Removing 2 year old body side moldings

[NormanBuntz]

My 2017 Camry has Toyota dealer installed body side moldings on all four doors ordered by the original owner. I'm thinking about going back to the original dealer to have them removed because I don't like the look. They are the adhesive type with no fasteners.

Can I be confident the dealer will be able to remove them without damaging the finish? The color is crème brulee metallic (champagne). I'm thinking 1.5 hours labor. What do you detailers think?

 

[Mr Nice]

Heat gun and tooth floss will work.
Maybe detail shop can do this without any damage.

No guarantees a dealer will not damage your paint, best ‘effort' type of work.

 

[The Critic]

It's going to be a pain. Steamer and/or heat gun will help tremendously. As long as the doors have not been repainted, the paint should remain undamaged.

 

[Trav]

Take it to a good body shop or shop that dealers use to install this sort of thing not the dealer. Its a very easy job if the paint is original that doesn't take long but you don't want to be taking a heat gun to it without some experience.
WD40, a hair dryer and nylon fishing line will get them off safely, use an adhesive removal wheel to clean up the tape residue.

 

[PimTac]

I'm guessing there will be visible lines where the moldings were due to clearcoat oxidation.

 

[benjy]

easily done at home + being fairly new a shadow where the molding was "should" not be an issue!

 

[rekit]

I would never remove it, but that's just me. The molding protects the bodywork from the dents and dings. It can be unattractive when new but in the long run it beats the dings. Depends on where you park it, etc.

 

[bruckus]

Originally Posted by rekit
I would never remove it, but that's just me. The molding protects the bodywork from the dents and dings. It can be unattractive when new but in the long run it beats the dings. Depends on where you park it, etc.


+1

 

[JoelB]

They really don't protect as much as you think. The car next to you likely has a door that's got some curve in it. The likelihood of the edge of the door lining up perfectly with a little 2" strip of trim is low.

 

[grampi]

The problem won't be removing them (that's easily accomplished by using dental floss), the problem will be a lack of fade in the paint under the molding will make the area stand out because it won't match the rest of the paint...