Removing exterior door moldings

[johnc]

I have an '89 Grand Marquis and I was wondering how do I remove the moldings that run from wheel well to wheel well on the doors ??

I am looking to get it painted and I do not know if I want to put them back on again. Good idea or bad ??

Thanks,

John

[87_crown_vic]

what moldings are you talking about? the black rocker molding made of metal?

[visionmercury]

the ones on my 87 were just taped/3m on there the only problem was they took the paint with them when i pulled them off , but im doing boddy work to get it painted , but it sure does look good without them

[johnc]

what moldings are you talking about? the black rocker molding made of metal?

The 3 or 4 inch wide black rubber that sits in the middle of the front & back doors

[sly]

there's a screw on the interior side of the door at the end... remove that and according to rumor, it just slides off. Be gentle, the clips may be brittle (they're plastic).

at least that's the rumor... I haven't tried it personally. I keep waiting to actually make a junk yard run and see if they actually have any 88-91 MGMs with the mouldings intact.

[gadget73]

Towncars have acorn nuts at the front and rear edge of the door, then the trim pops off the clips using a trim removal tool. I'd imagine the Mercury is not very different.

As for leaving the trim off, you'll probably find it has a line of rivets running down the middle of the door for the clips to sit on. If you have those ground off and filled so the body is smooth it might be OK, but make sure you won't be left with random bits of trim at the wheelwells that end up looking funny without the trim on the door.

[sly]

There's little T posts on the door to hold the moulding clips. no rivits. I can take pics later when I get home. since I have no mouldings on my passenger side, but all the little stubs are still there.

[87gtVIC]

There's little T posts on the door to hold the moulding clips. no rivits. I can take pics later when I get home. since I have no mouldings on my passenger side, but all the little stubs are still there.

Either one does not leave a smooth finish.

[Southern_Pride]

On the door there are rivets behind them. Just beware the black trim is molded into the filler panels and cannot be removed.

[1987cp]

Either one does not leave a smooth finish.

True, whether called nubs, T-studs, or rivets, they still need cutting off and smoothing. Do a better job than I did when I removed the white wagon's rocker moldings (I had rustage through the paint 3-4 years later; possibly the paint was inadequate?) and you ought to be good.