising, the interior is immaculate black leather, the body is straight, it's a manual, and it has great highway manners...But I really HATE THE CHROME TRIM!!! Why the hell Volvo thought it was such a good idea I'll never know, but I think it simply looks awful. Now I know that I can swap the side door trim from a turbo (already eyeing a parts car up) and take care of that, but what about the rest? Most of the trim cannot be removed...I did see something on the brickboard about using some sort of auto body tape to black it out, but that seems like it would be a bit tricky in some spots-like the rain gutters along the roof, etc...Has anyone ever tried to paint the trim on one of these cars? I thought about it, but was unsure of the prep job needed. What is the base metal? Aluminum? Is it anodized? How can I strip whatever coating is on it? How should I prime the aluminum for paint? What type of paint should I use?

Thanks,

Matthew

You can remove all the chrome trim around the windows and swap it out with black trim from a 740. Check out your local u-pull for the parts. Or contact Mr.Volvo, Brad Burns. He usually stocks full sets of black 7xx trim.
bwburns@sprint.ca

But consider this; have you noticed the new Euro-cars are starting to sport chrome window trim again? With a nice window tint, it looks pretty cool.

I have chrome on my 87 760, and although I removed the wheel well trim permanently, I did not swap out the window chrome when I did a full re-paint late last year. I am now considering doing a hi-speed polish on the trim, to make it REALLY bright again. What's old is new again.

Hmmm...I didn't know that you could remove the window trim without destroying it. Is there anywhere I can go to find out how to do it?

Thanks,

Matthew

I know it's done regualrly by body shops before they paint. I'll ask the guy who did mine and let you know.

'mule

the trim at the bottom of all the windows pops off with a srewdriver.. just pry up