Removing upper window trim

[Casey]

i was in the process of blacking out my chrome trim today, and i got finished with the lower trim and realized that it would look a lot better and cleaner with the upper trim just removed, rather than blacked out, which isnt perfect. so i decided to remove it. i was looking at the steps in this link

How To Remove Upper Window Chrome

the PDF document is excellent...but do i REALLY need to remove my door panels and mirrors? it seems that from the information on there, the front door trim is just glued on. the rear trim has a bracket, but can just be pulled off and break the bracket. even the guy who made the PDF said he just pulled it off. so has anyone done the fronts and not removed the door panel? that would make things much easier and faster. thanks as usual for all the help!

[Blowndakrt]

Originally Posted by Casey

i was in the process of blacking out my chrome trim today, and i got finished with the lower trim and realized that it would look a lot better and cleaner with the upper trim just removed, rather than blacked out, which isnt perfect. so i decided to remove it. i was looking at the steps in this link

How To Remove Upper Window Chrome

the PDF document is excellent...but do i REALLY need to remove my door panels and mirrors? it seems that from the information on there, the front door trim is just glued on. the rear trim has a bracket, but can just be pulled off and break the bracket. even the guy who made the PDF said he just pulled it off. so has anyone done the fronts and not removed the door panel? that would make things much easier and faster. thanks as usual for all the help!

The rear can be removed without removing the door panel if you break the plastic tab that holds it down in the back. The front is held on with a metal C-channel clip that is behind the mirror. So the mirror has to be removed. In order to remove the mirror, the upper panel that goes around the window frame trim has to be taken off. I am not sure if you would be able to get that part off successfully without removing the door panel as well. The door panel actually snaps on top of the upper window frame trim.

And a little pointer, you do not have to heat the entire chrome trim to remove it. For the fronts, there is only adhesive on the section above the mirror and at back section where the pillar comes up to. The rears are the same way but in the mirrored locations. The rest is just a C channel that goes up around the door frame. I started at the back edge of the front door and heated up the adhesive while I pulled outward with dental floss. Then once I was past the pillar, I pulled it straight down to release the C channel, and then heated up the front edge near the mirror sail panel. The rears, I just mirrored what I did on the fronts.

Shawn

[Casey]

thanks a lot man, thats great info. i think we are going to try this tomorrow. or at least, i will be trying it alone. i removed my side moldings so this should be similar, at least when it comes to the adhesive.

i will try and loosen it up and get it off as much as i can before getting to the mirror, and take the door panel and mirror off like im spose to if i see no other way.