Hello! I have a 1997 coupe with 45k miles with the door bumper strip in the middle of the door. I am thinking about removing it, if possible without it looking bad. Does anyone know to remove it? And is it screwed in somehow with holes visible after removal? Thanks a million everyone!

 

Saw it off with fishing line and remove the rest with Goo Gone. It's quite a job. Those are body side moldings by the way.

 

Those bumper guards (referred to as Body Side Molding, or BSM, on this forum) can be easy to remove, or a real pain. It all depends upon how well the two-sided tape has stuck to your painted door. If you search this forum, you will find many conversations on this topic, including others' experiences in removing the BSMs.

I took mine off earlier this year, and had to use monofilament fishing line to "saw" the glue strip. Now, I didn't follow the forum-recommended approach by first heating the glue strips with a hair dryer. I suspect if I had done that, it would have been easier to remove the tape. Still, tape remained stuck to the door after I had removed the BSMs, and I had to use a lot of elbow grease, with lots of polishing compound, to finally remove the tape.

[Insert here: if you have to saw the glue strip to detach it from the door, you very possibly will mess up the BSM such that it cannot be re-installed. So...be sure you want to remove the BSMs before you start. Otherwise, you'll be buying new BSMs and painting them before you install them.]

In the meantime, after finally removing all of the glue, I discovered that the BSMs had "indented" the paint, probably because the paint wasn't fully dry at the time the BSM was installed (at the factory). The indentations were too deep for me to polish them out. So I have just decided to live with that imperfection. It's only noticeable to me, I think, and besides, I am not going to enter my Vette in any car shows where such paint flaws would be noticed and penalized.

So...there you have it.

1. Heat each BSM with a hair dryer before you start.
2. Use monofilament fishing line to "saw" the two-sided tape off of the painted doors.
3. Expect to expend lots of elbow grease and polishing compound to remove the glue residue.
4. Then enjoy the result.

Bottom line for me: I'm glad I removed the BSM. I recently installed side skirts and believe the BSMs would detract from the elegant, parallel lines created by the car's sculpted sides and the side skirts.

Others will wade in, but that's my $0.02 worth.

The Lizzard

 

Ahh thanks! That's why I couldn't find anything in the search when I entered door bumpers..

 

Also check out this thread:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...th-pics-2.html

It shows the combination of side skirts, BSMs and sculpted lines look like. In my judgment, deleting the BSMs makes the sides look much cleaner.

The Lizzard.

 

If the door has ever been painted, you might have a SURPRISE when you remove the BSM.

 

Thanks everyone! You guys are the best. I doubt the door was painted, I bought the car in 2002 from a old guy who put 15k miles on it in 5 years. I think I agree with lizard, it looks a little bit sleeker without the bsm's. thanks for the link. I have to start participating on here more.

 

Lizzard is that the right thread?

 

LoneStarLizzard has it right. The BSMs do create a lot of discussion on the +/- of them on the car.

 

I love my "door bumpers." I think the side of the car looks too empty and naked without them. (although i DO think the z06 looks better without it)