DIY- removal and clean/paint lower window trim. Please forgive the lack of technical terminology
Car: 2001- Bugeye Impreza RX
Tools:
- Phillips head screw driver
- Flat head screw driver
Time taken to complete:
- removal= 10 minutes
- Clean/ paint= 20 minutes
- re-install= 10 min
- Total= 40 min
Step 1: remove all door cards
Firstly- remove the following screw located on the door card using the Phillips head screw driver.
Then- not sure what this part is called- pry this off, you can use the Flat head screw driver to get it started but it can be removed with a little force.
Next, you need to remove the plastic trim surrounding the door handle ( Caution: be careful as these snap very easily- use the flat head screw driver to pry this away)
You will then need to remove the power window control panel- this should just pop out, as you have already removed the screw.
You will also need to unplug this- there is a three point pressure connection ( Thats how I describe them anyway). Requires some force to unplug but if you are struggling you have missed one of the little clips.
Then, simply pry the rest of the door card away. There are a series of clips holding it on. You can just pry away and pull gently but with a fair amount of force and they should just pop out ( don't be alarmed if it sounds bad) Note: these clips often break. After all the clips have come apart lift the door card up and off as there are two pink wedge like lips that the upper door card lip sits over.
Step 2: Location and removal of trim screws
There will be a rubber cover located towards the outer edge of the door (see below) held in place with a simple little push in rubber nipple. Use the flat head screw driver to push from the inner side of the rubber cover whilst pulling with the other hand and it should just pop off.
The screw that holds on the lower window trim is located behind this rubber cover. On the front doors there is only one screw holding the trim in place. On the rear doors there will be two rubber covers located at both ends of the trim. The screw is located behind these rubber covers as shown.
Step 3: Removal of lower window trim
The trim is now only held in place with three ( front doors) and two (rear doors) Green pop out clips that look like this. The front doors are easy as the window goes all the way down so popping of green clips can be done carefully with the assistance of Phillip (screw driver). However on the rear doors the window does not go all the way down this makes it more difficult ( see caution below).
Caution: these window trims are pretty bendable ( as I found out- I bent one slightly and its frustrating, Damn it!) the rear doors are the toughest as the green clips cannot be removed with the help of a screw driver. They have to be lifted out with force... very high risk of bending the trim. This can be avoided by popping them all at the one time instead of individually- as the clips are quite tough to get out and require a lot of force, if you get them out one at a time, there will be a lot of force pulling up on a single point which can lead to it becoming bent. Therefore, as I found out it is harder to get them all to pop at once but worth it to stop the trip from bending.
you will notice there is a build up of muck under the trim- we will come back to this later.
Step 4: Clean/ paint window trim
Lay the filthy trim down and give it a clean before applying a fresh coat of your chosen paint. Make sure to tape up the green clips.
Step 5: Clean door muck located under trim
Whilst waiting for the paint to dry, clean all the muck away that has built up over time underneath the window trim.
Step 6: Re-install
Then, to re-install simply reverse the removal process. However, the only important thing you need to know is on the front door trims insert the clip closest to the side mirror in first. Trust me this makes it much easier. The little green clips have a little clip that will slot back into the appropriate holes. Unlike the removal process the rear doors re-install easier than the front doors. But both are simple.
Step 7: Photo and post in build thread (optional)
Take a photo of your hard work and post it in your build thread.
Thanks guys....hope you find this helpful.
