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Kenriko Chrome Delete Kit: Show off your tips and pictures here
- Thread starter SoCalMom
- Start date
ATCNastyNate
Member
Just heat up that portion of vinyl that’s not sticking, squeegee it, and it should stick. Just be gentle with the vinyl when heated. I used the Nikola Pro delete kit off Amazon.
Kenriko
Former Vendor
Kenriko
Former Vendor
I heated it and used a folded up piece of the backing and wedged it in there for a few minutes. It's been over a week and it's holding up still.
I finally finished everything last weekend. I don't know how some people could do this in less than a day. I had to spread this across several weekends due to kids. Even without kids, there's no way I could have done everything in a day. Wrapping the mirrors was easier than I expected. Taking the first mirror apart was really hard. This was the only part I had to get my husband to help me with. I was able to do the second one myself, but had to wear some heavy gardening gloves when prying the 2 black tabs back to drop the bottom chrome piece. T4 was harder than I expected because my trim was wedged tightly against the rubber part and it made it extremely hard to tuck on top. I may request a 1up for passenger T4.
Thanks @Kenriko for making this kit and for sharing the cut files!!
Here's a quick picture I took while running some errands.
@SoCalMom I finally put the blue handles on my blue 3. For some reason the old ones I had from abstract ocean were a better match. I contacted them and they said it was also G217 so I ordered that and used the handle template. I may be cause there's was a tiny bit of chrome showing so it wasn't as noticeable. Anyway here's a pic.
Attachments
Kenriko
Former Vendor
Yea it's always been my biggest gripe on the 18s. There's so much gap above the wheel. I have another set of 18s for winters. I will get wider tires to replace the all seasons and hopefully it looks better.
My satin black kit arrives today, aiming to install it Sunday before winter really hits as having just put black wheels on my multicoat red - the 3 is begging for the black delete.
I was watching a different video that talked about the order in which you put the pieces on, can help establish confidence and make the install smoother.
Any tips from you guys on that? I'm thinking, start easiest, and then go progressively harder.
Window trim > door handles > camera > mirrors
Thoughts? The guy in the video also mentioned he did one piece on the driver side, and then did the matching piece on the passenger side so it was fresh in his head of the technique for that specific piece. I'll experiment as I get into the install but was just curious how you guys would approach it if you did it again.
Thanks!
I was watching a different video that talked about the order in which you put the pieces on, can help establish confidence and make the install smoother.
Any tips from you guys on that? I'm thinking, start easiest, and then go progressively harder.
Window trim > door handles > camera > mirrors
Thoughts? The guy in the video also mentioned he did one piece on the driver side, and then did the matching piece on the passenger side so it was fresh in his head of the technique for that specific piece. I'll experiment as I get into the install but was just curious how you guys would approach it if you did it again.
Thanks!
Personally I worked on the passenger side and made all my mistakes there, then switched to the driver side which went much smoother (and I don't see my mistakes every day 
). My logic was that I had a good stopping point halfway through if I needed, as no one would be able to tell the delete was unfinished unless they walked around the entire car.
). My logic was that I had a good stopping point halfway through if I needed, as no one would be able to tell the delete was unfinished unless they walked around the entire car.I did the camera last. It's definitely more bunching prone than any of the other pieces. Mine has all sorts of bunching around the front most corner of the camera. I might trim some of the vinyl there.
The mirror definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. My first mirror actually turned out more perfectly than my second one. Which leads into your last question. I did passenger side door handles, then driver side. Then passenger side window followed by driver side window, etc. This technique worked pretty well for me. Except if I had to do it over again I might have done the mirrors together-ish. Due to timing issues, I did them a week apart. The mirror pieces are more complex and sometimes the margin of error is small (For example: if you didn't leave enough overlap on one piece, then you might not find out until you lay down 2 or 3 more pieces that now you have a small sliver of chrome showing between piece 1 and 3 because that first piece needed to be lined up a millimeter more to the left). So maybe I would have done the passenger side mirror - but only the pieces that are attached to the car. Then the driver side. And then do the piece that you popped off. Complete the passenger side one first, attach it back to your car and see if you have any alignment issues. Then do the driver side. I'm making this sound scarier than it is. My first try on the passenger mirror looks really good. I either got over-confident or too careless on the driver side so I have some small issues.
Kenriko
Former Vendor
I'd actually recommend doing the mirrors first. All my data shows people are not having issues with the mirror and are more likely to mess up the T1, T2, and the Cameras.
