How do you take of your side moldings?

[UnZipHer15]

looking to remove my side moldings as well as my mazda and 2.3 badges.

any feedback is much appreciated

[GoFast]

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123669726&highlight=molding

[UnZipHer15]

PERFECT

that is exactly what i was looking for.

[mikelebz]

the mazda badge has two pin holes in the back of it I believe :(. I want to take mine off as well, but don't want two holes in the back of my car.

[Strobe Media]

be very careful, I took my side moldings off along with 3 of my buddies, and it looks like mazda painted my car OVER TOP of the side moldings, you can imagine how pissed i am/was now that i have an inch thick pin stripe running down the sides of my car

[skylar2ups]

be very careful, I took my side moldings off along with 3 of my buddies, and it looks like mazda painted my car OVER TOP of the side moldings, you can imagine how pissed i am/was now that i have an inch thick pin stripe running down the sides of my car

There is NO way they painted over it. There is the left over glue that makes it look like it's lighter under but it's not. No one else on this site has had problems that I've read.

[UnZipHer15]

yeah it's left over glue... when i got home from work last night i went to work on the side moldings and took off the left side... there was TONS of left over glue but my handy dandy thumbs and some patience took it off ... then i waxed and buffed that area and it looks perfect. and i dont want to take off my rear mazda badge just the mazda3 on the left back side and ofcourse the 2.3 side badges.

[bms1990m3]

yeah it's left over glue... when i got home from work last night i went to work on the side moldings and took off the left side... there was TONS of left over glue but my handy dandy thumbs and some patience took it off ... then i waxed and buffed that area and it looks perfect. and i dont want to take off my rear mazda badge just the mazda3 on the left back side and ofcourse the 2.3 side badges.

the mazda script on the back of all models(except speed3) have 3 holes behind it....

[UnZipHer15]

oh well that is good to know. i guess i will not be taking of the mazda3 badge

Thanks

[Strobe Media]

it's not glue at all, i've took it to numerous body shops and they've all said the same thing, looks like mazda painted over the moldings......there would be some sort of high point if there was glue but it feels almost INDENTED where the side molding was.

[skylar2ups]

it's not glue at all, i've took it to numerous body shops and they've all said the same thing, looks like mazda painted over the moldings......there would be some sort of high point if there was glue but it feels almost INDENTED where the side molding was.

Did you buy the car new or used, someone might have put a second clear coat on the car, and they wouldn't have removed the moldings.

[Strobe Media]

i bought it used so it was possible, but the car was 100% stock and there was a big scrape over the rear wheel well, so i don't imagine they reclear coated it, unless they for some reason did and then fucked it up....

[UnZipHer15]

yeah strobe it sounds like you got screwed because my car is a 2004 and the moldings have ovbiously never been removed untill this past weekend and a little wax and buff action and its good to go.

[skylar2ups]

i bought it used so it was possible, but the car was 100% stock and there was a big scrape over the rear wheel well, so i don't imagine they reclear coated it, unless they for some reason did and then fucked it up....

I don't think someone would clear coat then think to screw up their car but I was thinking about it and I would think there would be a build up around the edge of where the molding used to be, basically you should see a bump if they did indeed clear coat over the molding.

[Strobe Media]

oh you can feel the difference in above the paint and below, and there's a distinct color difference.

[idontliketurkey]

i am debating taking off the side molding
on my 2006mz3 can someone post a pic
cause i would like to see what it looks like
before i go ahead and do it

[skylar2ups]

i am debating taking off the side molding
on my 2006mz3 can someone post a pic
cause i would like to see what it looks like
before i go ahead and do it



http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e337/skylar2ups/mazda011-2.jpg

That's my 3.

[dyerdown]

i went to take mine off and from what i could tell the previous owner reattached them with a crazing adhesive. the glue bubbled the paint in some spots and even some paint missing after i took it off. fucking bullshit.

beware.

[usrtdsl]

I would like to take mine off as well but I don't know if it will be noticible after. Would there be any paint fade after all these years with it on so that you can see a line when they are off? I have a 2006 3 hatch in copper red mica.

[sunrun176]

There might be some, but with CRM I would think that the lack of fine finish scratches where the moldings were is likely to be more apparent than any color fading, depending on how it's been washed (i.e. proper home hand wash and/or touchless automated vs. regular automated). Most likely, you'll just need to wash, peel, clean (carefully!) as necessary to remove adhesive residue (if any), wash and wax. Anything beyond that should be done either with great care or by a professional detailer, IMO.

[skylar2ups]

Add to that... I would wait to take the side moldings off till the summer on a hot day it'll make clean up easier.

[usrtdsl]

Thanks. I was going to wait until it warmed up. 30 is a bit chilly to do anything outside, nevermind removing side trim. I will try it when the weather warms up. I have a great detailer that I may ask before trying it.

[fateexceeds]

I did this with my old '03 Protege. I used fishing line to separate the moldings from the doors, and I used Goo Gone, a rough cotton cloth, and a ton of elbow grease to remove the remaining adhesive. After waxing with Meguiar's Cleaner Wax, there were no noticeable signs of my work. You can see the results in my pics by following the link in my sig.