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how to remove trim

1K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  twistedshadows 
#1 ·
hi i was wondering how to remove the body trim on a 91.
im doing body work getting out all the little rust spots (nothing bigger then a dime wont take me more then a day to get them all)
but a few of the spots are right on top of the trim so i need to take it off to fix it properly.
thanks
joe
 
#3 ·
Well assuming you are going to attempt to do what I am doing, the body trim peels off. It is attached with a two sided tape of sorts, which will have to be scraped off because once removed, it is spent. You will have some stuck on the door/body of the car as well. Also, BE CAREFUL NOT TO BEND THEM... They are metal and plastic, if you peel them off at too steep and angle, they will bend and look horrible when you put them back on. In addition to the tape, they are attached with little clips that will more than likely break.



If you do happen to ruin your trim or break your clips, you can purchase them on thesaabsite. Keep in mind that removing the trim can open up a can of worms. I discovered that the holes for the clips were all rusting and had to be attended to.

If you are working on the doors, I HIGHLY suggest taking the door panels off and looking inside. You will more than likely have rust in the bottom of the door, and on the inside of the clip holes.

I think I got everything...
 
#4 ·
oh i KNOW i have rust in the bottom of the doors.
u can see it starting to bubble out.
i was think of just ignoring it but i havent decided yet.
i do know im gonna spray rust converter all inside the doors just to slow things down maybe even stop the rust.
so its just double sided tape and some clips u sure?
thanks
joe
 
#5 ·
Yes.
http://thesaabsite.com/9000/9000bodymouldings.htm

If you love your car, have the time and patience, I would recommend tackling that rust now. Especially if it is little. The bottoms of my doors were completely gone and I had to order new bottoms from a place in the UK. Taking the time to properly grind, prep, prime and paint will add years to the doors. OF course you can go the other way and spend lots of money and have it done at a shop, but for a "quality" at home fix it will work. You have the right idea with the converter, but make sure to grind as much rust away as you can.

Spending many hundreds in paint is also not in my budget. I've had luck with these two places.
http://www.automotivetouchup.com/
http://www.paintscratch.com/

If you are going to repaint the area, you should push as many of the clips through from the inside, and use a knife to scrape the trim away. Quarter panel clips can be accessed through the trunk/hatch, just peel away the carpet and remove any insulation. And doors can be accessed by removing the door panels.
 
#6 ·
its_tricky83 said:
I'm not totally sure but I think you might have to take the interior door trim off to reveal the rivets to release the trim! Only a guess really. Maybe someone should confirm.
You are a genius. Right on target.

Once the door panel is removed, use a small phillips screw driver to push the plastic pins out carefully. The plastic pins are attached to the trims.
 
#7 ·
yaofeng said:
You are a genius. Right on target.

Once the door panel is removed, use a small phillips screw driver to push the plastic pins out carefully. The plastic pins are attached to the trims.

Oh suuuure yaofeng. I forget one small detail about pushing them out (well until the latter post) and I get no praise. :cry:

One must strive in order to accomplish... sigh

jk ;)
 
#8 ·
lol
well ill have to take my time with the trim to make sure i dont mess it up.
as far as the doors go all of my body work is going to be on the cheap but i will do it right so that means no new metal but i can remove ALL the rust and spray rust converter on those areas where u just cant get to it.
i cant afford new metal so it will be a triple layer of fiberglass with fiberglass jelly (which totals up to a lot of fiberglass) so the door will be plenty strong and i shoudnt rust anymore.
thanks
joe
 
#9 ·
Hey twisted! My 90' is also showing some rust on the hood and in a few other spots as well. I have a question about the doors on the inside. Is it possible to sand blast the inside of the door and then coat with truck bed liner if there are no holes (cancer holes not drain holes). Wouldn't that do a good permanent fix to that issue? Just curious if someone has used it for that. I am going to do that type of fix myself as well and fiberglass is porous and will wick water. If you do use glass make sure you use EPOXY resin as the other type will fail and you'll be back to paint bubbles. West System at the marine store is good stuff.

Another old school fix would be to sand blast and then use lead and file/sand/bondo the patches. That's for outside mostly and pricey. I have no idea where to get lead anymore, that's just how I was taught to fix rust 35 years ago in body school. Clean it, Heat it, tin it, lead it, file it, sand it, bondo it, prime it and paint it. Whew, makes ya tired just to write it. :eek:
 
#10 ·
well fiberglass jelly is a epoxy resin just with bits of fiberglass chopped up and thrown in.
the lead sounds like a cool idea i just have no idea how to put a backing to it so it just doesnt run out the other side (well in areas where u cant reach the back)
and as far as getting lead my friend makes lead balist for his drag car by going to tire shops and picking up there trash tire balaning weights and melting them down (but this was a few years back so i dont know if there as easy to get as they use to be).
the only thing i see wrong with what u want to do is its going to be real hard to get every little spot by sand blast inside the door, and if u go that far u have to take everything out of the door anyways so why not try to find a place that does acid dips.
my friend goes to this chroming place and they acid dip the stuff before they chrome so i would think u could get a door done in a place like that for $20 a door (to chrome a bumper is about 140 so just a dip in the acid tank couldnt be that much)
as for the bed liner stuff ive never used it so i dont know how it holds up but if its as good as the commercials say it is i say go for it. (but once agian i see a problem with getting it in every little spot from what ive seen with under coats which is a lot like bed liner spray its preaty thick)
joe
 
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