"done" with the driver side...
Some early opinions - and I apologize if I'm too blunt.
FIrst off, great product.
Started with the mirrors per Kenriko's advice. Challenging but pretty straight forward. Result was really good. I spent WAY too much time on M4. I had good momentum before fiddling with that for 45 mins to an hour. I also think part of m4 is not really visible when the mirror cap is back on, and that should be stated to prevent someone from messing around for no reason.
Next - door trim t1 and t2, pretty easy and good result. T3 - you need to reshoot this video. Not enough detail of where to line up the edges. I ended up having a good placement, and then used the plastic razor thinking I could tuck the part by the window and it got all jacked up. I don't think you're supposed to tuck that? So then I ripped it off in frustration and said oh I'll use the other piece. Oh wait, I'm an idiot, and you don't get 2 sets of the door trim. So then I put my mangled t3 back on, and it looks somewhat decent.
Onto t4 - again, please reshoot this video. In all these tutorials, I feel that some of the critical details are missing. Specifically, the initial placement and how you align the edges is HUGE. Close ups of these would be beneficial. On t4, the section above the driver window - are you supposed to tuck that, or is it supposed to sit flush? Because I can't tuck the portion north of the mirror and above the driver window as the rubber seal is way too tight. I ended up having too much overhang and when you try to stuff it in there, it bunches up and never is right after that. OR, the plastic razor slips, and you cut the vinyl. fdjakl;fjdkslajfkld;sajfkld;as GRRRR The rest of t4 is fine - my trim above the passenger window and b pillar has enough room to stuff the razor in between the rubber seal.
Door trim pro tip - AVOID stretching the vinyl at all costs. A little bit of stretch to get pacman corners to line up is ok, but too much heat gun, and the slightest pull then compromises the vertical height of a piece ..... and you'll be fighting the placement of that piece for way too long.
Camera/signal trim - man I could not get your method to work AT ALL. Used one piece, stretched it too much, into the trash. I then watched nikola pro's version for the 2nd attempt and it seemed to work wayyyy better, but I have a sliver of silver trim at the top edge, and the corner near the front bunched up. Not acceptable to me. . These were hard and I won't try them again. Wayyyy more worth it to spend $30 for fake CF caps.
I spent 5-6 hours on the one side. Mirror cap, T3 and T4 will need to be done again. We'll see how the passenger side goes tomorrow.
I really would encourage high resolution images for each piece to show where the vinyl should meet the rubber seal, or edge of the car, on almost every edge. Those are the critical details that either allow the piece to go smoothly, or result in fighting a fight that didn't need to be fought. I'm still stumped on where the edges on t3 and t4 should be tucked or should not be tucked. I'd also encourage close ups of the pac man corners being laid as those details are what separates an amateur looking install from a pro.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Some early opinions - and I apologize if I'm too blunt.
FIrst off, great product.
Started with the mirrors per Kenriko's advice. Challenging but pretty straight forward. Result was really good. I spent WAY too much time on M4. I had good momentum before fiddling with that for 45 mins to an hour. I also think part of m4 is not really visible when the mirror cap is back on, and that should be stated to prevent someone from messing around for no reason.
Next - door trim t1 and t2, pretty easy and good result. T3 - you need to reshoot this video. Not enough detail of where to line up the edges. I ended up having a good placement, and then used the plastic razor thinking I could tuck the part by the window and it got all jacked up. I don't think you're supposed to tuck that? So then I ripped it off in frustration and said oh I'll use the other piece. Oh wait, I'm an idiot, and you don't get 2 sets of the door trim. So then I put my mangled t3 back on, and it looks somewhat decent.
Onto t4 - again, please reshoot this video. In all these tutorials, I feel that some of the critical details are missing. Specifically, the initial placement and how you align the edges is HUGE. Close ups of these would be beneficial. On t4, the section above the driver window - are you supposed to tuck that, or is it supposed to sit flush? Because I can't tuck the portion north of the mirror and above the driver window as the rubber seal is way too tight. I ended up having too much overhang and when you try to stuff it in there, it bunches up and never is right after that. OR, the plastic razor slips, and you cut the vinyl. fdjakl;fjdkslajfkld;sajfkld;as GRRRR The rest of t4 is fine - my trim above the passenger window and b pillar has enough room to stuff the razor in between the rubber seal.
