Warning: Long post!
Here's the deal. My Passport is Honda's Pearl White finish. The body side moldings come in black and no other color. Some people are going to like the black body side moldings. In fact, I think they look just fine on some of the other Passport colors. But, not white. They just didn't work *for me*.
My local body shop wanted $800 to paint a set. I didn't go shopping. I just decided to order a set and paint them Honda Pearl White myself. Here's what happened:
I first learned that, if you want to spray paint plastic (they are ABS), you use a product called SEM 39863 Plastic Adhesion Promoter (aerosol can) to prep the plastic to take paint. So, Step 1 would be a coat of SEM.
Then, I ordered the full kit from TouchUp Direct. This includes primer, base coat, "mid-coat" (tint and pearl) and clear coat. This meant I would be spraying five layers of coating altogether. I figured I was gambling a few hundred bucks (moldings, SEM, paint kit). But, I can be impulsive at times. I did it.
In order to avoid runs, I laid the moldings flat to spray. I followed the directions **strictly** including timing of coats, and I'm glad I did. Overall, I was rather amazed at the quality of these products including the spray cans themselves. Nice stuff all around.
After three days of curing, I took them to the dealer (who owed me installation). The folks at the dealership told me there was quite a conversation in the body shop about how well they came out. I told them that I had to give the credit to the product manufacturers since the paint and cans were so "cooperative". Really. Every coat went on easily.
Here's what I don't know: (1) what will happen if someone bangs a door into one of them -- nothing? a dent? paint chips off? and (2) how well will the paint will hold up over time. But it's been a few months now and so far so good. If there's a problem, I'll be back to let you know.
(The picture below is before the 1.5" lift or 1" wheel spacers which I will also post.)
