S

SteveClv

Active Member
I'm going to a truck that is being broken tomorrow to remove the thick rubber door trim/bumpers but not quite sure how to remove them without damage so I can refit them to mine.
Are they just glued on with 3m tape or similar? Any idea of the best way to safely remove them?
 
Using a piece of fishing line pulled in a sawing fashion along behind the door rubber and so cutting into the double sided tape is the recommended way to remove them I believe.
 
discool said:
Using a piece of fishing line pulled in a sawing fashion along behind the door rubber and so cutting into the double sided tape is the recommended way to remove them I believe.
Click to expand...

This is what I have done on D1's and it works... tedious yes, but it works. Hot water, if available makes the job slightly less of a PITA.
 
Thanks all - ok I now have a pristine set of rubber bumper mouldings except that they have half of the 3m fixing tape attached.

Has anyone ever had any luck removing it as I have tried (unsuccessfully)
1. Hot water & soap
2. Heat Gun
3. Razor blade (can't get in at the right angle without cutting into the edge)
4. Methylated Spirits
5. Wire brush on a drill
6. Brush Cleaner (I was getting desperate LOL)
 
Might sound daft, but try WD40, if it doesn't work then it is probably the only thing WD40 can't do!
Let the WD40 soak in to the tape for a while!
 
Tried it and it did make the blade push through the foam part easier but didn't touch the actual adhesive.
I think I will soak them in Wd40 and then get a blade scraper and remove as much as I can - anything that's left will be stuck on so tight that the new tape should stick to it OK.
 
I'll try a bit of petrol and see if it affects it - but I found the 3M website and even they don't know what can remove it other than their 3M eraser wheel and some of their own solvent that 'might help soften the adhesive allowing a scraper to remove most of it'

I guess it was never designed to be removed :)
 
Furniture polish is also good for removing sticky stuff, spray on plenty and leave for about 20 minutes.
 
OK, so just in case anyone has the same issues in the future and searches the Forum - this is what I found was the best (only?) way.

1. Soak the 3M foam/tape in WD40 and leave for a while
2. Take a brand new blade from one of those segmented work knives, put plasters on your fingertips to protect them
3. Slide the blade in a gentle sawing motion lengthways down the piece to remove the tape - on one side it should pretty much all come away, on the other side you will tend to dig into the plastic so can only remove half of it.
4. The WD40 has no affect on the adhesive, but it makes the blade slide easier and keeps it sharper.
5. Then using the same blade, go crossways removing the remanents a piece at a time.

This removes about 98% of it and as long as you wash and dry the pieces to remove the WD40 then it looks like the new 3M tape will stick perfectly.

Thanks all for the suggestions
 
Just did the same job 3 months ago. Liberal soaking with WD40. Sharp knife and patience. Also heated with a heat gun at same time. Really got most of it off.
Tip for fitting, use the heat gun on both the strips and the body BUT BE CAREFUL. I found, probably because of fitting older strips, I had to go back with the heat gun a couple of weeks later just to really stick them down
Good Luck.
 
Thanks Jim
I refitted them today and made sure I bought the genuine 3M tape rather than the chinese knockoffs. After cleaning the panels with meths and wiping down with a clean cloth they went back on a treat. The tape is pressure sensitive so had to lean my weight into the car and move a few cm at a time. It seems to be well stuck now :)
Really makes a difference to the look of the truck as mine is the Monte Carlo Blue which is quite bright.
 
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