These damn moldings...

[darkfact]

OK.. I'm going to be painting my Festiva, I started prepping everything and I removed the plastic moldings that go across the front fender, doors, and rear quarter. I'm have serious problems removing the rubber like glue that is left on the door. There was strips of double sided adhesive that was no problem. But now I've tried everything on this rubber stuff. GOO GONE, GOOF OFF, sanding, wire wheel, etc... Any suggestions on how to remove this stuff without completely destroying the body? You can see the black strip in the picture.

[RhodeStiva]

heat gun and something to scrape.

[darkfact]

I forgot to mention I tried a heat gun and scraper. It just melted it but it still won't scrape off. I've never encountered something like this.

[RhodeStiva]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYv3H6Cd0pU

[RhodeStiva]

and wd-40 and a scraping might work.

[darkfact]

I'll give wd40 a shot. This is almost like hard rubber stuck right on the metal. Its not the typical glue residue I'm used to dealing with

[zoe60]

Lacquer thinner? If all else fails, Xylene has never let me down. bad for you though.

[zoom zoom]

Lacquer thinner? If all else fails, Xylene has never let me down. bad for you though.

how is xylene bad for you?

[getnpsi]

Paying overzealous neighborhood teenagers always works. You said wire wheel so scratching is a non issue I assume. For example I think the last time i ever took purple tint off a car was in the 1990s when i was an overzealous teenager

[bobbyspider]

that stuff is caulk of some sort maybe even the stuff they use to install windshields. took me a but to get off, I use a flat razor and patience. I lost some paint in the process and cramped up my hands and fingers pretty somthin awefull but it worked.

[darkfact]

Its definitely some kind of caulk rather than adhesive glue. I tried using a razor blade but its extremely difficult to get even the smallest piece off. The end result was razor slices all over the metal.

[JPT]

A fresh razor blade and WD-40. Soap and water with the blade works too

[leapin]

I used a combination of thinner applied directly to the glue with a rag being careful to avoid the paint. Then a razor to slowly shave it thin as possible. Then a rubber wheel to get the rest. Took me days and days one panel at a time. Ask Sasquatch he helped!

[bravekozak]

That stuff is exactly the same stuff they use on windshields. It is high modulus polyurethane. Nasty stuff to get off. You almost have to wire wheel it off and then reprime & repaint.

[Charlie1717]

I think there is some sort of rubber bit for a drill that you can use to remove stuff like this..

Maybe this would work?

http://www.texair.com/shopexd.asp?id=32548