Auto body repair & detailing: door moulding, 3m tape, autobody shop

Question
i have a 2008 Z71 5yrd old next month out of war.36,000+ mi. door mouldings have come loose at the front end. went to body shop have had work done there before very pleased. he told me he could repair them but would not war. them.said very poor design by gm and haven't heard of any soulition. said has replaced the but they stil come loose.said one job only lasted 2mos. i went to a loca dealer and talked to a guy who used to servise mgr at another dealer but is only service writer here. he said if he was the boss they would be taken care of. service mgr is off this wk but will get with him. talked to gm vis chat. gave him all info and the two will get together. i wouldn't mind paying 100.00 for repair if i knew it would last. if i got new ones lots more money and not last. if they were yours whould you do.

Answer
Hi Chuck!....When you mentioned that the front edge of the moulding is peeling away, the first thing I thought of, is it possible that the fender edge is catching the moulding when opening the door. A door that is out of adjustment, and/or a moulding that is installed too far forward can result in this problem. Either way, you can check out how much clearance there is yourself, by opening the door carefully, and having a look. As far as re-installing the mouldings, this is no problem. GM mouldings on late model vehicles, are generally installed from the factory using a 2 sided 3M tape. Any Autobody shop will know how to re-install these properly, but if you would like to do this yourself, here are the steps to take. If the front edge is already loose, simply grab ahold of it, and SLOWLY peel it completely off. Once this is done, you will then need to remove the existing tape residue off of the moulding and door completely. There are 2 ways to do this. An eraser wheel, or "Carmel" wheel as we call it, which is installed into a drill. It will remove the tape residue, without damaging the existing paint, or moulding. You just need to keep the speed slow. The other way, is to use a chemical, such as paint thinner, or something comparable, and a plastic razor blade. Soak a rag with the chemical, and apply it to the residue, and let is soak in to soften the residue up. Then simply scrape it off. This is more time consuming, but still effective. Once everything is cleaned off, on the backside of the moulding, you should see a metallic tin strip. These should be removed, as after the moulding is removed, they will not flatten out as to where the moulding will lay flat properly. You can do this by heating the back side with a heat gun, but if one is not available, you can try a hair dryer, and simply peel these off. It will just take a little longer if using a hair dryer. Finally, pick up a can of moulding adhesion promoter, and a roll of 3m 2 sided tape at your local Autobody/Auto parts store. Follow the directions on the can, then install the tape as needed. Wipe the door panels down with an alchohol cleaner. Now you are ready to re-install the mouldings. Just make sure, that you install the moulding back far enough, so that it does not clip the front edge of the fender when opening the door. Hope this helps you out...Thanks....Dave