Was matching color correct for a ‘92 LX ?
Yes, those moldings would have been the same color as the rest of the car from the factory.
Positive these are original factory moldings, it's like some sort of top coat is dissolving like a steering wheel will with age. I just stopped for now before make a bigger mess.
They may be the original moldings, but someone definitely painted them black. The question is, why?
The part you cleaned doesn't look too bad. Will those spots that are still black clean up to body color? If so, may as well try to clean the rest of the black off. Mineral spirits shouldn't harm factory paint, if that is what's underneath the black. May need to be polished up a bit, depending on how dull the newly exposed surface is.
Still odd why it was painted over, being as all the rest of the car appears to be as it was when it left the factory.
Best bet is probably to respray just the molding with trim paint if you fine with them being black sem works pretty well from a spray can... Most people would have at least scuffed the oem finish before spaying them so its a gamble to remove the spray paint from the rest.
If you don't mind them being black, then yea, you could respray them. The moldings being black just look out of place to me. Maybe try cleaning them and if they come back to life, then you're set. If not... if they've been scuffed up or in whatever way had the surface finish ruined, then give them a coat of black paint.
That existing black finish looks pretty rough (both literally and figuratively) in that one pic.
