How hard is it?

[slade]

Feel free to answer in the obvious way to the question but...

How hard is it to pull the trim on top of the door off? The flat black paint on mine is wearing off and showing off the stainless steel/aluminum underneath. I'm talking about the lower window frame, the uppermost piece on the door.

Does the entire door have to be pulled apart? (might be necessary as my passenger side window is getting tired...)

slade

[jimmybondi]

I think pulling-off is not the problem.

I would be scarced about putting-together ?

[Guest teigan]

i repainted mine in place. just masked it off first with drycleaning bags very carefully. took 45 minutes to do both sides to match.

[WayneB]

Its held on with about 4 to 6 small nuts. Its time consuming and fiddly to remove.

Just occured to me you mean the window frame, if thats the case ,paint it in situe

Edited October 20, 2005 by WayneB

[Guest Troy Halliday]

If you mean the window frame section I would as others have suggested paint it in situe. Repositioning the window frame is a pain in the butt. Trying to get it in the right position so that it closes on the seals and so that the window runners all work correctly can seriously drive you mad. If you mean the black capping srip on the top og the fibreglass door panel then it does indeed have about 6 nuts holding it in place , but they are more than likely corroded and will snap or bend when trying to remove them meaning you will have to weld on new bolts. As you can tell I have done both

I would paint them in situe mask everything up thouroughly. get some plastic dust sheets from B&Q or the like to cover the rest of the car to stop overspray. Buy a couple of Tins of Satin Black and you are all set. I would suggest flatting down the original first to key the surfice. If possible get some panel wipe to remove any wax or silicon. Take your time between coats. If you want I will right a proper how to that you can follow. Just let me know.

[Richard S3T]

Took mine off to paint them, I thought it was three litttle nuts with washers etc and the studs in the trim locate in slots in the top of the door panel to allow for adjustment. I would quite like to change these trims for polished stainless or Carbon fibre. has anyone done or seen that?

Richard

[slade]

I'm not talking about the entire frame, just the lowermost piece on the shoulder of the car, which seems to be seperate. Anyways... guess I'll be masking them off then! I'll get some pics though so people know what part I'm talking about

Just polishing the stainless... (are they made of stainless? or aluminum) that's always sounded like it wouldn't look bad. But someone else can take the leap before me

slade

[Guest teigan]

you managed to be wrong either way. it is made of carbon steel as are most car window frames.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

I know the piece you are talking about here is a picture of the rear quarter trim and door window wipe trim.

Oh and the window frame is extruded aluminium I know this to be fact because I had to get it Tig welded by an aluminium specialist because I do not have the facilities to do it myself.

[Guest teigan]

we can't be talking about the same part, because mine was layered in iron rust when i bought the car. it doesn't look extruded either as the cross section is not constant.

[Simon350S]

how easy is it to get those bits off Troy?? i assume they are held on with nuts inside the door panel??

Some craftsman has previously painted mine...... with a brush!!!!

I thought the window frames were steel, seen a post somewhere where someone has repaired their frames with fiberglass filler due to the fact that they had rusted through completely??

A little confused but i think thats normal!!

[Guest Troy Halliday]

Ok to save confusion see pic attatched.

(A) is the window frame which has a quarter light that is glued into place and a felt lined rubber trim that is your window runner. This bolts on to the aluminium door beam by 5 bolts, plus to bolts which go threw the fibreglass door panel to the window frame. On my car this is a 'H' section extruded aluminium section welded together.

(B ) is a steel 'U' ish shape that is a finnisher for the top of the door and carries the rubber window wipe. The rubber window wipe is sandwhiched between the trim and a metal strip which are riveted together. The trim has approximately 5 captive bolts about M4 (very small) which clamp the trim to the top of the fibreglass panel. These can get very rusty and because they are small can snap easily.

I wil have to check how easy the trim (B ) is to remove with the window frame (A) in place but from memory I would say that the glass would get in the way. I will have a closer look today when I get to the workshop.

Hope this clears things up and we can all sing from the same song sheet

[Guest teigan]

thanks for taking the initiative to be graphic. i was referring to B. this is a stamped and die cut carbon steel part. rather nice by lotus standards. did you know aluminum has an anodized finish that resembles your paint job? as the front window trim design looks dated in silver, you should get some aluminum u-extrusion anodized and cut to fit.

[Guest Troy Halliday]

My front and back window trim is now all rubber you can no longer source the metal window trim and I bent mine getting it of so had to find an alternative