How to remove side mouldings?

How to remove side mouldings?

I scratched up my side mouldings hard and so I picked up a new one off ebay (go figure). Anyways I am not too sure how to approach this, do i just savagely rip off the old one with my bare hands or is there some technique that you guys have used to take off the side moulding?
Please reply, thanks.

I actually removed mine to give the car a cleaner look....plus mine was unpainted and looked gross. The way I have done it is to use a heat gun and heat up the area. Then take some dental floss or fishing line and use it to cut through the glue, which should be soft and sticky.

The fun part is cleaning up all the goop that gets left behind. Not fun and porbably took me 3 hours with my finger and goo-gone. Results are great though



Takes a lot of time and patience. Have fun, lol 8)

Heat gun eh?

Do you think a blow dryer would work as well?

Yup...a blow dryer should work as well. Some people used that to remove their emblems, so that should work fine as well. 8)

Solid

SOLID!
But my blow dryer is ghetto
It shuts off after 3 mins of use
what a POS

Definite POS! You can get a blow dryer that's good for like $5 now a days. Go invest in one that won't leave you stranded! 8)

I just used the blow dryer to heat up one end of the molding enough to lift it off a bit. Then I stuck a piece of plastic (like a credit card) and slid it across to remove the molding. Only took me about 20 mins. to have the moldings off and the double stick tape off. Most of the tape got scraped off when i slid the plastic across. I tried using dental floss but I found it wasn't working well for me.

Looks nice guys! I was wondering if you guys worry about door dings and other stuff from scratching your doors. I like it cause they are there for protection.

I have had mine removed since January no dings yet

http://images.cardomain.com/member_img_a/209000-209999/209640_37_full.jpg
8)

Just let your car sit under the sun and that should make it easier to pull out. DO NOT USE any petroleum-based gum remover to remove the sticky residue- it will damage your clear coat. (I used Meguiars Paint Cleaner)

I used goo gone, then claybar, and lastly Meguiars wax

Hmmmmmmm.........

Dang, this intrigues me! The side mouldings just kind of get in the way -- they collect wax deposits when I wax the car, they collect dirt and crap in between washings, and so on. Man -- decisions, decisions!!!!

Here's a chopper test -- what do you think??



thoots

you make a good point thoots. it looks clean without the moldings, but i'm gonna wait a while before i take mine off. i just have this hankering that when i try to do it, i'll take off the paint too or mess somehting up. so i'll do it later maybe. i'm not that bothered by them, YET

intel,

I plan on using a blow dryer and some fishing line -- I'd think that "sawing" though the sticky stuff with fishing line (putting pressure on the moulding, not the car) would keep from damaging the paint.

That is, if I ever manage to get up the nerve to do it! :twisted:

thoots

yea i need some nerve to do it. i get paranoid about paint jobs on cars. my hood already has freakin paint chips from small rocks on teh highways, and i have a mini scratch on my trunk from god knows what. so i'll hold off on the moldings, for now at least.

Same here. I'm kind of skeptical about removing them as well. I've got 3 small scratches where people have opened their doors on the moldings. I also have rock chips, and 3 scratches on the rear as well (which won't be there when I get her back..woohoo!). I'm still debating about removing them, so we shall see. 8)

If your moldings are the same color as the car, don't do it in my opinion. If you have a 2003 CE and they are black....I would remove them...looks so much better.

Hehehehe. I'm not too worried about door dings. I park MILES away from any other cars, to every extent I can. I kept my previous car, a 1996 Paseo, totally free of any kind of door dings or scratches, and I intend to keep that record intact with the Corolla! :twisted:

thoots

thats good, but i get so lazy. i try to park as close to the disable spots as possible.

I park near no one as well. Yet, every freakin time I come out, and walk to my car in booneyville, i'll have two POS' right by me. I think people do it just to piss me off.

When I'm at school, I have no choice. We have very limited parking. I just have to park wherever I can find a spot because I don't live on campus. So that is my main problem with door dings! :x

yea i'm gonna try to refrain from taking my car to school, cause i know there will be some retard with a 1952 dodge sumthing or other looking to dent my doors. they have free bus service where i go, so its all good. not too bad

hey i just pulled mine right off without using any heat
and the goo? i just peeled them off wif some W40..
whole process only took me an hour

WORD!!!! I park allllllllllllllll the way at the end and n a corner and come back to find some retard right next to me ...

Bastard! I guess I did it the hard way. WD40 doesn't harm the paint in anyway? I thought about it, but decided to go with the mild Goo-Gone....guess it was too mild cause it took me hours to get the glue off.

so people with the s and le have the same plastic molding, only painted? in that case, i may pay to have mine painted. like some of these other people, i feel uneasy about removing the moldings and i am, like, deathly afraid of dings. okay, not deathly afraid but pretty close. :wink:

It's really not that big of a deal, but I would get yours painted. I think the moldings add to the lines of the car. Maybe my eyes are wacked.

Mouldings

So i called toyota
just curious to see how much side mouldings were actually worth
The guy said if i were to order all 4 in
it would cost 500 CDN
i was like
woah

Re: Mouldings

maybe those who took em off can sell em on ebay, good way to make some quick cash

Re: Mouldings

I have the CE so my moldings are black, dosnt look real great. But i like the look they give the car if there painted, sorta gives it more detail and depth. But if there painted and they get hit, wont they chip or scratch too? If so, either way you would have a damn chip or scratch on your car... i gues its just easier to repaint the moldings than a to retouch the door its-self.

Ha, ya the dealers like to rip you off, I messed up my windsheild washer fluid bottle(long story, ill spare you guys) so i went to the dealer to get a new one, i forget the exact price they told me, but it was arround $100 US. I already replaced the washer fluid pump, (ya i messed that up too) got it from the dealer and it only cost $45 US. How the hell can the bottle cost double what the pump dose, thats just fucked up.

Trevor

Sweet, too bad there is no way someone would pay that much for side mouldings. Mine are unpainted too....so that should be a plus

I asked how much a wheel cover was for my CE, they wanted $115 for one....yikes! Better be carefull around the curbs from now on.