Columbus, Ohio · Chrome delete
Chrome delete.
In vinyl, so it
comes back off.
Blacked-out trim is not a paint job. It is film, cut for your car, laid over the chrome that is already on it. Peel it later and the factory brightwork is still underneath — that is the argument for film, and it is the argument again on the day you sell the car.
Piece by piece
Most customers start with one piece rather than the whole vehicle. Find yours here.
| Piece | What we do to it | Comes off? | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window surrounds | The bright strips around the door glass, the B-pillars and the drip rail on most cars. It changes how the whole car reads more than any other piece on this list. | Mostly on the car | Ask the shop → |
| Grille | A one-piece surround is quick. A slatted grille is slow, because every slat is wrapped on its own. Two different jobs, which is why we ask what you drive before quoting. | Off the car | Ask the shop → |
| Badges & lettering | Emblems come off with fishing line and heat, the old adhesive is cleaned off the paint, and they go back on wrapped. Or they do not go back on at all — tell us which before we start. | Off the car | Ask the shop → |
| Mirror caps | Caps come off on most cars. Wrapped off the car, the edges tuck behind the housing instead of sitting on top of it, so there is no exposed edge. | Off the car | Ask the shop → |
| Door handles | Handles plus the chrome cup behind them. This is the piece that takes fingernails and keys, so it is the first to show wear and the first to be replaced. | Off the car | Ask the shop → |
| Roof rails | The longest pieces on the vehicle, and they sit flat in the sun all day, so they age before the rest of the car does. We say so when you ask for them. | On the car | Ask the shop → |
| Lower trim & rockers | Rocker strips, fender vents, exhaust surrounds and the smaller bright trim. Worn chrome low on the body is what dates an otherwise clean car. | Mixed | Ask the shop → |
| The whole list | Every piece above, quoted together rather than added up line by line. The car is already apart and the film is already cut. | — | Ask the shop → |
Chrome delete is quoted per vehicle. A grille on a Tahoe and a grille on a Model 3 are different amounts of work, and one figure posted here would have to hold for both. Call the shop with the year, make and model and the pieces you want blacked out, and we will price it on the phone.
Vinyl vs. paint
Both end up black. Only one of them is a decision you can take back.
- Reversible
- Peel it. The chrome underneath is untouched.
- The chrome got sanded to make the paint stick. It is gone.
- Resale
- Return it to factory the week before you trade it in.
- It is a permanent modification, and the next buyer either wants it or does not.
- Chips
- A stone dents the film, not the trim. Replace that one piece.
- A stone chips through to bright metal and it shows from ten feet.
- The process
- Clean, cut, lay, tuck. No booth, no cure, no bake.
- Strip, sand, prime, spray, cure.
- Repair
- One panel, one piece of film, done.
- Blending paint on a trim strip, with a match that has to hold in daylight.
Left column: vinyl. Right column: paint.
Satin or gloss
Gloss black looks like the car left the factory that way. It sits flush with the paint, it wipes clean, and it hides nothing — a wavy trim strip stays wavy, and now it reflects.
Most window surrounds go gloss. It is the safe one, and on a black or dark grey car it reads as one piece.
Satin reads flatter. It kills the reflection, it tones down loud trim on a truck, and it forgives a surface that is not perfect.
Most grilles go satin. It shows fingerprints more than gloss does, which matters on a door handle and does not matter on a roof rail.
Two questions worth asking
Does it damage the trim underneath?
On factory chrome and factory paint in good shape: no. Heat softens the adhesive, the film pulls back on itself at a low angle, and the trim is exactly how it was.
Where it goes wrong is trim that has already been repainted, or clear coat that is lifting before we get there. Vinyl grips the top layer. If the top layer is already letting go, the film can take it with it on the way off. If we see that on your vehicle, you hear it before we wrap it.
How long does it last?
It depends on the film and on where the piece sits. A vertical window surround on a garage-kept car and a roof rail in the sun all summer are not the same lifespan, which is why there is no single figure for both.
Ask which film is going on your vehicle. We give you the product and its rated life before we cut. When a piece does go — usually a door handle, usually from fingernails — it is one piece, not the whole car.
Adding tint?
If you are adding tint, your front doors have to let 50% of the light through in Ohio, give or take 3. Confirm the limit before the work is booked, not at a traffic stop.
Tell us what to black out.
Year, make, model, and the pieces you want in black. That is enough for a number over the phone. Talk to the shop.
5220 Trabue Road, Suite D, Columbus, OH 43228