sbmrinaldi

I am thinking of taking my BSM off and I HAVE read the tech tips on how, but it suggests using dental floss. Is there any other way to take them off other than sawing with dental floss? I am really concerned about scratching the paint. My Z is black and shows EVERYTHING. Suggestions?

av8or3

Heck,I used fishing line! You're not going to hurt it.The dental floss
idea sounds even better to me,seems like the wax would help to
lubricate the string & reduce the effort.Wish I'ld thought of that.

hcvone

I have taken off 14 sets for people and I use fishing line to get them started, you can remove the BSM's without scratching your car.

CJS

You can start by just grabbing the small end with your fingers and pull straight up and off. Heat the bsm with a hair dryer first and spray under it with WD-40 or 3m glue remover first and as you go. The dental floss is just to get it started, but you do not have to use it.

jerryv

Don't use dental floss. That stuff is just too weak .. you'll be replacing it every 12 seconds. Use 15-20# monofilament fishing line. Wear gloves. The fishing line can hurt after a little while.

Also, I wouldn't recommending trying to just PULL the molding off, unless you don't care what happens to it. I wanted to remove mine without destroying them.

Use the fishing line to 'saw' thru the double sided tape holding the moldings on. Keep a slight outward pressure (away from the car) to keep the fishing line away from the paint. Don't use so much outward pressure that you eat the edge of the molding, however. Do this while the car is warm .. Just let the sun shine on it for a few hours, or use a hair-dryer to add a little heat. I wouldn't use a heat gun unless you're REALLY careful. Keep sawing thru the tape until the molding is off. Then all you've got to do is remove the glue still stuck to the car. I 'rolled' mine off with my thumb, little by little and with great care. Most people are more practical and use Goo-gone or an equivalent adhesive remover.

If you do this with reasonable care, your molding will still be usable (for some future owner perhaps) and your paint will show no sign that moldings were ever present.

sbmrinaldi

Thanks everyone for your input. I really appreciate it.
Steve

Tom Steele

Good thread. I almost bought a car with BSM's (and I didn't want them) and I was going to have to do this... ended up with a no BSM car - but it is good info!

rwd

FWIW, you don't need heat. Just do it on a warm day. I used 30lb. fishing line and I didn't 'saw' it. When I pulled the line through, a fair amount of glue adhered to the line, so I just kept pulling fresh line through. It took maybe 50 feet of line. I used heavier line because I didn't want to take the chance of it breaking with the possibility of damaging the car. You might want to consider taking off rings or watches before doing this for the same reason. That's also why I didn't wear gloves, but it wasn't a problem. No damage to the car or moldings.

mgaskins

Call me crazy, but I see a lot of value in the side moldings. I parked the car too darn close to an edge of a wall yesterday; I nearly cried when the door swung out and the BSM smacked the edge of the wall. A nice little white spot on my BSM! Thankfully, the paint washed out and a clay bar removed any sight of it unless you knew it was there. The bottom line- that BSM saved me from a scratch! Maybe it would look better w/o the BSM, but not with a scratch!

SilverZ06Chris

I Think they look way too good to remove any way! :cool:

Joey R

What about a paint mismatch on a car that has a couple of years exposure to the elements (sunlight).

Won't the formerly unexposed paint under the BSM be a slightly, but noticeably different shade?

Joey

KBlanke

Fishing line worked great for me. I had them off and the car completely cleaned up in about two hours.

HummelS

I removed them from my 2000 coupe after owning the car a year and a half - no visible evidence they were ever there.

kp construction

In brand new shape 1998 factory red side moldings for sale.... Make offer

danziger

Wow...12 year old zombie thread.