Side mouldings - Keep or remove??

[DaddyBaddy]

Hi fellow Toyota owners 🙂

Now then, my Auris Excel hybrid hatchback came with the “Protection Pack” which its previous owner had fitted by their Toyota main dealer. I bought the car a month ago. 

Now, while the practicalities and levels of protection offered by the side mouldings are abundantly clear, they just make the car look a bit…..well, dated. What are your thoughts?

A)  Keep them on

B)  Remove them for a cleaner look

Reply and cast your vote 🗳 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Suppose it depends whether you're in an urban or rural environment. We live in a city suburb and because of the level of traffic, parking, etc, in Britain's second city (Birmingham) have always had side mouldings fitted to all of our cars - both main and secondary.

In fact we wouldn't have a new car where they weren't available.

Personal choice.

[Cyker]

Well they provide very questionable protection and are more for show than anything so it's really eye of the beholder.

Personally I like them because they break up the otherwise flat panel, but that's just me.

There's also option 3) Mask them off and spray them Fluorescent Boy Racer Red 

[TonyHSD]

Maybe just leave them as they are. Not to my like but these are useful. Any intervention will require time spent. 

[tavy]

They are useful and look nice, IMHO, and mud flaps too.

[Biomecanoid]

9 hours ago, DaddyBaddy said:

Hi fellow Toyota owners 🙂

Now then, my Auris Excel hybrid hatchback came with the “Protection Pack” which its previous owner had fitted by their Toyota main dealer. I bought the car a month ago. 

Now, while the practicalities and levels of protection offered by the side mouldings are abundantly clear, they just make the car look a bit…..well, dated. What are your thoughts?

A)  Keep them on

B)  Remove them for a cleaner look

Reply and cast your vote 🗳 

Some moldings are not just glued on some attach to the car with clips, or they attach on little holes on the doors. So you may take them off and find you have clips underneath or mounting holes. Leave it

[BigRedSwitch]

My Auris has these mouldings and they do the job fine.  Keep them, I say.

[Roy124]

The car is five years old, the paint under the strakes will probably be a different shade from the rest of the car.

[furtula]

Considering most people treat cars with very little love, i would keep it.

It probably already saved a few nicks in the paint by people slamming their doors into your car at supermarket parking lots and etc.

[MrZardoz]

Half way... get them sprayed 😄

 

[Catlover]

Keep them, would be nice if colour matched but they not. Protect yourself from others knocking you car.

Even if you park on a quite part of a shoppers car park, well away from any one else, there’s a strong chance some nut will park next to you. There’s always a risk.

[Roy124]

4 minutes ago, MrZardoz said:

Half way... get them sprayed 😄

 

As Cyker said 

"Fluorescent Boy Racer Red " 

[Roy124]

Strong chance? Racing certainty.  Friend of mine is a new car nut.  As his daughter said, 'get a new hobby dad' as he changed a new Citroën after 2 months as he didn't like it.  He then bought a Jaguar! 

Anyway, he treats them as precious babies and always parks in undesirable remote spots. On return he is invariably sandwiched between other cars. 

[mrpj]

Probably fixed to the doors with double sided 3M tape like those on my Yaris.

I would leave well alone if they are. It could end up troublesome removing them. That 3M stuff really does "stick".

 

[DaddyBaddy]

@mrpj I’m pretty sure these are just 3M double sided taped on, not clipped or drilled. I’ve been looking at side mouldings trim removal videos on YouTube. Applying heat from a hairdryer (or using the sun on a hot day as an alternative heat source) and then using fishing wire to cut through the 3M sticky backing seems to be the most effective method. Then goo removal cleaner similar, or even a 3M pinstripe eraser wheel in a cordless drill to remove the sticky residue, then buff and polish and hopefully it should look no different to the rest of the door paint. 
 

But as @Roy124 quite rightly states, the paint underneath the trims hasn’t seen the light of day for a few years, so it may be slightly different to the rest of the door paint, due to 5 years worth of weather, washing, micro scratches and UV fading which could all leave permanent semi-visible marks, so it could in theory never be a fully clean removal.

It’s a shame the last owner opted for black trim rather than painted. At least that way they would have offered the protection but not looked as dated or as “stuck on” as they do now.

I’m undecided either way really. Pro’s and con’s with both options. It’s interesting to hear the viewpoints of others though. 👍🏻

I value your thoughts and comments. 

[mrpj]

22 hours ago, DaddyBaddy said:

Applying heat from a hairdryer (or using the sun on a hot day as an alternative heat source) and then using fishing wire to cut through the 3M sticky backing

Yes, heating with a hairdryer (not too much!) certainly helps and I've also read recommendations to spray the top of the moulding (or whatever is stuck in place) with WD40 first and let it penetrate (acts as  lubricant or attacks the adhesive?). Also I've never used fishing/strimmer wire but, don't be alarmed, a flat steel paint scraper with the blade wrapped in a microfibre cloth has worked for me.

