Hi,

Just got an '88 924S in very good mechanical condition. It needs some cosmetic TLC. Before I take it to the detailer to see how much of the AWFUL "polishing" scratches a PO put into the otherwise nice paint, I'd like to remove the side protective strips since they are pretty beat up also. I've tried searching the forum for tips on how to do this in a manner that won't damage the paint underneath. Probably because I don't really know what the proper term for them is. Anyway if someone can point me to a source and/or offer advice, I'd be appreciative.

(Editor's note: Duhh... "protective side mouldings". Geez I must have heard that term about a billion times in car commercials!)

Also, I think I'd like to put new strips on once the car is cleaned up and I'm not sure if they are available, and again, about the best way to do that. I think overall the cars look nicer with them on, and of course they do offer some protection against parking lot door dings, etc.

(Editor again--they are available at Pelican for $165 a set--ouch! Maybe I'll decide the car looks much cooler without them ;-))

Overall it's nice to have this car. Makes a nice serviceable driver and gives me something I can take out to some of the local auto-x/DE events and not worry about destroying!

TIA.

 

it's tough to remove those without it being noticeable because the paint underneath hasn't been exposed to sunlight for a long time. When I had some body work done, the shop I took my car to found something similar and installed that in the place of the factory ones. Looks the same but cost a lot less. wish i could tell you where they got them from, but i don't know. maybe ask around at local body shops?

 

After just removing these from my 924.... The strips come off quite easily. I used a heat gun and a plastic scraper. It will leave some nasty residue behind. To remove that I used a 3m eraser wheel. It goes in to a drill and does a pretty good job removing the adhesive. THe paint will be a different color underneath, but if youre putting new moldings up it wont matter much.

 

Thanks, Jason. The main moulding on the driver's door has already come off...and the residue does look pretty nasty. Any suggestions on some kind of solvent that might help with the glue removal without damaging the paint? Or does the 3M "eraser" wheel have something imbedded in it?

This car drives really, really nicely, but I'm starting to have second thoughts on the cosmetic stuff. What I thought might be scratches from bad polishing turns out to be the paint deteriorating UNDERNEATH the clear coat. It's a kind of grey metallic color originally. And it's now obvious to me that the front clip has been repainted too. I'll probably be looking into what it would take to get it painted and in that case I don't have to worry much about getting a perfect removal of the mouldings. I had the seam repaired on the driver's seat--black Porsche script cloth. It got a dash cover which I'm going to remove--I'd rather just live with the dash cracks, which aren't really that bad.

 

The 3m eraser wheel is a rubber disc that bascially just removes the adhesive. I tried soaking the stuff down with 3m adhesive remover, with little luck. The eraser wheel works well, and only costs about $30 from a body shop supply store (some NAPAs sell them) Just be carefeul and dont leave the wheel in one spot for too long, as it can go right through the paint. I did it a couple of places, but dont mind su much because the car is being built in to a race car.

 

You can get the side mouldings used for $25 apiece from DC auto, but they'll likely be beat up as well. What's keeping you from just repainting the ones you have?