Removing body side moulding

Raff

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I disliked the factory body side moulding on the wagon so I decided to take a run at removing it. I used a heat gun set on low (approx 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and a plastic scraper. I heated up the trim and used the plastic scraper to get under both the moulding and the black adhesive. Once I got the end lifted I ditched the scraper and just pullled on the trim while heating the exposed back side of the trim. I was stunned how easily it peeled right off. Done in 15 minutes with only a 40 year old dirt outline of where the trim used to be. I took some Turtle Wax bug and tar remover, sprayed it on the outline, let it sit for 5 minutes and wiped it off with a rag. You’d have to look very closely to see that the trim was ever there at all.
 

Aspen500

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It does look better without the vinyl trim. Personally, I've never been a fan of that type of moulding but I guess it all depends on the car also, whether it looks good or not.
 

volare 77

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Most likely not factory side moulding. Looks like dealer add on. It does look better without.
 

old yellow 78

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Very nice job! It definitely looks better without the side trim. It's nice that you can't see any paint difference from fading. I want to take off the black side molding that is on OY. Hope it goes as well as yours did! ;)
 

Aspen500

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I'm not sure abut now but you used to be able to buy that molding from auto parts stores.

My 1st car in 1981, '70 Barracuda Gran Coupe, had factory vinyl side moldings that were the same color as the car (deep burnt orange metallic), running from fender opening to fender opening down the side of the car. One of the first things I did to the car after buying it was peel them off. They just looked gaudy for lack of another term.
 

volare 77

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I know the Chrysler dealer near me back in the 70`s would call a mobile trim guy that would do side moulding and pin striping on the cars in inventory and mark up the cost big time. The moulding and pin stripes would come in various colors.
 

Aspen500

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They did the same at the Ford dealer back in the early '80's. Pinstripes, mouldings, vinyl tops.
Side story: The guy that did the pinstriping pulled his supplies to the dealership in literally, a little red wagon. Basically, he was an alcoholic and was prohibited from having a license. Anyways, the guy would come in and you could smell the booze at 50 yards. His hands were shaking like a dog shitting fish hooks as he got set up. Then, like magic, as soon as that striping brush hit the car,,,,,,,,,,dead steady and he'd pull a perfectly straight line from one end of the car to the other. Soon as the brush came off the paint, his hands were shaking again. It was sad (that he was a big time alcoholic) and amazing at the same time.

Really side story: A custom shop a few blocks from the dealership had a guy that could work magic with paint and I guess he liked his mind altering drugs. For one car, he sat for hours watching a fire burn while throwing different wood, metal and who knows what on it and watched the colors and how the flames jumped and danced. Then he did a flame job on a car freehand and it was awesome. No taping, no chalking the pattern onto the panels, nothing. Another time he dumped a gallon of orange juice on the floor and watched how it splashed and spread, turned around and painted a car called "Tangerine Dream". His work would have put a lot of the top painters to shame. Guess that's what you call an art-eest. They're the ones that do awesome work but are a bit (or a lot) on the strange side.
Sorry for going off on a tangent!
 

Duke5A

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That does look nice. I never put mine back on either after having the car painted. Had the pin striping hand painted on instead of going back to vinyl too.
 

Oldiron440

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I had a body man/painter work for me like that. I hired him because he was the one that got me the job that eventually I bought the business. Very personable, hard working man but after I hired him realized that he needed booze to keep going through the day. This was in the mid eighties a he had a way of spraying Imron polyurethane paints and acrylic enamel paint that you don't find to often. But after about six months his life with alcohol and women caught up with him. Three DUIs in as many weeks and all the sudden he started missing days so I had to let him go. My garage keepers ins. would not allow me to have a driver with a suspended license work in the shop. I could have someone with no license but not suspended. It was my easy out, I hadn't been allowing him to drive cars anyhow. He was very talented, he did eventually clean up and is still working.
 

XfbodyX

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Them did come off nice.

Were they aluminum with a vinyl insert?

Ive a runner with that type, even coded for them.
 

volare 77

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The trim guy also installed the narrow aluminum side moulding with the rubber insert. I cringed when he drilled holes to mount them. It was pretty popular in the late 70`s early 80`s. I had a Plymouth Horizon TC3 with that moulding added by the dealer. Where do you think the car started to rust first.
 

Aspen500

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Hmmmmm, let me guess. Right where the screw holes were? Am I close?:D

Remember the die cast dealer names they screwed to the trunk lids? Usually within a year, the paint was bubbled up and rust was oozing out.
 

XfbodyX

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You guys are harsh on the side molding topic. This on pic is of when I found the car on CL in NJ, second pic is the front fenders off it.

So how did my FT get coded?

I thought some came that way factory and some were added because the few cars coded I know of its placed in the same, others seem all over + - 3-4 inches.

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Oldiron440

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Those are the type that the drunk pinstriper installs, and every dealer had one of those guys.
 

Poly

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Thank-you for that Raff. Perfect timing for my "to do" list.
 

Raff

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Them did come off nice.

Were they aluminum with a vinyl insert?

Ive a runner with that type, even coded for them.
All vinyl with a black 2 sided adhesive. They softened up and peeled right off with some heat. The adhesive was extremely sticky. I'm sure I could have stuck them right back on and they'd hold for a couple more decades.
 
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