Most of you probably remember my accident January '09, you probably also remember the crap job they did making my X supposedly look the way it did before the accident.

Part of the problem was that they used cheap tape to re-attach the lower cladding on my truck, which after awhile started to peel and cause my cladding to come off...

After a trip to my favorite store Lowe's I had everything I needed to get it fixed:

(2) Rolls of Scotch Super Heavy Duty Indoor/Outdoor mounting tape (comes in a red package

(1) Spray can of Liquid Wrench Lubricating/Penetrating oil

(1) Plastic Putty Knife or Scraper

(1) Pair of Scissors

(1) Razor Blade

(1) Roll of masking, painters, or Frog tape

Some dish washing liquid and a few rags to wipe the surface clean

Step one: After you remove the screws holding the cladding in place, find a corner, gently pull, and since it's already loose, it should come right up for you.

Step two: Clean the surfaces with a rag and dishwashing liquid, dry and proceed to Step three. Be sure to take note as to where the tape was before...

Step Three: Spray a healthy amount of Liquid Wrench or your favorite lubricating penetrating oil on each surface and let it sit for 20-30 mins, the longer the better. Just spray both surfaces down every now and again...

Step Four: After you've given the penetrating oil time to do it's thing, get your plastic putty knife and start scraping the tape off. It obviously won't come off in one session, so keep at it until it's all gone.

Step Five: Once you get it all off the cladding and your fender, clean both surfaces again with your rag and dishwashing liquid a few times to make sure it's clean. Rinse thoroughly!

Step Six: With both surfaces clean, take the cladding outside to your truck and see how it all comes together. Take note as to where you can and should put some tape to keep your cladding from coming off again. (Use your best judgement)

Step Seven: Apply the Scotch Indoor/Outdoor tape to the cladding. (you can do it either way, but I thought it easier to do it on the cladding first) It's some really flexible stuff, so you can probably make it the whole way around without having to tear it off and start a new strip.

Step Eight: Now it's time to put it back on; You've had some practice, but you still only get one shot at this, so make it count! Once you have it all back together, you do get some wiggle room to get the screws back in to keep it in it's final resting place. Make sure everything is good and tight then apply masking tape or better yet Frog Tape to keep any moisture from interrupting the curing process.

Let it Cure for 48 hours (provided theres no rain), remove the tape, and you're good to go!

 

I have same job waiting for me in few weeks. have 1/8 opening in couple of places.
Wonder how much crap is there and if any rust might be there?

thanks for tips TD.

 

Great writeup, this is something I need to do on the cladding over the passenger fender. Bought my Ex last August and whoever owned it before me used hot glue to try and put it back on .

 

On a recent project I replaced a bunch of rubber gaskets...after spending 3 hours fully removing the first gasket by scraping, I purchased an array of toxic chemicals to make the job easier - 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner is the one I found to work the best. I think I purchased a quart from NAPA. Let it soak and the chemical will do the work - if the adhesive does not come up easily in 10 minutes, soak it again and let the chemicals work another 10 minutes. Adhesive removal is one job where patience really pays off.

For what it's worth, I have found that 3M painters tape outperforms any store brand I have tried - I only use the "blue" tape in various widths any more.

 

so could you tell me how many mounting holes are in the body and where they are?

 

I'm off to the gym, but I'll check and post when I get back.