Side Protection Mouldings

[catseye27]

Well, have had my 2007 XTR since June. Love the car but still not sure about the side protection mouldings which were already on the vehicle.

Anyone tried removing these or know if removal is possible?

Cheers

[Jan&tone]

I had them fitted by the dealer on my first Prius . They stuck on and were not done properly as they came unstuck at the front. A new set were fitted 3 months later and they were wfine. So, yes, they do come off if they are the stick-on ones, I would imagine you heat them up and peel off slowly. However, if on your RAV they were factory fitted, they may be clipped on in which case there will be holes if you remove them.

[CharlieFarlie]

Doubt very much if they will be fitted with any clips.. Originally fixed with self adhesive backing so removal should be easy !! Warm them with a hair-dyer or hot air gun on a low heat setting and peel slowly and carefully. Any sticky residue will come off with glue and tar remover or a drop of petrol on a rag ..

Wee Charlie.

[shcm]

4.3s have always been stick on. See:

http://www.toyota-tech.eu/aimuploads/%7BE7A3B1E0-188B-3222-A7C9-CF71C020188B%7D/Side%20Mouldings%20PZ415-X0520-00%20AIM%20000%20510-03.pdf

[catseye27]

Thanks guys.

Will leave a little longer to see if the side protectors will please my critical eye. If not, off they come!

[CharlieFarlie]

Thanks guys.

Will leave a little longer to see if the side protectors will please my critical eye. If not, off they come!

While I'm not head over heels about the looks they will do a great job of fending off car park door dingers !!

We Charlie.

[benxt5]

If you do want to remove them, I find dental floss always works well. Slide it behind the trim tonremove without having to flex it too much.

[RedRoss]

I think they look terrible - get rid of them!

[Manxrav]

Can never understand why don,t do them colour coded.I don,t think the cost would be a lot more than the standard bland un-painted ones. Must admit thou I do think like Charlie that they do stop a lot of Supermarket dings,it,s the shape of the Rav4 ones that is off putting. Cobra-de do one for the Rav that is a lot better looker.

Regards Clare

[Davrav]

Can never understand why don,t do them colour coded.I don,t think the cost would be a lot more than the standard bland un-painted ones. Must admit thou I do think like Charlie that they do stop a lot of Supermarket dings,it,s the shape of the Rav4 ones that is off putting. Cobra-de do one for the Rav that is a lot better looker.

Regards Clare

Problem with colour coded ones is that, when they do take a knock, they look awful. Wife's Golf has them and three out of six now need re-painting. Makes the car look really tatty. Sort of defeats the object............

[CharlieFarlie]

Can never understand why don,t do them colour coded.I don,t think the cost would be a lot more than the standard bland un-painted ones. Must admit thou I do think like Charlie that they do stop a lot of Supermarket dings,it,s the shape of the Rav4 ones that is off putting. Cobra-de do one for the Rav that is a lot better looker.

Regards Clare

Per chance a link please Clare ??

The way I look at it is the same view I take over the rear bumper protector.. If I get a ding on either I will use either the side protectors or the rear Bumper protector to cover up said damage.. That way Im not paying out for something that looks naff or was never needed !! :rolleyes:

Whilst I take care where I leave any car parked there is allways the chance some Richard will inflict damage Then I will deal with it not before .......

Wee Charlie.

[Davrav]

Can never understand why don,t do them colour coded.I don,t think the cost would be a lot more than the standard bland un-painted ones. Must admit thou I do think like Charlie that they do stop a lot of Supermarket dings,it,s the shape of the Rav4 ones that is off putting. Cobra-de do one for the Rav that is a lot better looker.

Regards Clare

Per chance a link please Clare ??

The way I look at it is the same view I take over the rear bumper protector.. If I get a ding on either I will use either the side protectors or the rear Bumper protector to cover up said damage.. That way Im not paying out for something that looks naff or was never needed !! :rolleyes:

Whilst I take care where I leave any car parked there is allways the chance some Richard will inflict damage Then I will deal with it not before .......

