Hello all,

My car is going to be in the paint shop for the next month and 1/2 to 2 months, and I was thinking about having the chrome trim re chromed while its all out of the car...,I would like everything redone, but I can't figure out how to:

1-take the inside of the rearview mirrors out
2-get the door handles done since they are attached to other parts
3-the chrome strip on the grill that's attached to the plastic

I am assuming that in order to get those pieces redone I have to just take the chrome parts without any attached parts, or can they redo them with plastic and electric parts attached?

Any advise from someone who has had this done would be appreciated .

Thanks !!

 

I believe the metal will definitely have to be taken off the plastic. I would also think all electrical components will have to be removed. More opinions will follow, I think.
RagJag

 

All plastic and electrical parts have to be removed. Before chroming, the parts are soaked in degreaser solution and the chroming solution is a fairly caustic chemical with an electrical current running through it. It would destroy any electronics.

 

is that chrome strip on the grill actually metal?
or is it plastic like the headlight bezels?

i've never actually noticed.

 

I'm not sure? I'll have to check when I get home in the morning. There may be some differences between the years though. For instance, I have the Euro glass (not plastic) cibie headlights on my 83. So some parts on mine may be made from a different material than a newer model.

 

I remembered I had a photo of my car on my phone and realized my car doesn't have that chrome strip like yours does. I'm not sure when they changed the style?

 

Dear Spikpaga, I'm going to upload some pictures to help you understand what I describe as how to dismantle the side view mirrors on the xjs. With power applied, you need to angle the mirror down to access the top screw (philips) using a THIN screwdriver, take it out. You'll then be able to acces the back of the mirror better. You can see by the pics, you can carefully pry the ***** from the motor out of their sockets. DON'T bend the mirror at all or CRACK! It's not so easy to snap those ***** back in but with perseverance it's possible .then put te screw back in and done. Bud

 

Here's some pics to help. Bud