Door trim pro tip - AVOID stretching the vinyl at all costs. A little bit of stretch to get pacman corners to line up is ok, but too much heat gun, and the slightest pull then compromises the vertical height of a piece ..... and you'll be fighting the placement of that piece for way too long.
Camera/signal trim - man I could not get your method to work AT ALL. Used one piece, stretched it too much, into the trash. I then watched nikola pro's version for the 2nd attempt and it seemed to work wayyyy better, but I have a sliver of silver trim at the top edge, and the corner near the front bunched up. Not acceptable to me. . These were hard and I won't try them again. Wayyyy more worth it to spend $30 for fake CF caps.
I spent 5-6 hours on the one side. Mirror cap, T3 and T4 will need to be done again. We'll see how the passenger side goes tomorrow.
I really would encourage high resolution images for each piece to show where the vinyl should meet the rubber seal, or edge of the car, on almost every edge. Those are the critical details that either allow the piece to go smoothly, or result in fighting a fight that didn't need to be fought. I'm still stumped on where the edges on t3 and t4 should be tucked or should not be tucked. I'd also encourage close ups of the pac man corners being laid as those details are what separates an amateur looking install from a pro.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I had the same issue with T4...but along the WHOLE LENGTH of the piece. See my post on page 10. I was only able to tuck the top edge of the vinyl with a blackhead extractor. I practically pushed down on the plastic razor so hard that my skin was about to rip off, but it still won't fit between the chrome and rubber seal. I can somewhat easily slip the blackhead extractor into the same space. The trick with the blackhead extractor is that you have to find a way to do it so the tuck is nice and smooth and not wavy looking. I used the razor in one hand and used the flat side to kind of hold the vinyl flat against the top of the chrome and used the extractor to tuck.
Kenriko
Former Vendor
Fair points and I agree I need to update a few things in the videos, part of the issue with exact alignment on T4 seems to be that tolerances are different car to car. (what's tight for one has plenty of space on another)
You should be using the back edge of the squeegee on T4 and heating it before tucking and should not have issues with tearing if you follow that process.
You can easily request replacements for all of the pieces you want to redo on our website.
You should be using the back edge of the squeegee on T4 and heating it before tucking and should not have issues with tearing if you follow that process.
You can easily request replacements for all of the pieces you want to redo on our website.
Yeah I went back through the thread and saw your post! I should've re-read the whole thread before starting the install as I ran into some of the same issues as others.
I'm wondering if I just don't leave as much material on the top edge and almost just try to barely cover the silver. It's pretty easy to leave too much material on top and then it doubles up and feels impossible to recover at that point. I'd like Ken or others to comment on this. I can't imagine we're the only ones with ridiculously tight trim. I almost feel like I'm damaging that rubber seal because its so tight.
I don't have a blackhead extractor - but I do enjoy watching youtube videos of them LOLLL
Passenger side done...
Better than the driver side in general, but not up to my standard.
My conclusion as someone who paid to have a chrome delete done on my first model 3, and just attempted it myself on the second model 3. For me personally, I'd rather pay to have someone do it.
That said, I actually think the door handles, mirrors aren't bad. Which is funny, because I think most pro installers hate the mirrors. In fact, my mirrors are better than my pro install. However, the window trim is not nearly as clean as the pro install (which looked nearly OEM). My pro install had no dust nibs anywhere, and I think all the edges were clean. Maybe all these things are just jumping out at me because I attempted it myself.
I would advise someone to wash your car completely before doing this, not just clay bar/wash the trim.I think I actually had dirt or dust on the rubber seals, and windows which compromised a nice seal. If the vinyl flops around and hits a dirty window, it now has dirt all over it. Even though its 65f in my garage, it has been 40 outside and I wonder if the car was really warm enough. I also was a bit tentative to use my heat gun which has 2 settings and both are way hotter than 200f. From 7inches away, yes its 200f (as measured by a thermocouple I have laying around for coffee roasting heh), but that makes it challenging to use correctly. Maybe my results would've been different in nice spring temps, with great lighting, with my garage door open.
Overall the car looks awesome, even from 5ft away. But I'm not satisfied. For me, its a $40k+ car and I want a modification to look OEM. There are too many little slightly raised edges on the door trim, or small little areas that didn't wrap flush and tight like the door corners, or corner of t3 (coverage is great but extra material and not a clean finish). Also one section on t4 which somehow got 3 specs of dirt underneath. I don't even think I'll request the 1ups to fix my mistakes as I'd rather pay a pro $300 to just do the window trim. I'm very tired after spending 10 hours doing this.
