Question on removing the side door moldings?

[lennoxavesosa]

The more and more I look at my car and then see pictures of black 300C's with the door moldings (shopping cart protectors as they are oftenly referred to) removed, the more it makes me want to remove mine. I assume they are just attached with 3MM tape, but how hard are they to remove and will it leave a discoloration and will i need my doors repainted? This weekend i removed the "300C Hemi" badge off my trunk and it left quite a noticable discoloration/shadow where the emblem was (thankfully im going to have the trunk repainted soon anyways). I first took a heat gun to the emblem, and while applying heat pryed it off using a credit card and dental floss. I then wiped down the where the sticky stuff was with 'goo gone' and finally wiped everything clean with a microfiber towel. From what I've heard this is the best method for removing anything on a car with 3MM tape. I just hope that this dosent happen if i remove the door moldings. Any info from anyone who has done this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[ink]

I am actually about to do the same thing to mine this weekend (if I have time!). I have done this on all my previous vehicles with no discoloration whatsoever. You will only notice a visible discoloration if the vehicle is more than a few years old. Thats weird that it left discoloration on your trunk.....mine came off with no problems.....you can never even tell that it was there. When you do the sides just make sure it is nice and soft from the heat gun before you start removing. Then move the heat gun as you remove the molding so the section you are taking off is always soft. Whatever residue you have left after the molding is off.....just use your palm and rub it off. Then if there is anything remaining you can use goo gone or WD40 and it should come off with no problems. I will post pictures if I get around to doing mine this weekend.

[apbrian112]

i've been thinking of doing this as well. it looks really clean w/o the moldings. ink post some results after you've removed your moldings.
-brian-

[O Stress]

Originally Posted by lennoxavesosa

The more and more I look at my car and then see pictures of black 300C's with the door moldings (shopping cart protectors as they are oftenly referred to) removed, the more it makes me want to remove mine. I assume they are just attached with 3MM tape, but how hard are they to remove and will it leave a discoloration and will i need my doors repainted? This weekend i removed the "300C Hemi" badge off my trunk and it left quite a noticable discoloration/shadow where the emblem was (thankfully im going to have the trunk repainted soon anyways). I first took a heat gun to the emblem, and while applying heat pryed it off using a credit card and dental floss. I then wiped down the where the sticky stuff was with 'goo gone' and finally wiped everything clean with a microfiber towel. From what I've heard this is the best method for removing anything on a car with 3MM tape. I just hope that this dosent happen if i remove the door moldings. Any info from anyone who has done this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I took a hair dryer to mine, to pull it off, then did the old rub it off with the thumb trick, then used polishing compound, lightly to blend any residue....

[TheDon300]

well if any of you guys take it off dont throw it away, I would love to take it off your hands, i have a base and have no chrome = ( except for my 22's = )

[GUSRED]

are you guys talking about all the side moldings? from behind the front tire where the c emblem is al the way to the back door ???????? please let me know i am interested in taking mine off also but i did have a 2000 vw gti that i did the exact thing to and it had holes so the doors had to be repainted... does anyone know for sure if it is just stuck on?

[ink]

does anyone know for sure if it is just stuck on?

Yes it is just stuck on by 3M stick tape.....the rear wing emblem on the trunk is the only one with holes

[frank29]

You guys are making me think (could be dangerous). The only things I have removed from my C's exterior is the dealer sticker and license plate frame....what the heck, I paid a premium (sticker) and they aren't paying me advertising royalites.....I took that junk off within minutes of getting home (in retrospect, I should have made it a condition of the purchase...luckly the sticker came off just great).

So you guys are removing the badging and the side moldings? Hmmmmm

Hmmm

Maybe I should...I just don't know

[StrongBad]

"before and after"'s would be grand!

[yarbie]

It looks alot cleaner with the moldings off. Be very careful and take your time.

I took my car to my friends body shop. They have a special rubber attachment they
use with a drill to get it off. Body shops have to take moldings off all the time so they
can work on cars. Their the Pros. He charged me $40.00 bucks. That 3m can be a bitch to get off.