How do you remove the body side moldings?

Silverbird00

Registered User
I have a 92 Black SC and was thinking about removing the body-side moldings and painting them gloss black. I do not like the "plastic" look of the side moldings or the door handles. It takes away from the shine of the rest of the car. Has anyone done this? Are they held on with clips, or tape, or what? Any info would be appreciated.

THANKS!!!
 
I haven't taken off the moldings on the SC, but on my old LX I did. They are held on by a very sticky glue... pain in the ass to get off. be careful too, because when you rip them off, they bow very easily and its hard to get them straight again to put them back on.
 
Do you think they would be easier to get off if you heat it up with a heat gun? Without melting the plastic of course. :)
 
Well maybe I'll go about it that way then. I just don't want to F*** anything up. I'm sure everyone understands that. How much are replacements if I happen to bend one of them too much? Anyone know?
 
you probably can't even get new replacements... And yeah, be careful, because on the lx I ****** one up! try not to bend them... when taking them off, use some kind of tool for leverage instead of pulling on the molding... that was my mistake. Something like a putty knife only stronger would work. Its possible that the SC moldings are a heavier, more brittle plastic. you might have to worry about breakage as opposed to bendage... (is that a word?)
 
I might try a putty knife, but I don't want to scratch the paint on the door. I guess I'll just have to be extra careful. I'll try a small section, and if it isn't coming off as easily as I would like, I'll just put it back on and forget about it. I want it to look better, not worse!

And "bendage" is a word now that you said it. :) Maybe you can copyright it or something.
 
And YES, you can buy replacement moldings from Ford, but they are $110 per door, per side!!!!!!!! Can you say JUNK YARD!!!??
 
I think I read on one of the BBS's that someone used nylon "fishing line" to separate the trim from the side of the car. Slipped it between the trim and paint and "cut" the two surfaces apart. I don't know what lbs-test line it was (would need to be pretty hefty). Maybe someone can elaborate on this method......
 
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