Wee Charlie.

Here you go Charlie:

SIDE MOULDINGS

[CharlieFarlie]

Can never understand why don,t do them colour coded.I don,t think the cost would be a lot more than the standard bland un-painted ones. Must admit thou I do think like Charlie that they do stop a lot of Supermarket dings,it,s the shape of the Rav4 ones that is off putting. Cobra-de do one for the Rav that is a lot better looker.

Regards Clare

Per chance a link please Clare ??

The way I look at it is the same view I take over the rear bumper protector.. If I get a ding on either I will use either the side protectors or the rear Bumper protector to cover up said damage.. That way Im not paying out for something that looks naff or was never needed !! :rolleyes:

Whilst I take care where I leave any car parked there is allways the chance some Richard will inflict damage Then I will deal with it not before .......

Wee Charlie.

Here you go Charlie:

SIDE MOULDINGS

Many thanks Dave ! Er yes they look better but they aren't going to stop many door dings sat that high ???

Wee Charlie.

[firemac]

Can never understand why don,t do them colour coded.I don,t think the cost would be a lot more than the standard bland un-painted ones. Must admit thou I do think like Charlie that they do stop a lot of Supermarket dings,it,s the shape of the Rav4 ones that is off putting. Cobra-de do one for the Rav that is a lot better looker.

Regards Clare

Per chance a link please Clare ??

The way I look at it is the same view I take over the rear bumper protector.. If I get a ding on either I will use either the side protectors or the rear Bumper protector to cover up said damage.. That way Im not paying out for something that looks naff or was never needed !! :rolleyes:

Whilst I take care where I leave any car parked there is allways the chance some Richard will inflict damage Then I will deal with it not before .......

Wee Charlie.

Here you go Charlie:

SIDE MOULDINGS

Many thanks Dave ! Er yes they look better but they aren't going to stop many door dings sat that high ???

Wee Charlie.

I have to say that I don't understand why Mr. T didn't carry on with standard side mouldings when the 4.3 was intoduced. The standard ones on the 4.2 are body colour (on our silver VX) and after nearly 10 years, they still look good despite having done their job more than once. The ones on the XT3 (metallic green)are also still looking good.

Mr. T screwed up the new LC the same way, making the side mouldings an option whereas on the previous model they were an integral part of the body design and looked really good. I blame the marketing bods - stupid beggars.

[catseye27]

Well, took a rear door protector off today. Easy. thanks to benxt5 suggestion of dental floss i used fishing line attached to 2 handles and dragged along under protector with a sawing action. Residue of the glue was also easy to remove.

TROUBLE IS. There is now left an obvious mark where the protector used to be. Different shade of silver, lighter. Guess these protectors were fitted from new 4 years ago and the sun has aged the RAV4 paint.

What can i do to try and match the colour under the protector removed to blend with rest of RAV4 paint?

Cheers

[CharlieFarlie]

Well, took a rear door protector off today. Easy. thanks to benxt5 suggestion of dental floss i used fishing line attached to 2 handles and dragged along under protector with a sawing action. Residue of the glue was also easy to remove.

TROUBLE IS. There is now left an obvious mark where the protector used to be. Different shade of silver, lighter. Guess these protectors were fitted from new 4 years ago and the sun has aged the RAV4 paint.

What can i do to try and match the colour under the protector removed to blend with rest of RAV4 paint?

Cheers

What You have is the cars original colour under the mouldings .. Your car now needs a good polishing to make it all one colour again unless the sunlight has permanently altered it !! Try polishing the area under the moulding first but its likely the rest of the car will be out... MMmmmmm Bugger that ...

Pics would help !! Can I have the old mouldings ?

Wee Charlie.

[catseye27]

Left it a bit late in the day removing the moulding but will post a pic on Thursday. Will consider moving on my mouldings if a good polishing blends the 2 shades of silver to my satisfaction.

