Help! Mylar bumper and side trim 96-97 Cougars

[30thAnnie]

First time poster. I just picked up a very nice 97 Toredaor Red 30th Anniversary XR7. 39K miles. Nice paint from AZ.. No rust. The Mylar chrome trim is all spotted and faded as usual. I've seen museum quality cars with the same issue...I have seen a few blogs on how to remedy but have never seen a real fix. Looking at a Ford parts pic of the front bumper it does look like the trim is separate. There are lots of different aftermarket trim widths out there but none seems to be the needed 1-1/8" wide. I would like to keep with some 3M quality stuff. So, 1. Has anyone removed this trim( completely, not just foil covering)? 2 How to remove it (I thought about making a heat nozzle that would concentrate the heat just on the width of the trim) ? . 3. Has anyone found a replacement other than old Ford obsolete part numbers? Thanks! Looking forward to Spring! PS. Look at the original headliner in the car!

 

[97 30th]

They are separate pieces. I've thought about getting mine vinyl wrapped in chrome when they get too bad.

 

[Kenz]

It would be great if there is a solution to this, but I have never found any. It seems that the chrome trim is pitted underneath a thick clear layer which makes any repairs almost impossible. If it was sanded down smooth and refinished it might help. But it could still start degrading in other areas and cause an uneven surface.

I've considered masking off the chrome trim and sanding/painting it bodycolor.

 

[30thAnnie]

Thanks. But has anyone ever pulled the moldings out of the bumpers and body side successfully?

 

[XR7-4.6]

I’ve never pulled the bumper ones but I think they’re just held on with tape, the side molding ones are a little tricky as they are held into the cladding by a channel. If you take the cladding off the body you can actually slide the strips out of the cladding lengthwise from under

 

[30thAnnie]

Thanks. That helps. Now to just find 1-1/8" trim in bulk...