Fishing line has worked (sawing motion) for me in removing a Dashcam from a windscreen.

[mrpj]

23 hours ago, DaddyBaddy said:

It’s a shame the last owner opted for black trim rather than painted. At least that way they would have offered the protection but not looked as dated or as “stuck on” as they do now.

How dare you. Mine are not painted. But, yes, much better aesthetically than naked black.

However, my car is Decuma Grey, quite a dark grey, and there's less of a contrast than those on the lighter grey (your) car in the picture.

Add to that, I am a cheapskate too!

[DaddyBaddy]

The grey door mouldings look so much better against darker paint colours. 👍🏻
 

They just stand out like a sore thumb on pale silver. 

[DaddyBaddy]

48 minutes ago, mrpj said:

Yes, heating with a hairdryer (not too much!) certainly helps and I've also read recommendations to spray the top of the moulding (or whatever is stuck in place) with WD40 first and let it penetrate (acts as  lubricant or attacks the adhesive?). Also I've never used fishing/strimmer wire but, don't be alarmed, a flat steel paint scraper with the blade wrapped in a microfibre cloth has worked for me.

Fishing line has worked (sawing motion) for me in removing a dashcam from a windscreen.

Yes, I’ve seen the hairdryer and ice scraper wrapped in a microfibre cloth method on YouTube. How good the WD-40 works until I try it I don’t know. I’m tempted….🤔

[DaddyBaddy]

Well, I took the plunge last weekend (taking advantage of the UK’s 30 deg C heatwave) and removed my Toyota Auris side mouldings / door protectors. The extreme heat of leaving the car parked in the direct sun to get the metal hot (rather than doing it on a cooler day and using a hair dryer) really helped the sticky stuff come off very easily. I watched several YouTube videos to see what did and didn’t work for people. Here’s the method that worked for me:

• Start off by washing the car the day before.

• Choose a really hot sunny day. 
• Leave the car in the sunshine so the metalwork is hot (helps the adhesive strips come off)

• Do one side of the car at a time.

• Spray WD-40 onto the top edge of the door mouldings foam and let it soak in for 10 minutes. This helps soften the adhesive strips.

• Wear electricians gloves to protect your finger ends from getting sore while doing this door mouldings removal.

• Use fishing line like a cheese wire to “saw” through the adhesive foam between the door moulding and the cars metalwork. Once you get about a third of the way through, you should be able to bend the door mouldings back. Do it gently - take your time - don’t rush it, in case you damage the paintwork.

• Use a plastic ice scraper (with its head wrapped in a micro fibre cloth to protect the paintwork) between the metalwork and door mouldings working along the length of each door. The mouldings are very soft flexible plastic and bend a long way, so there is plenty to grab hold of.

• Do one door at a time.

• Remove any remaining adhesive foam strips from the bodywork carefully by pigling it off.

• Stubborn sticky stuff can be softened and removed 99% by using white spirit on the metalwork.

• Expect to find road grime / filth / crud behind the mouldings as this builds up over time.  Don’t rub the dry muck or you’ll scratch the paintwork. Rinse off with a bit of water if need be)

• Once the door mouldings, the sticky stuff and the road grime have been removed, you may have “tide marks” or ghost lines where the mouldings were. The longer the mouldings have been on, the worse the tide marks can be. I used Wilko T Cut and a new clean microfibre cloth to “T Cut” the area where the mouldings were located. This got rid of the final 1%.

• Wash the car doors with a sponge, warm water and Fairy Liquid (I’ll leave what flavour up to you!! 😋) because Fairy Liquid is an excellent degreaser and will remove the WD-40 dribbles and white spirit used during the removal process.

• Then wash the car all over as normal with a decent car wash/wax.

• Leather it dry then apply a coat of wax to protect the door paintwork.  

• Stand back and admire your handy work 😎

• I researched, took my time, had the right tools and chemicals and have no paint damage, scratches or tide marks 👍🏻

There was no paint finish difference or paint colour differences due to UV fading on my Auris. I do know that my mouldings have been on the car for about 2 years and the car only had 12,000 miles on. It is a 2016 (5 year old) car. The longer the mouldings have been on and the higher the mileage / older the car, your results may be different. 

Total spend was £0.99 on a plastic ice scraper (eBay), £1.99 on fishing line (eBay) and £1.00 on a twin pack of microfibre cloths. I had everything else in my garage.

Hope this info and method is useful 👍🏻

Here’s a photo of afterwards:

 

[TonyHSD]

Good job done ✅ car looks way better without any of these and the mudguards 👍🚙

[mrpj]

Excellent job Chris and your informative process could well prove useful to others.

[MrZardoz]

You’ve done a great job removing them. Glad it went well for you. Car looks much better without them.

[DaddyBaddy]

Agreed. I’m glad I took them off. Looks much better.