Painting tips

[w4rkry]

Ok so I got a new shell almost completely stripped and need some help with a few things. I am trying to repaint it the right way, like removing all the rubber instead of masking it all off. However, I am stuck on a couple pieces. First, the inner door seals, both the bottom pieces that clip in and the channel seal that is glued in. Is there a good way to remove these pieces?

Also, I want to remove the rear hatch glass. The shop manual shows the location of some clips and talks about a special tool to remove them. Is this doable at home with simple tools?

Is it possible to remove the door cards without destroying them?

Any other tips for items to look for / remove when painting a whole car? I will be doing most the interior as well since some areas of the interior metal are exposed for looks.

Thanks in advanced

Sent from my Galaxy Note 4

[sketchman]

The hatch glass can be removed with a couple pry bars and a lot of patience. I basically stick one bar in close to an upper corner but not in it. Just close still on a straight part.

Then pry it up and around the metal lip till your bar is against the glass. Now take another bar or a big flat screwdriver, and slowly push the rubber up and over the metal lip probably an inch at a time. Be super careful or you will rip it. It's easy to rip.

Once you have the top half completely worked around and the edges probably half way down you can just grab the glass with the seal still around it and rock it back and forth while pulling up. It will do what you were doing with the bars but much quicker for the rest of it till it just comes out.

[william]

Channel glass runs just pull right out. The door weather strip is held by little clips I use a pocket screw driver or my pocket knife. Pull up on the clip look closely you'll see two taps press on one side while pulling up when that side pops out push the other side. If you can get to the clip from the back side (door card off) you can easily push the clip in with your fingers/nails and they will come off easier that was. There will be a few you can't get to.
As for door card don't forget the single Phillips screw in the front bottom other than that just remove door pull crank ( rag works well to remove the Jesus clip) you'll know why I call it a Jesus clip when it goes flying across the yard lol.
Oh a clip tool is worth the money even a cheap plastic fork type will save time and clips on the door panels.

[TominMO]

Yes the door cards can be removed without damaging them. People do it all the time. There are a couple of screws holding it on. After removing them, I start on the bottom rear edge and pull out sharply, to get one of the fasteners out. Then just go around and do that all around. If you have a JY car to practice on, all the better. Lots of cars have their door cards fastened similarly.

[w4rkry]

Thanks everyone for the tips!

Sent from my Galaxy Note 4

[Eaglefreek]

On the door panels, you should use a tool to remove them. The cards are pretty flimsy and it's easy to tear the fasteners from the panel. http://www.amazon.com/Door-Panel-Cli.../dp/B0025EQMBK
Also, if you don't want to go through the hassle of removing the rear glass, you can use an old painters trick of stuffing some narrow rope under the seal so it lifts it off the metal enough to get paint under it.

[william]

^ the green cable for close lines works good for lifting the seal. Or some 3m trim masking tape comes in a few different sizes.