I'm hoping(weather permitting) to plastidip my headlamp and taillight rings tomorrow. I did the gas cap the other day and really like the way it looks. I also like the fact that it peels right off if you make a mistake. I may upgrade to vinyl down the road, but want to try this option first. Any tips on getting the rings off/on? I have the washers on the headlamps. My plan is to get a butter knife, cover it with a piece of microfiber cloth and start gently prying. Thanks all, Annette
I chickened-out trying to do mine. Hopefully the experienced will contribute. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.
Langston at Vinly styes says: just use Your thumbs Just push on the tabs towards the center of the headlight ring. __________________
On the 2009, you can get to the headlight ring clips from the underside. Just pry gently on the tail light rings until one clip pops and then you are good to go. The plasta-dip holds up best on areas that are not touched a lot. It will tend to peel from along the edges first. Jim
Thanks all, if I can I will post pics of my endeavors. (I have a pretty basic camera, so pic quality is iffy). Annette
Ok, messed around with the headlight rings for 20 minutes and finally got one tab unhooked and realized I hadn't unhooked it, but snapped it off. Scrapping this project and buying the ones from AC or VinylStyles and letting someone else install them. Would have been a better idea to buy a second set and plastidiped them first, then I could see how these things unsnap. Still couldn't tell by the broken tab how it was held on or where I should have been applying pressure. The gas cap tab just flexed like you would expect and it unscrewed no prob, oh well, I think I'll go black out the beltline instead. Hopefully that won't be too bad. Annette
Just made a discovery. I did not break the tab, they are made to come off! I got up my nerve again and went out to try again and pushed in toward the center of light with my thumb and they clicked off. When I got the whole ring off I went and found the "broken" tab and realized it is made to slide back into the ring. I took some pics and will post them later. The best part is that now I'm going to remove all the tabs, do the plastidip and then reinsert the tabs. This way I don't have to worry about getting plastidip on the tabs and rendering them too thick to use to reinstall. A How-to I read warned about not getting the plastidip on the tabs, so now I won't. Whew. Annette
Good for you! Feels great to do stuff yourself doesn't it? These modern snap together cars are a bit of a puzzle at times.
It is pretty fun, but I do tend to try to "force" things when they are annoying me. Not a good thing to try with plastic tabby things. I was lucky that I didn't break it. I'm going to just do the front today and try the tail lights tomorrow. Annette
That is a good plan. When something on a car starts to bother me I take a break & relax a bit. It usually helps me.
Thanks, I'm enjoying this place! I finally got the tail light rings off last night so am heading down to the kennel now to start painting (it is very windy here this weekend so I'm painting indoors). Hope to get the parts back on Mozart by tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Sunday is our Schutzhund Club training day, so I'm covered up with dog stuff all day. I love it, but am itching to get the black outs done. Sigh... Annette
Here are a few quick pics of the blacked out parts. I had to take them in the garage since it is so windy here still, and the pollen is absolutely out of control! And while I was at it, I changed out the red "S"s to green. I also tinted the side reflectors and tail lights but it got too dark to get any pics, will get some tomorrow I hope. Annette