Removing Side Molding
03-10-2007, 05:10 PM
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Removing Side Molding OK so i figured since i had done this on the last car and it looked much smoother in my opinions I would undertake the project again today with the nice weather....and being unbarably bored 
To start out I used fishing line on my last trans am just regular monofiliment from any store will do. But this time i decided to use a special type of fishing line called "spider wire"...its actually a braided monofiliment that is significantly stronger and much thinner in diameter. This allows you to use the same piece throughout the whole project also it is thinner and cuts much easier IMO. when you go to do this imagine as though you are flossing your teeth. Take about maybe a 1.5 or 2 ft. piece of line twirl it around your hands. May i add that i used mechanic gloves so the line doesnt dig into your hand and risk cutting them up. Anyhow, wrap the line around your hands and put it around the molding and slowly go back and forth with pressure pulling the line through inbetween the molding and the actual body of the car. kind of imagine a rowing motion with your hands back and forth all the way down. Sorry i didnt get pics of this part i was alone and had no one to film what i was doing. but here is what it will look like when you get the modling pieces off with the fishing line.
Before:
After:
Now what you need to do is peel all that sticky stuff of the side of the door.....I did not have to heat it up or anything of the nature i just sprayed on some mystery cleaner that was safe for paint and slowly pealed it off. If your very carefull you can pull it back towards you slowly and it will come off in larger peices. Otherwise it just takes time and comes off in lil chunks. think of it as thick doublesided tape kinda stuff.
heres with the tape stuff off:
Once the molding is off and the sticky stuff is off go ahead and try and clean the area really well. Now just a lil background on this "mod". The older the car the more the paint has NOT been exposed to the sun or the eliments. Think about it, when you take the trim off you are exposing paint to the sun that has never seen the light before, or rain, or whatever. So in some cases the older the car the paint may be a slightly different color. On my old 02 trans am it was identical...but it was also yellow which is hard to tell difference. On this car which is now 7 years old and has 60k miles on it there is a slight difference in the paint color. However now that it will be in the sun im sure it will work its way off. Also I will prolly go and have it buffed professionally and have the whole exterior cleaned up really nice. But for now I washed the car myself and here is the aftermath...keep in mind IMO it looks so much cleaner and smoother without the molding. You can really watch the body lines flow without that trim obstructing the car.
To start out I used fishing line on my last trans am just regular monofiliment from any store will do. But this time i decided to use a special type of fishing line called "spider wire"...its actually a braided monofiliment that is significantly stronger and much thinner in diameter. This allows you to use the same piece throughout the whole project also it is thinner and cuts much easier IMO. when you go to do this imagine as though you are flossing your teeth. Take about maybe a 1.5 or 2 ft. piece of line twirl it around your hands. May i add that i used mechanic gloves so the line doesnt dig into your hand and risk cutting them up. Anyhow, wrap the line around your hands and put it around the molding and slowly go back and forth with pressure pulling the line through inbetween the molding and the actual body of the car. kind of imagine a rowing motion with your hands back and forth all the way down. Sorry i didnt get pics of this part i was alone and had no one to film what i was doing. but here is what it will look like when you get the modling pieces off with the fishing line.
Before:
After:
Now what you need to do is peel all that sticky stuff of the side of the door.....I did not have to heat it up or anything of the nature i just sprayed on some mystery cleaner that was safe for paint and slowly pealed it off. If your very carefull you can pull it back towards you slowly and it will come off in larger peices. Otherwise it just takes time and comes off in lil chunks. think of it as thick doublesided tape kinda stuff.
heres with the tape stuff off:
Once the molding is off and the sticky stuff is off go ahead and try and clean the area really well. Now just a lil background on this "mod". The older the car the more the paint has NOT been exposed to the sun or the eliments. Think about it, when you take the trim off you are exposing paint to the sun that has never seen the light before, or rain, or whatever. So in some cases the older the car the paint may be a slightly different color. On my old 02 trans am it was identical...but it was also yellow which is hard to tell difference. On this car which is now 7 years old and has 60k miles on it there is a slight difference in the paint color. However now that it will be in the sun im sure it will work its way off. Also I will prolly go and have it buffed professionally and have the whole exterior cleaned up really nice. But for now I washed the car myself and here is the aftermath
...keep in mind IMO it looks so much cleaner and smoother without the molding. You can really watch the body lines flow without that trim obstructing the car. 
03-10-2007, 05:13 PM
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Just some more pictures to show the car off finished up:
Hope this helps for anyone that is looking to undergo this...its not hard and only took me maybe 2 hours to 3 hours with washing and detailing the whole car...so not much time at all Good luck
Hope this helps for anyone that is looking to undergo this...its not hard and only took me maybe 2 hours to 3 hours with washing and detailing the whole car...so not much time at all Good luck
03-11-2007, 01:18 PM
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looks great!
when i did mine, i just did it by hand. on the first side, it left most of the tape. it took a long time to pick it all off. but on the second time, i got lucky and as i pulled the molding, it pulled the tape up with it.
when i did mine, i just did it by hand. on the first side, it left most of the tape. it took a long time to pick it all off. but on the second time, i got lucky and as i pulled the molding, it pulled the tape up with it.
03-11-2007, 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by cmking26
Looks good. Those wheels look sweet on there too. 
hahah ya you like that dont ya??? lol how are you liking the tt2's??? good to hear from ya hope all is well.
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03-11-2007, 07:27 PM
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Looks great! I think I'm going to do that to my car... it's pretty damn dirty anyway. I'm just waiting for my Menzerna and Zaino to come in the mail this week and then I'll be giving it a real nice polish. Maybe I'll take the trim off before I do it so I can try to clean the paint up to match.
Maybe I'll take the trim off before I do it so I can try to clean the paint up to match. 
03-11-2007, 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by 1meantransam
is there any thing i have to do after taking it off or does the color match right up??
03-11-2007, 07:57 PM
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well its been shaded half its life, never garage kept as far as i know, paint looks GREAT though still so i dont think its going to matter, so basicly i just pull them off and hope it matches then right?
03-11-2007, 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted by 1meantransam
well its been shaded half its life, never garage kept as far as i know, paint looks GREAT though still so i dont think its going to matter, so basicly i just pull them off and hope it matches then right?
03-12-2007, 08:18 AM
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Originally Posted by 1meantransam
well its been shaded half its life, never garage kept as far as i know, paint looks GREAT though still so i dont think its going to matter, so basicly i just pull them off and hope it matches then right?
just use the fishing line....it works really well and doesnt sractch anything. As far as gettin the sticky **** off just make ABSOLUTE sure taht its safe on paint and your all good most of the stickyness will just come off in pieces and just wash the car afterwards.....IMO it really cleans everything up and the body lines really shine...just my .02
03-12-2007, 10:52 AM
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Camaro Has anyone tried this on a camaro? The reason I ask, is that my trim is becoming pitted right after the doors and instead of replacing with the hassle of painting I was wondering if anyone has done this and has pics of it. If so, PLEASE POST pics. Thanks.
