Door Molding Reattached

Technical info on the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix including do-it-yourself info
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vibrologist
Posts: 1598
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 8:24 am
Location: Iowa

Door Molding Reattached

Post by vibrologist »

The Vibe's passenger side door cladding gets easily dislodged. When you park curbside and a passenger opens the door wide and plops in the seat the end of the door can bite into the grass. This passenger will tug on the door to close it and rip out the rear end of the door cladding in the process. :(

To go from here :( to there :) takes few $$ and about 60 minutes.
  • Get 2 packs of Balkamp 665-2849 fasteners at the NAPA Auto Parts Store. You need 9 but they come in packs of 7. I think this is a well planned coincidence.
  • While there, pick up a roll of 3M Super Strength Molding Tape.
  • Pull the molding completely off the door with your hands. Start at the loose end alternating on the bottom and top edge, working your way to the front.
  • Using combination pliers grab the fasteners that remain in the door. Wiggle and tug to pull them out. They will break in the process.
  • Remove the old molding tape from the door. I put on a mechanic's leather glove and rubbed it off with my thumb.
  • Remove the old tape from the molding. The gloved thumb should work here too. However, I used a chisel. I also rubbed some dust into the gooey stuff so it looses its adhesive power.
  • Wash the door and the molding. Wipe down the surfaces where the molding tape will be placed with rubbing alcohol.
  • Put the fasteners into the slots.
  • Lay down the molding tape and leave the cover film in place. The tape goes on the top edge and at either end. There is no tape at the bottom.
  • Check that the fasteners line up with the holes in the door. Adjust if needed.
  • Remove the cover film from the molding tape, line up the molding with the holes in the door and pop it into place. Go around the perimeter and press the molding to the door to make sure the tape grabs everywhere and all fasteners are seated.
Vibe door and cladding cropped.jpg
Vibe door and cladding cropped.jpg (110.35 KiB) Viewed 9366 times
Vibe door cladding fastener.jpg
Vibe door cladding fastener.jpg (60.96 KiB) Viewed 9366 times
Vibe door cladding supplies.jpg
Vibe door cladding supplies.jpg (118.67 KiB) Viewed 9366 times
Last edited by vibrologist on Mon Sep 07, 2015 7:33 am, edited 2 times in total.
Vibrologist
'05 Vibe

"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

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vibrologist
Posts: 1598
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 8:24 am
Location: Iowa

Re: Door Molding Reattached

Post by vibrologist »

And two more pictures:
Vibe door cladding with tape and fasteners.jpg
Vibe door cladding with tape and fasteners.jpg (72.97 KiB) Viewed 9365 times
Vibe door cladding, done.jpg
Vibe door cladding, done.jpg (43.86 KiB) Viewed 9365 times
Vibrologist
'05 Vibe

"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=43476
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trb
Posts: 1670
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 4:06 am
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Door Molding Reattached

Post by trb »

Looks good! I need to work on my driver's door as it came loose on the outer corner. And to top it off, my son's car's rear fender piece got scraped to heck somehow, so now I have to work on it too. Thanks for the part # and info.
Thomas
the "Mustang Guy"
1987 5.0 LX Mustang
2016 Mustang GT - current daily
2004 Satellite Vibe &
2009 Red Vibe GT -twin's cars
2003 Neptune Vibe GT - prior daily
2010 Red Vibe GT - RIP 6/16/14
2006 Platinum Vibe - son's car
KingKrab65
Posts: 162
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 7:25 am
Location: Charlotte, NC

Re: Door Molding Reattached

Post by KingKrab65 »

I just did this door molding reattachment this weekend as per this article. Excellently written and pictured. The most difficult part of the whole process was tracking down the hardware at NAPA. Since my 2003 car is almost 16 years old, the Balkamp hardware was not as readily available now as it was three years ago. The previous petrified molding tape was a little bit of a bear to remove on the cladding itself but not impossible. And the whole job only cost $33 and about an hour of time.

Thanks again to the Genvibe community for creating the DYI and for making it easy to find.
2003 Base Vibe
MisterD
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2022 2:44 pm

Re: Door Molding Reattached

Post by MisterD »

Thank you. I just followed this thread to reattach my driver's door molding. It went pretty well.

The clips are still available at NAPA, but the picture on their website is for a different black clip. I called and the counter-person checked the stock, and they had one bag of the correct white ones, 7 for $6.99. There was another bag at another store nearby, and it was at my store in an hour. I searched online for clips with no luck.

The work glove to remove tape worked well for the tape that was intact. Also pulling the tape slowly at a a low angle, approx. 10 degrees, stretches the tape and it releases. (saw it on YouTube)

To remove the remaining adhesive residue, Isopropyl Alcohol/Isopropanol/IPA on small pieces of cloth and a plastic scraper, or fingernail, will dissolve and ball up the tape adhesive. At first it will be a sticky mess, but eventually if you keep the rag wet and keep scraping and replacing the rag, the adhesive will be absorbed into the cloth, and onto your fingers, and the surfaces will be clean. IPA will not harm plastic, or paint, but is not so great for your lungs though. I used 91% IPA from a drugstore.

One of the clip mounting features on the molding was cracked at the round end of the slot when I got it off. The molding is labeled PP (Polypropylene), so I used a small piece of a PP jar lid to "weld" the split with a soldering iron. Do not breathe the fumes, use a fan to move the smoke away from you. Zip ties are usually made of Nylon, which is not appropriate for welding PP according to the compatibility tables online.

Someone apparently did this fix before me, and used a knife to cut the VHB tape along the top edge of the molding. There was a scratch in the paint all along the top edge of the molding, but no rust thankfully. The tape was aligned along the edge of the flat surface on the inside of the molding, and roughly half the normal tape width protruded above the molding on the door. While trimming, the knife slipped once and left a scratch on the molding. I just aligned the tape near the top edge of the molding, and left the "extra" tape stay inside the molding where it will not necessarily bond to the paint, but should cause no harm.

M
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