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2020 Denali "Factory" Body Side Moldings Body Colored

2020SierraDenali
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2020SierraDenali

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After scoping out the new Sierras, obviously I bought one, a 2020 4 x 4 6.2L in Dark Sky. I like it mainly how it came, but the door emblems were moved from the earlier models and they have this nice fat, flat area along the lower door. Like a ridge line or something just WAITING for that POS Pinto that wants to sling open their door right into that piece of real estate.  I'm a fairly careful parker, but there's some times you just are going to have to deal with parking lot crazies.

 

We all know that they do not have a body side molding kit for the T1, at least not yet anyway. Especially not even body-colored.  The idea in my mind was to try and find something that looks quasi-factory, or at least something that in abstract, GM could have done should they chose to.

 

So searching and looking around, I found 2014-2018 Crew Cab body side molding kits as a good fix for what I wanted. Halfway reasonable in cost, about $150, and approximately suitable length for the doors and should fit right in place. Plus, knowing they're GM parts, they should hold up well. Problem is, they came in white/black/red and whatever colors. Nothing in Dark Sky. Also, which GMC was so nice to do, was to place the Denali emblem (or Sierra, etc.) right along the front of that ridge line. Which is ok, but that means I need a shorter front door piece. No problem. I'll just repaint them.  I stumbled across a guy in California that had some white ones, still brand new in the box. Didn't need them any longer, as he was going another route. I picked them up for $100. Bought a paint base/clear kit from AutomotiveTouchup.com as well in GJI Dark Sky premix spray bomb.  I'm ready. I think.

 

Turns out, you can't simply "trim" off the end of the body side molding. It's formed on the end to be a color finish. That sucks. So now I have to section out what I don't want and fuse the end back on. This was going to be fun.

 

Here's what the end piece looks like if you cut it.

 

Cut body side molding.JPG

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2020SierraDenali Enthusiast

2020SierraDenali

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So now I have to section out what I don't want, and by my measurements, the front will only be about 19" long.  The Denali emblem takes up some space.

 

Here's what I had to work with, so using a blade for cutting plastic on my chop saw, I trimmed out the section I didn't need, and used JB Weld Plastic epoxy to glue the end back to the shortened piece. Whoever made these for GM has some fairly uneven molds as I found out. Thickness and width aren't 100% accruate when you take a chunk out of the middle of one. Down below is a picture of the shortened fronts and the piece at the bottom is the section that was removed.

 

There's a close up of the glued ends in the bottom pic. They'll need a bit of work with the sanding, but they should do just fine.

 

 

Front door moldings.JPG

front door molding cuts.JPG

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2020SierraDenali Enthusiast

2020SierraDenali

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It's a work in progress, so to see if it was even going to work, I cut two pieces off the sectioned part, and glued them together, sanded them, and used it as a test piece to see if I could make them look sort of factory.

 

Looks very passable. On the back side, you can see the seam on the back where it was glued together.

 

 

body side molding truck.JPG

body side molding truck back.JPG

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2020SierraDenali Enthusiast

2020SierraDenali

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Sanding and sanding and then painting.

 

Here they are after the clear has dried. Now I have to color sand and buff them smooth. 

 

The color seems to be spot on, and no discernable seams. 

 

Also seems I was able to match the color. Not done yet, but I'll come back tomorrow and hopefully I can get them installed after color sand/buffing and then post up. Probably the only Dark Sky set on earth! 

 

 

2020 body side molding kit.JPG

Color match body side molding.JPG

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2020SierraDenali Enthusiast

2020SierraDenali

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37 minutes ago, Unwrntd said:

i've seen several aftermarket paint matched options out there

So have I, but many are stainless/chrome, or have chrome in them, or require the removal of the door emblem name. And closer to $200 plus the shipping.

 

TBH, I searched, and couldn't find anything suitable to my liking. I do not want any chrome at all. And I didn't want to lose the lettering along the door. There was one shorty door strip, but the whole thing was stainless. I wanted everything body color. NO chrome.

 

I got about 165 total into my color change over with parts and paint and did it myself, so I got exactly what I wanted and keep my door emblems as well. 

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Unwrntd Enthusiast

Unwrntd

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ah thats a good point, i was looking into them before but didn't want to move the door badge!

Fltmech Enthusiast

Fltmech

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36 minutes ago, Unwrntd said:

ah thats a good point, i was looking into them before but didn't want to move the door badge!

Look at luxwood trim. I believe theirs fit around the emblems.

Unwrntd Enthusiast

Unwrntd

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54 minutes ago, Fltmech said:

Look at luxwood trim. I believe theirs fit around the emblems.

damn that looks nice

2020SierraDenali Enthusiast

2020SierraDenali

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Price is probably nice too. Too late for me. I've already got mine polished up and ready to install. Fitting around the emblems make them a bit wider than I was wanting anyway. PLUS - they're in Quebec, so there's border costs, as well as they're probably not real affordable, and there's nothing on the website saying they'd paint them body color for you as it is, so I'd be doing almost the same thing I just did.

 

 

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2020SierraDenali Enthusiast

2020SierraDenali

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Got around to sticking them on today. Wife wasn't impressed. She said they're not really that noticeable and kind of get lost in the background. To which I replied, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Just kind of hanging out virtually unnoticed. That's why I didn't want the chrome. Everyone's cup of tea? No. But I like them. Makes me sleep easier. Not a panacea against dings, but I can breathe a little easier without it looking too gaudy. One thing I can say about GM molding adhesive. That crap is like super glue. Once it sticks, it's stuck.

 

Next up- GM Aeroskin II black hood protector/deflector install. After that I'll probably do a bit of tinting (legal), and then probably an Elite catch can. 

 

 

Side Moldings Completed 1.JPG

Side Moldings Completed 2.JPG

Side Moldings Completed 3.JPG

Side Moldings Completed 4.JPG

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2020SierraDenali Enthusiast

2020SierraDenali

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On 7/19/2020 at 11:41 AM, Unwrntd said:

that looks awesome! I'd try it but I think i would mess it up..

Thanks for the props, but I wasn't looking for an awesome look, but I get what you mean. I wanted more like the "meh, I don't see what you're talking about" look. I wanted the last resort protection from rando door swings, but I also wanted something that appeared to be something GM may do had they decided to protect that area of the doors with some trim. And I also wanted some GM parts to ensure they would stay stuck. Don't think that's going to be a problem here.  About 50 feet across a parking lot at certain angles, they seem to just disappear into the door.  Truck's got too much chrome on it to add any more to it.

 

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