cz3ch
05-30-2006, 11:55 PM
Credit: Bluebox @ Scionlife.com
I know this controversial topic of stripping the door sill's black tape has been discussed...but i did it anyways. Although i didn't go all out on the whole door sill cuz alot of ppl seem to notice that it looked "chopped" off toward the rear...so i opted to just do the center sills...which came out looking nice and subtle...
here's how i did it... i was surprised how easy it was with proper tools...took me only 45 min for the whole thing...with no sweat.
wat you will need...
1. powerful hairdryer ( i have a japanese hairdryer..it's hot has a heat gun)
2. bug and tar by Turtle Wax..awesome stuff
3. credit card or ruler ( used a card cuz i don't have a ruler)
4. tweezer (i used it once to put the rubber lining back in place)
5. hobby type razor blade
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/01.jpg
Step 1: Since i was not going to do the whole door sill..i used my law school (yes, i used to go to law school) copy machine card to align a cut along the tape with razor...please do not attempt this unless u have steady hands. I used very fine cut to just break thru the tape trying not to scratch the paint underneath.
Step 2: I began with Driver Side door from inside out. I heated the tape generously until i could easily peel the tape from the corner...then lead upward (along the inside door sill..to the cut line)
Step 3: Then I heated the outside sills until hot...then i started to peel away almost in full one piece...it was amazing how clean it came off with almost no goo.
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/04.jpg
Step 4: Although most piece came off at once..some portion were stubborn and required abit more work. As you can see, there were some tape left inside the rubber lining of the sill. To cure this, I rolled the windows down and used my hands to pull the rubber outward...then heated the tape again. The inside portion came right off with one easy pull.
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/05.jpg
Step 5: This is where most people will find difficult to do away with the tape cleanly. I found an easy solution...just heat the bottom portion area with extra heat...once heated... pull from outside (edge of door) inward slowly...this will pull out the whole bottom portion of the tape ...remember to use heat as needed. Your blow dryer will be key to this whole process.
Finished:
Here's a good pix of the difference between the tape and non-taped door sill.
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/08.jpg
here's a view of the two center sills undressed... notice that i have bypassed doing the whole door due to the fact the rear will be create an illusion of being cut off... so i kept the black tape all around except for the center. Notice the glare/shine the center sills emit...alot better than the black tape.,which to my surprise came out pretty damn good. i will post some better pix later..but this is wat i have right now...
please forgive my messy garage...
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/09.jpg
I know this controversial topic of stripping the door sill's black tape has been discussed...but i did it anyways. Although i didn't go all out on the whole door sill cuz alot of ppl seem to notice that it looked "chopped" off toward the rear...so i opted to just do the center sills...which came out looking nice and subtle...
here's how i did it... i was surprised how easy it was with proper tools...took me only 45 min for the whole thing...with no sweat.
wat you will need...
1. powerful hairdryer ( i have a japanese hairdryer..it's hot has a heat gun)
2. bug and tar by Turtle Wax..awesome stuff
3. credit card or ruler ( used a card cuz i don't have a ruler)
4. tweezer (i used it once to put the rubber lining back in place)
5. hobby type razor blade
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/01.jpg
Step 1: Since i was not going to do the whole door sill..i used my law school (yes, i used to go to law school) copy machine card to align a cut along the tape with razor...please do not attempt this unless u have steady hands. I used very fine cut to just break thru the tape trying not to scratch the paint underneath.
Step 2: I began with Driver Side door from inside out. I heated the tape generously until i could easily peel the tape from the corner...then lead upward (along the inside door sill..to the cut line)
Step 3: Then I heated the outside sills until hot...then i started to peel away almost in full one piece...it was amazing how clean it came off with almost no goo.
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/04.jpg
Step 4: Although most piece came off at once..some portion were stubborn and required abit more work. As you can see, there were some tape left inside the rubber lining of the sill. To cure this, I rolled the windows down and used my hands to pull the rubber outward...then heated the tape again. The inside portion came right off with one easy pull.
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/05.jpg
Step 5: This is where most people will find difficult to do away with the tape cleanly. I found an easy solution...just heat the bottom portion area with extra heat...once heated... pull from outside (edge of door) inward slowly...this will pull out the whole bottom portion of the tape ...remember to use heat as needed. Your blow dryer will be key to this whole process.
Finished:
Here's a good pix of the difference between the tape and non-taped door sill.
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/08.jpg
here's a view of the two center sills undressed... notice that i have bypassed doing the whole door due to the fact the rear will be create an illusion of being cut off... so i kept the black tape all around except for the center. Notice the glare/shine the center sills emit...alot better than the black tape.,which to my surprise came out pretty damn good. i will post some better pix later..but this is wat i have right now...
please forgive my messy garage...
http://www.euroxb.com/images/tech/doorsill/09.jpg