Jim,
I appreciate your input. You may be right and we'll never find out if my dealership tinkered with it before I got it. It is true that it's a 2008 model and I bought it in 2010.

Mike

 

It totally is. It started suddenly and seems to deteriorate quite rapidly. It's flaking off on the edges even worse now...

 

White/cedar: I appreciate the photo. Seeing the "underbelly" makes it a bit less overwhelming to consider possibly doing it myself.... I doubt I will but the remote possibility is there..

 

Does this just come off if you simply pull it out?

 

Thanks for the detailed photo of the window surround and the clips and all. My factory clear coat on the black srt is peeled up and flaky as well around the windshield and the upper surface of the spoiler wing. I have been putting off this cosmetic repair because I wasn't sure where the clips were and I have heard of them flying off after removal.

 

I would recommend using a plastic trim tool. The trick to reinstalling the trim is to make sure the clips fit "into" the receivers on the car not over. Careful sanding "600 grit" will assure good mechanical bonding down to the basecoat. Primer isn't necessary unless you sand through the base coat. 2-3 coats of color then 3-4 coats of clear. If the clear is flawless, there is no need to rub out the clear, if not the multiple coats give you some depth to work with. Sand 1500-2000, then 3000, 4000, all wet sandpaper and a final polish with a "cool wool" and ultimate compound.

 

Would you kindly spell out what you did? Thanks.

Mike

 

My 04 has done the same thing.....maybe worse. Every piece of exterior silver trim, with the exception of the rims (they were manufactured in a separate plant), has been peeling on the top sides exposed to the sun and weather.....windshield trim, grill (not the grey, just the silver trim), top of door handles, and top of side strakes. Once it starts, it just keeps growing. 99.9% certain that not all the exterior trim would have been "repainted" out of the factory, maybe they were done on a Monday or late Friday?? The "fish eye" marks on the window trim in the original post are most likely small rock chips that have started the clear coat lifting process.....it all starts with one little spot where some contamination can get beneath the clear.....man I hate clear coats....they're for lazy people who can't or don't know how to take care of a car....same people lined up at the automatic car wash. Anyhow, Dupli-color has an exact match to the silver trim in an 8oz, rattle can, however it does require a clear coat. Chrysler factory paint code is PS2 Bright Silver Metallic, Dupli-color number is BCC0410 (replaced DSCC410/T363) and it matched perfectly!! It's also the same paint code for the interior console trim if anyone needs some touchup there. I believe Amazon sells a muti-pack of both the silver and the clear as a package deal.

 

My 04 did the same thing, clear coat started cracking on the
windshield trim, 3 months later it started flaking off
I'm in Texas and heat and humidity is with us 95% of the year
I removed them and had them repainted for
50$ with a small body shop. When you have them off
I suggest you check the clamps that hold these pieces
to the car and see if the silicone is still strong!
long story short the Texas sun weakened the silicone on my top piece,
driving at 70mph made it fly off and was never found.
That part alone is like 200$ if you're lucky enough to find it
on ebay or junk yard makes me wonder why a company has not fabricated the windshield trim they would make a lot of $
since it's so hard to find. I did at one point before painting them
go with the wrap alternative but it's just not the same the
wrap gets deteriorated at about 8 months or so and look funky and you'll have to go through all the hassle of removing it again
so just get them painted now!

 

A belated update: Chrysler rep that I talked to at the outset was ***** nilly overruled by another I spoke to once I had the local dealer "certify" that the clear coat failure was a "defect." Not worth the fight to the top for a measly $500... but it does say something about how Chrysler works.

 

~ Mine is as well only on the black srt though, the two ssb's are holding up well. I went to the paint store today to try to have them match up the silver surround color with their digital color reader that accounts for fade. They came back with some Honda color - nh614m ..Axalta(dupont) number 4030761EC to use as a one step aerosol at 18.00 a can. I did not order it yet because I wanted to check the forum here and see what 'yall are using for those of you that have painted yours back to silver. I have read the horror stories about re-attaching the plastic after removal and have decided that my taping skills are good enough to tape it off and mask the rest of the car off and paint it in place. I'll skip the door handles for now, but they need paint too, the surround looks like A$$ so I have to get on it right away. The two SSB's clearcoats are nice on the silver but the Rescue SSB has severe clearcoat failure near the wing on the hatch lid. Dodge had this problem years ago on many of their cars. It looks like they would have solved it by now (2005), unless it is based on a bonding / time issue which could affect any paint job no matter what brand of paint or clearcoat.

So, my 2cents on the clearcoat issue...IF it looks exactly like they waited too long between coats, .. perhaps the "factory" waited too long between the paint coat and the clearcoat when it was originally painted.

P.S. There is no Specific forum category here that I could find for Paint and Body work on our cars.

 

Why Dodge would be speaking to a small German car maker about clear coats I cannot imagine. ***** happens.