How to remove window chrome?

Discussion in 'Color is everything!' started by EveeSTi, Dec 27, 2007.

  1. EveeSTi

    EveeSTi Well-Known Member

    I think I'm going to start prepping the car for paint today, and while sitting at work it just occurred to me that I have no clue how to remove the chrome around the windows, or along the side of the body, for that matter. Anyone know offhand how to do this? My car is a 70 Skylark Custom. Thanks!
     
  2. Joe65SkylarkGS

    Joe65SkylarkGS 462 ina 65 Lark / GN


    I have to do the same thing. I did buy a tool that you use but I was always afraid to try, and then break something I can't replace.

    :gp: Thanks for the inquiry.
     
  3. EveeSTi

    EveeSTi Well-Known Member

    So I have to get a special tool to remove them? Or does that just make it easier?
     
  4. Joe65SkylarkGS

    Joe65SkylarkGS 462 ina 65 Lark / GN

    From what i'm told you need the tool that goes under the trim and pops something. I'm confused myself.
     
  5. Electrajim

    Electrajim Just another Jim

    I'm in the same boat.

    I know there are some body guys or people who have done this before who can help out.
    I'd hate to go the the junkyard and have to practice there. :eek:

    ElectraJim
     
  6. abodybill

    abodybill Well-Known Member

  7. Ol' Yeller

    Ol' Yeller Guest

    Be very careful using the above tool or others like them. Pry away from the glass. DO NOT use the glass as a place from which to gain leverage as the glass will chip at best and crack at worst. The trick is to pop the trim from the clip. Look at a clip and a piece of trim before you start to see how they interlock. This is a job that requires finesse not brute force, a concept I struggle with daily. Guess how I learned how to do it??
     
  8. Joe65SkylarkGS

    Joe65SkylarkGS 462 ina 65 Lark / GN

    Ok but how am I supposed to "Look at a clip and a piece of trim" without taking it off???

    Should I ask the local Auto Glass guy to help?
     
  9. Riviman

    Riviman Well-Known Member

    Take the tool to the local U-Pull-It Salvage Yard and descreetly practice on a car there.
     
  10. Ol' Yeller

    Ol' Yeller Guest

    Sorry Joe, I made a bad assumption. I have several of these pieces around from cars I have parted out. Not everybody has this luxury. The clips are available at most auto paint stores. If your windshield is already cracked and needing replacement then care isn't a concern but I would guess yours is not. Going to a glass shop and asking them to show you might be a good idea. To gain their cooperation maybe you could pay them to remove the trim while you watch. It shouldn't be too much. If you go to a wrecking yard for practice, find a car with an already damaged windshield. The point of my previous post was to make sure everyone knew that a degree of caution was necessary even with the correct tool. This is coming from a guy who had to buy a new windshield during my learning process a couple of years ago.
     
  11. 72 pet chicken

    72 pet chicken i dont wanna be a pirate!

    i learned he same way only i was too eager to jump into the project and tried to use a screwdriver :rant: the crack has grown a few inches the last few years.
     
  12. Electrajim

    Electrajim Just another Jim


    This is exactly what I planned on doing.
    I would make sure that there is replacement glass available. :pray: (god forbid yours breaks) :pray:
    I would also make sure that the guy working on your "old school" car has done your style window replacement.

    ElectraJim
     
  13. Nicholas Sloop

    Nicholas Sloop '08 GS Nats BSA runner up

    For the trim around the top of the side windows--called drip rail molding--use an old fashioned bottle openner, wrapped in tape. Take it off just like openning a bottle cap, a few inches at a time.
    Windshield and back glass require the special tool mentioned. It looks like a "Y" with little hooks at the ends. Available at most auto parts stores. Yes, it's kinda hard to figure out if you've never done it before. You slip it between the stainless trim and the glass, and rotate to unlatch the clip. You should NOT be putting any pressure against the glass; you are rotating in the same plane as the glass. When you get it right, you will know it. If the trim does not pop off, you are in the wrong place. Patience is a virtue here...
     

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