Charlie, what polish would you recommend? I use Autoglym.

[CharlieFarlie]

Left it a bit late in the day removing the moulding but will post a pic on Thursday. Will consider moving on my mouldings if a good polishing blends the 2 shades of silver to my satisfaction.

Charlie, what polish would you recommend? I use Autoglym.

Autoglym is a very non aggressive polish that is does not have enough cut to restore paint back to its original colour unless You are prepared to work very long and very hard !! Menzerna PO85 3.02 I a good polish that will shift the lacquer at a decent rate and wont need an additional polish to refine its looks

Auto glym is only really a cosmetic polish that's useful for a freshen up and it has good filling abilities so helps hide swirling marks rather than removing them...

Farecla G3 OR G6 is also ok but must be really well lubricated with water to work well...

Wee Charlie.

[catseye27]

Charlie

So i am looking to bring the colour of my RAV4 back to the original colour as found under the protective moulding. I know you like to use a power polisher. Do not own such an item so will good old fashion elbow grease do the job?

Will persevere with the one door for now but if i cannot achieve a suitable colour match the moulding will unfortunately have to go back on.

Many thx for your advice Charlie

[Davrav]

Left it a bit late in the day removing the moulding but will post a pic on Thursday. Will consider moving on my mouldings if a good polishing blends the 2 shades of silver to my satisfaction.

Charlie, what polish would you recommend? I use Autoglym.

Autoglym is a very non aggressive polish that is does not have enough cut to restore paint back to its original colour unless You are prepared to work very long and very hard !! Menzerna PO85 3.02 I a good polish that will shift the lacquer at a decent rate and wont need an additional polish to refine its looks

Auto glym is only really a cosmetic polish that's useful for a freshen up and it has good filling abilities so helps hide swirling marks rather than removing them...

Farecla G3 OR G6 is also ok but must be really well lubricated with water to work well...

Wee Charlie.

Charlie, how does polishing the clearcoat affect the paint colour? Surely the clearcoat is just that - clear. Or does the clearcoat fade too and become sort of hazed by UV over time?

[catseye27]

maybe the clearcoat is subject to oxidation!

[junebug1701]

How does everyone feel about the thin mouldings on my RAV4:

[CharlieFarlie]

Modern paint is made up of base coat and lacquer over the top or clear-coat if You like. Clear-coats can loose their transparency due to sunlight UV rays, tiny swirling marks many reasons in fact.

It can be a little like sanding a mirror it takes way the transparency.. With lacquer taking away the sometimes hard to see swirling restores that transparency and the base coat shines through.....

I doubt though that there can be very much difference on the colours but even the slightest will show.. Its amazing how paint and lacquer can change when polished !!The lighter and silver colours do not show swirling up as much as darker ones though..

Of course You can polish by hand it will just take a lot longer and on a car the size of the Rav it will be a long and arduous task......

Wee Charlie.

[catseye27]

Here are some pics of the paint colour after protective moulding removed. I have tried some T-Cut Color Fast Scratch Remover but no noticable difference. (worked well hiding the scratches around door handle present when i purchased the RAV4)

[CharlieFarlie]

If polishing either area doesn't alter either areas colour then You have a problem.... That is far worse than I expected to see.. Silver will typically appear darker as it ages and will lighten as the clarity of the lacquer is brought back. But that is a little strange .... T cut is a very old fashioned product of almost no use in today's product line up.

If I were approaching Your job I would first measure the areas with a PTG to make sure no paintwork has been carried out. The I would source a medium aggressive clay and clay the area. Then polish with a fairly high cut compound such as Farecla G3.. If there is no major step forward then at least You can replace the mouldings....

I am surprised at the difference in colour !!! Miles worse than I would have expected. Are You sure the car has not had respray work with the mouldings masked off ? I cant see any steps in the paint that would indicate this but something appears a little strange...

Wee Charlie.