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1969 442 (post). I need to take these moldings off for paint/prep. I can't figure out how to take them off, I'm afraid I'll bend them. any ideas? Thanks in advance.
I would leave them on and mask them off. This trim is not reproduced and very hard to find. If you do damage a piece you may be looking for a long time for a replacement. Months, years, long time. My 2 cents worth.
The two alum trim pieces for the 1/4 glass come off easily.
>1/4 glass post - Remove the inside textured plastic post cover and you should be able to see how it is removed...just held in place with a couple clips I believe. No matter what, that piece will be easy....I've removed a few of them with no damage whatsoever.
>1/4 glass "banana" trim along top of glass - held on from the INSIDE with 2 or 3 philips head screws. Can't remember if you have to remove the window "sweeper"/fuzzy or not to access but will try to check here. Again, relatively easy and I've also removed plenty of those with no damage whatsoever.
Door related trim:
>Front edge of glass frame (the angle piece) - you MIGHT be able to get this piece to move slightly by just grabbing it and sliding and/or twisting a bit. I removed a few of these from salvage cars without damage. You should first check to see if there's a small bent over tab at the top where this piece has a corner/"V" formed in it (may be a slight tab on the bottom part of the "V" - located facing to the inside of the car....a slight bending up on any tab here may provide a bit more wiggle room).
The lower edge has the smallest curved edge on it so this is the edge you want to try to lift up/out.
>Top of door - there is a bent over tab at the back - slight bend out to help movement but I've NEVER removed one of these by just manipulating/popping it off like the front edge piece. High risk of warping/bending
>Rear vertical edge of door glass - same as "top of door"....high risk of bending/warping and never have removed one by manipulating/popping it off.
They were "popped" onto the cars BUT these things were easier to INSTALL than remove IMO.
Thank you for sharing Patton. I've tried to remove this trim on two different cars over the years and I started with the hard pieces on the door. After destroying them I decided from now on I'm going to mask and paint around trim like this. It doesn't help that its made from that rare element called unobtainium!
I have had some success taking them off of three cars now. I use wooden dowels and the cheap plastic pry wedges from harbor freight. it takes lots of patients and just the right tap here and there. They pop off when you get it right.
I have removed them for customers to purchase. I think if I was painting the car. I would leave them on and mask them very well. The risk of damage is high. They are aluminum.
Thank you for all the help! I think I'll just polish them and mask them off to be safe.I have the Fisher body manual and the chassis manual incase somebody needs something. I have all the glass out besides the front/back window. Should I take them out to put on a fresh bead of glue before paint or is it not necessary?
Thanks again
