How did you paint your lips/trim?

[Mrk_Mickey]

I had a quick look around the golf last night to see how the panels would come off so i can paint them..and it looks like pop-rivets for the fender bits, clips on the door trim that will break if i pull them apart, and only a few screws on the bottom lips. Has anyone successfully taken off the trim of the golf? If so, how?

If not, I have been told to get replacements for all the clips etc that i break, before i pull everything off..

Any sugestions? In a bit of a pickle here

[DubSteve]

What are you trying to do actually its quite easy to take all of them, just careful careful and easy does it

[Mrk_Mickey]

Did you take yours off at some point Steve? I'm Guessing I'll have to take off my door's interior to get the door trim off..?

[DubSteve]

You talking about interior door trims or exterior? I will be taking mine off in the next few months so it will be bear pretty much, the exterior that is!

I am looking at taking off my vr6 moulds and arch trims.

[rayray086]

I've taken all my trims off to paint them, even the ones on top of the front bumper - YES they can be separated from the bumper!

I didn't realise the clips on the side mouldings would break so easy when I took them off. That said, only one or two clips on each moulding broke off, and that didn't really affect it's reattachment. After a while though (one year!) they're starting to sag so I just used some double-sided tape (get the ones for outdoor/auto use) to get them to hold on. It works.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Hmmm...I took a quick look today and tried undoing a few things. Rear bumper is ATTACHED to back panel and higher rear bumper thingo. Side skirts, no idea, Front lip, no idea either..didn't have enough time. Ray, how did you get all yours off? Is there a DIY I missed somewhere? lol

[peedman]

Rear bumper theres four screws at the top of the bumper and three underneath.

Side skirts pull off the end caps and u can pry off the long rectangular strip that holds the two pieces of skirt together. There might be some plugs that hold the skirt to the chasis rail too. Then the two pieces that make up the skirt can be pulled off.

The front spoiler just unclips so just use a pit of force and pull it away from the bumper.

[bboyskidz]

I managed to break all of the clips on one of my external side door trims... that sucked. I managed to stick it back on with some temporary tape, but i'm going to the vw dealer on the weekend to see if i can get a hold of some of said clips.

[rayray086]

Look what I found on my eBay travels: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/VW-GOLF-MK3-G...QQcmdZViewItem

[Mrk_Mickey]

Ray that's a great find. Will keep that in mind if I can bring myself to try to take the door trimmings off. Bboykidz, keep me posted on prices etc for your findings.

[bsting]

Arch covers - I just snipped the tops off the rivets with some plier snips and then tapped a small nail through with a hammer to knock the remaining rivet off.
To reatach ive just used thin cable ties. They fit fine And you can pull them real tight and snug up against the car.

Side trims - both for the VR6/GTI wide ones and GLI/CLI narrow ones - start from the rear of the car and work forward with a length of rope and use it like a cheesecutter - gently - take your time.

Dont worry about breaking the clips, new ones can be had from a dealership for about $1 each, (5dr and 3dr clips are different) what you do want to replace is the rubber bungs in the doors the clips fit into with NEW ones - about .80cents each here. Wash the area clean (dont spray the hose on it) with a damp sponge and wax it too before you put the new rubber bungs in.

Keep the trims out of the sun and lay them flat as they can 'kink' sometimes.
Whenever ive done this job i have made sure i have all new clips and bungs purchased in advance prior to starting.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Bsting that makes me feel a lot happier lol. Is this what you mean by the cheesecutter thing?

[Golf Houso]

You poor bastards and your vr6's and pre 97 golfs. Now I realize why so few people bother with painting the trim on the mk3's...

You could always like silicone the trimming back on... I know thats a dumb way of doing it but still, worse case scenario I guess...

[bsting]

Yep thats it! Cheesecutter! good pic But you can still pull em off by hand.
Just be careful and go easy. And please replace all the clips and bungs! ok?

Some of you guys with arch covers might find the horror i found when i took mine off, the top edge of them has rubbed against the clear coat and left a mark in the shape of them In all four corners so i have to sand the paintwork back or do a heavy cut and wax job.... and fix the small supermarket dent hidden under the LH side rear one...I have the GLI/CLI narrow rub strips all painted my colour and ready to put on...then the bumper tops will get done

[bboyskidz]

spoke to the vw dealer yesterday - those clips are less than $3 each.

i've got some ordered in and i'm picking them up next weekend