Recently, we have introduced how to remove window molding. And today we will talk a bit about removing the back door or trunk molding on a vehicle. Once again, we are not saying that you have to remove those parts, but by doing this, you will achieve a much more comfortable and smoother vinyl wrapping process and a high-quality finish.
Taking the molding off obviously would help when it comes to wrapping the back areas. It usually takes within five minutes, which is really worth doing as you raise the overall vinyl wrap into another level. For some, it might be tricky to do the removal, but in this article, we will show you how to do this safely and effectively by using three different types of vehicles as a case study.
1. VW Transporter – License Plate Molding
The first type of vehicle we have today is a VW transporter.
To remove the license plate molding, first remove the plastic above the license plate here, and you have to remove the back panel, where it is held by a few clips around the area. It is relatively easy to deal with for this vehicle, as you just have to open the entire door and do it from above. But bear this in mind though: Clips are usually different from various vehicles. And for this one, it is plastic.
Once you get them off, do not forget to use your hand there as a support so that the panel will not fall off the vehicle to the ground straight away. And make sure you then put it inside the car for safe keeping. As for those plastic clips, it is essential to put in one place so that you would not miss any one of them.
Besides this, this type of molding is usually held on by screws or bolts. So remember to disconnect any electrical wires. There are generally two to four bolts that need to be removed in this case. Just get them loose and keep them safe.
Once they are removed, just take a removal tool to pry the molding up (or sometimes you can even just slide the molding right out).
2. Citroen Jumper – License Plate Molding
For this vehicle, its back door works similarly to the first one we mentioned above. That is you have the molding above the license plate. However, this one is a bit easier, because you can just swing the door around, and you can do it particular wide for this specific car.
And there you will come across a different kind of clips, where you can use a plastic removal tool like a crowbar. Put in a little pressure, and you can pop it open. But the trick for this method is to be careful not to break the cover on top. And do not forget to be patient and take your time always when removing those plastic clips.
Once the panel is open, just loosen up the screws in it and slide them right out. In this case, there are lights in it as well, so apparently, you have to remove them as well. Remember that you have to disconnect the electrical wires, though.
3. Ford Taurus – Trunk Molding
Last but not least, for this session, we have a case study for trunk molding removal on a Ford Taurus. And this one can be a little tricky, where you will find a plastic molding right on the trunk. If you ask us, we will say that again that you do not have to take it off, but by doing it, it might save the world for your vinyl wrapping process.
In this case, there is a third type of plastic clip. Make sure your plastic removal tool is in hand – and use the crowbar one for this. It makes everything much easier when you have the right tool. If you choose to take it off with a squeegee, it will be a nightmare for you.
Once it is are off, you can reach to whatever it is holding the thing on. And in this case, it is a bolt – Ratchet 7/16. Do not forget to disconnect the electrical wires here, and just take off as many bolts as you would need.
Now that the bolts and are off, you can come back with your plastic removal tool and gently pry the molding off the surface, just to release the plastic clips. But bear in mind that this one is sort of fragile so you have to be really careful when doing it because it is going to break if you pull too hard in one direction. Thus, try to pry it open every few inches.
To conclude, removing these moldings on either back door or trunk would really help raise up the quality of your wrap. And it takes only less than five minutes! – Although there might be a time when you come across some installation which requires more than five minutes to do this removal. And if it takes too long, you can decide to leave those on.
And there are two other tips for you to keep in mind when doing it: do not remove the molding after you clean up the car because there is dirt underneath it for sure, and it will go everywhere as you remove the molding.
Secondly, do not forget to check up the connections when you do the re-install. There might be a camera or lights connecting to whatever you have taken off. So just make sure you double check that everything works fine as you finish your job.
We hope these tricks will save you from a lot of frustrations during vinyl wrapping.
