door exterior trim removal

[sambb]

panels/paint/polish have never been something I've turned my hand to so looking for some advice.
Can the exterior door bump strips be removed without both mangling the door and strip? if so, whats the best approach for the removal?
Also has anyone had to remove the straight exterior window seal/strip running along the top edge of the door ie where you rest your driving arm when the window is down?
I've got scratches from bushes I came a little to close too down each side of the car and one of the trims is gouged. Scratches should polish out so just wondering if I'd replace the trims in the process or just leave them off altogether if the door will look unmolested underneath where the bump strips are once they are removed.
thanks for any help
sam

[rbalc1]

Hi Sam,
If you remove the bump strip the door will have holes in it. The holes would need filling and the whole door repainting.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f127/polo-bump-strips-83260.html

Depending on the severity of the damage, I would suggest polish out whatever scratches you can on the door. Then get some touch up paint from the dealer (comes with two bottles -body colour and clear ~$30) and apply that to the gouges in the bump strips, possibly a few layers.

If you upload a few photos, someone else might be able to provide some better advice

Here is a good video with some tips on using touch up paint

Rob

[sambb]

righto thanks for that mate. If holes are going to be left in the door then I'll definitely be retaining them. I'll look into polishing out the scratches first and see how it all looks at the end. A couple of little gouges in the bump strip might not seem like an issue then.
thanks