Door Moulding Repair?

[StormTrooper]

Hello ladies and gents,

The side moulding on my 2007 M35 is sticking almost straight out on the driver side door. It looks like the moulding lifted slightly then was bent when the driver side rear door was opened. Does anyone have an idea or suggestions about how to repair this? I have a few ideas myslef but I want to make sure I do it right the first time...

Thanks everyone!

ST

 

[dmention7]

the simple answer is to take it off. Especially the 5-door looks much much better with the moulding removed, and it's super easy to do.

 

[YSOSLO]

StormTrooper are you talking about the mouldings on a 3 or the moulding on an Infinity M35? I would imagine it was a typo, so D7's advice is legit, but in case it's actually for an Infinity, you might want to check the boards for that specific vehicle.

 

[dmention7]

ahhh, good eye. I read M35 as mazda3 5-door. (people at mazda3forums have come up with some interesting abbreviations.... lol) My advice only holds if it's a mazda

 

[StormTrooper]

It is indeed a Mazda 3 5 door. Sorry for the confusion. My wife is really not liking the idea of me taking her moldings off... in fact her exact words were, "I'd kill you...". I'm thinking I will need to pull that one piece and bend it back to fit properly or shell out for a new piece... Man, it would be a lot easier to just remove them all together... Thanks for the replies!

 

[MazdaMINI]

It looks so much better with it all taken off. Should get some pictures of the cars on here that have done it maybe she wont get so upset after seeing what it looks like

 

[dmention7]

yeah, the door moulding removal has been pretty much a rite of passage for most 3 owners on this site.

If the piece that's bent is bent enough that it holds its shape, I'd guess you're going to have a hard time straightening it. My advice would be to use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm the strip as you remove it, or even just park the car with that side in direct sunlight on a warm day. The moulding should peel off quite easily when the adhesive is softened.

Once you get it off, I'd try using the hair dryer/heat gun to warm up the area where it was bent and carefully bend it back, then let it cool. Repeat that a few times until it holds the correct shape.

Getting it stuck back on is going to be the tricky part. The adhesive peels off the smooth paint easily, but I'm not sure how easily it will come off the plastic moulding. Getting it lined up will be the other trick. Maybe mark its position at several points along the door using blue painters tape before you remove it.

But I'd honestly try working on the wife a little bit to just let you pull them all off completely. It gives the car a much cleaner look. And then you can pull off the chrome 2.3 badges on the front fenders as well

 

[StormTrooper]

Thanks D!!

My wife gave me the look when I read this to her. Haha.

ST

 

[YSOSLO]

lol...I'm familiar with "the look" myself. The sell for removing the mouldings completely should also include mentioning the dirt/salt build-up that occurs on top of the mouldings, so my removing them you're actually protecting the integrity of the paint and makes it easier to polish and wax the doors effectively. ...worked for me And it DOES, really make the 5-doors look a lot better IMO.

 

[dmention7]

ah, that's another good argument!

 

[mndsm]

And you can always use another car as a demo to show that the molding are essentially useless as low as they are on the car.

 

[StormTrooper]

lost the battle

Damn. Lost the battle, but Mazda repaired it under warranty (new moldings, labor, rental for the 2 days). I figure that she is not allowed to modify anything on my speed 6 so she can do what she wants with hers (even if it doesn't look as cool)

Thanks everyone for trying!!