Yes the later vans had strip less gaskets and the slider windows had black frames. The front door seal also did not have the metal trim. 

Dennis 

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Gregory Smith
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2011 6:14 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: window trim strip substitute?

Like many of you I'm interested in replacing the no-longer-silver and
generally bad shape window gasket trim strip with something in black. 
I've looked around online and also asked at window and body shops and no
one seems to want to consider it very hard.

Has anyone found a good substitute?  I know I can replace the gaskets
with "euro style" but my gaskets are fine, it's the trim/spreader strip
that looks bad.  Painting seems like a temporary measure but one I might
consider.

Similarly the aluminum frame of the slider windows stands out.  What
have other folks done?  Did later models have black frames?

Thanks,

Gregory Smith
'88 Vanagon GL

Smith Design Studio
Small Building Company
Olympia, WA
360-239-0429
gregoryfsmith.com