stainless molding installation

[kenny]

in the morning im going to start cleaning up my drip rail molding along with my front and rear glass moldings and try to get them ready to reinstall. i have never installed any of the above moldings and felt very lucky to have gotten them off without damage. i am looking for tips to get those mounted back on the car without any damage. i have already installed all new molding clips around glass channels and i have noticed that the drip rail gutters had some seam sealer put in them before paint, and in a couple spots it even looks like it might be a little high to get those moldings to clip back over the top. anyway as stated before im fishing for sugestions, tips, and methods.
thanks,
kenny

[dangina]

I'll be following this as I'm getting close to doing this as well!

[road chicken]

The drip rail trim was originally "rolled and crimped" into place with a special tool when installed at the factory. They installed the trim over the rails from back to front, and then crimped it back to front with the roller, ( that crimped edge is the one you see under the drip rail). I have never seen a modernly available tool for doing this so , ( from my experience) I found try to duplicate the factory crimp tightness ( i have no clue if thats even a word, but you get it,)is very tough. I start at the back of the rail and put the top over and push down and forward while pushing the bottom into place and work it forward being careful not to bend it too much. All mine are looser than I would like but they hold. I might be worth checking a body shop or body shop outlet and see if that tool can be found.

[kenny]

Ok i put all the stainless back on. The window trim surprisingly just snapped back on, that was much easier than the removal. As for the drip rails i had removed them by wedging the tip of an all plastic pry bar under the front edge and just pulling it to the back so they were not distorted for the most part just the front spot where i wedged the pry bar in and up near the curve where there is a joint in the drip rail. I used a special set of pliers i had for crimping the original style fuel hose connectors, they look like pex plumbing pipe pliers, to straighten out those spots prior to installing. The are made to bend the metal without cutting into it. Then as road chicken said i started at the rear and set the top edge in the gutter and tried to push it on but that didn't work so i poped it with my palm and it snapped on went down a ways and did it again. Had some trouble initially at the bend however i skipped it and went to the straight section below the bend did the same thing then came back to the bend and it snapped on easy. Mine did fit back on nice and tight but the gutters had a good amount of seam sealer in them, and i think that helped it to fit tight but it was still soft from being fairly fresh so it didn't cause any problems getting the stainless to fit into the gutter. Hope that makes since dangina, ive seen some of your work on the pro touring site and trust me you have the skill to get it done.

[dangina]

thanks kenny! My biggest issue is time or lack thereof. I'll be just installing the window trim, I'm liking the no gutter rail trim look thus far

[kenny]

yeah you know even if you dont put the drip rail trim on that channel that holds the weather stripping has a stainless edge on it. furthermore it was much easier to polish than any of the other trim i guess because it is protected by the gutter it doesnt get scratched as much and because it is fastened to the galvanized channel you can really put the polisher to it.