My first delete was $500. A different local guy quoted me $400. Personally, I'd rather pay a pro and spend my time elsewhere. I do think you can get nice results but professionals are professionals imo.
Sidenote: center console wrap shouldn't even be a marker for attempting this - the console wrap is cake because the environment is controlled and you have sharp edges to wrap. Also, the plastic edge of the squeegee tool does appear to be the right thing to do for the t3/t4 trim pieces where you're tucking the top edge into the rubber seal (big difference using that on the passenger side).
Better than the driver side in general, but not up to my standard.
My conclusion as someone who paid to have a chrome delete done on my first model 3, and just attempted it myself on the second model 3. For me personally, I'd rather pay to have someone do it.
That said, I actually think the door handles, mirrors aren't bad. Which is funny, because I think most pro installers hate the mirrors. In fact, my mirrors are better than my pro install. However, the window trim is not nearly as clean as the pro install (which looked nearly OEM). My pro install had no dust nibs anywhere, and I think all the edges were clean. Maybe all these things are just jumping out at me because I attempted it myself.
I would advise someone to wash your car completely before doing this, not just clay bar/wash the trim.I think I actually had dirt or dust on the rubber seals, and windows which compromised a nice seal. If the vinyl flops around and hits a dirty window, it now has dirt all over it. Even though its 65f in my garage, it has been 40 outside and I wonder if the car was really warm enough. I also was a bit tentative to use my heat gun which has 2 settings and both are way hotter than 200f. From 7inches away, yes its 200f (as measured by a thermocouple I have laying around for coffee roasting heh), but that makes it challenging to use correctly. Maybe my results would've been different in nice spring temps, with great lighting, with my garage door open.
Overall the car looks awesome, even from 5ft away. But I'm not satisfied. For me, its a $40k+ car and I want a modification to look OEM. There are too many little slightly raised edges on the door trim, or small little areas that didn't wrap flush and tight like the door corners, or corner of t3 (coverage is great but extra material and not a clean finish). Also one section on t4 which somehow got 3 specs of dirt underneath. I don't even think I'll request the 1ups to fix my mistakes as I'd rather pay a pro $300 to just do the window trim. I'm very tired after spending 10 hours doing this.
My first delete was $500. A different local guy quoted me $400. Personally, I'd rather pay a pro and spend my time elsewhere. I do think you can get nice results but professionals are professionals imo.
Sidenote: center console wrap shouldn't even be a marker for attempting this - the console wrap is cake because the environment is controlled and you have sharp edges to wrap. Also, the plastic edge of the squeegee tool does appear to be the right thing to do for the t3/t4 trim pieces where you're tucking the top edge into the rubber seal (big difference using that on the passenger side).
Washed the car, took some pics. Tried to capture some of the little stuff but its overcast and bad lighting. I dunno, still looks good and most people will never notice the little raised edges or other flaws.
Put them in a google photos album -
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AY1RbpoRawBPJASc6
Put them in a google photos album -
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AY1RbpoRawBPJASc6
Tcpsoft
Member
I ordered one of Kenriko's kits when they became available again shortly after taking delivery and am super happy with the results. Not perfect, but like a lot of people who post on car forums I'm pretty critical of my car and my own work. I doubt that someone just checking the car out would pick up on the less than perfect areas.
My lessons learned: Keep the final orientation of the part in mind and make sure the most visible part has full coverage to the edge. I have a sliver of chrome exposed on the right fender camera cover and another on the inside of the left mirror cap. Both of these have extras in Kenriko's kit and I planned to redo those, but I only see it when I'm intentionally looking for it so the redo has been low on my list.
I'm going to be a little sad when the Model 3s come stock with blacked out trim. Now, it sets the car apart and when you see it you know that person is also possibly a little obsessive, like yourself.
My lessons learned: Keep the final orientation of the part in mind and make sure the most visible part has full coverage to the edge. I have a sliver of chrome exposed on the right fender camera cover and another on the inside of the left mirror cap. Both of these have extras in Kenriko's kit and I planned to redo those, but I only see it when I'm intentionally looking for it so the redo has been low on my list.
I'm going to be a little sad when the Model 3s come stock with blacked out trim. Now, it sets the car apart and when you see it you know that person is also possibly a little obsessive, like yourself.
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