for those that have installed rain gutter trim

[gwb72tii]

please tell me how much effort was involved.

do it by hand?

does it snap on as the bottom part goes in place?

thanks

mine is a bastard to put on and i'm wondering if, because the car was painted twice (long story), if there is too much paint build up for the trim to install properly.

[cj]

Did mine in a matter of minutes.

I started by holding the trim up to the car. Used masking tape to mark the starting point at the upper A-pillar(at the bend). Started to curl it over at that bend, worked across the roofline and curled over the A-pillar portion last.

Bingo- done!

Good luck- Cris

[aventari]

My friend and I installed mine a few months ago. It was a huge pain. We just did a respray and had sanded everything pretty well so there wasn't a lot of build up, it's just a tough job to push the trim on. We ended up scraping and nicking a bit of paint on the gutters while doing it, I think it's unavoidable.

We lined the trim up, starting at the kink atop the a pillar and forced it on with our fingers, snapping it on and pulling it down. We got about 1/3 of the way and we couldn't go any further. Luckily my roommate came home and all three of us were able to work the trim on together, but it took a lot of finger muscles heh

[Scott Sislane]

I started in the ctr of the bend and worked-out. Went on very easily. I think you need to flex/twist it inward as you feed it on, if I recall correctly.

[MikeWooldridge]

Duck bill vice grips are your friend. Covered with masking tape, they will not mar the surface. Top goes on first, then roll the bottom over the lip. Just did this yesterday, on my newly painted tii.

There's a great write up on this; if you use search. It might have been Willliams that pointed out the use of the vice grips.

[Scott Sislane]

It's interesting how many people say to use grips/tools... and where to start from. When I worked from the ctr of that bend out, I simply flexed the trim where I was slipping it over and it went right on, no problem. Once I was 10-12" from the bend, heading back twd the rear of the car, it went on in a matter of minutes.

I doubt there's an aftermarket maker of the trim. I used BMW trim I bought from Bav Auto. Wonder why it's so hard to apply on some cars & not others?

I feared this job after reading the faq section (think that's where it is), then I just had-at-it and was happy to find how easy it really goes on.

[gwb72tii]

follow-up question

it looks from the design of the trim that the top goes on first and then the bottom?

[josh72ooh2]

Not a hijack, but on a similar subject, is there a safe way to remove the rain gutter trim without destroying it?

[Scott Sislane]

Not a hijack, but on a similar subject, is there a safe way to remove the rain gutter trim without destroying it?

I couldn't help but bend mine as it came off.

[MikeWooldridge]

Not a hijack, but on a similar subject, is there a safe way to remove the rain gutter trim without destroying it?

It will curl up when you remove it; however, it can be straightened. I used a large flat tip screwdriver.

[Flamingo 5]

The rear end of the piece is a “finished end” start by holding it against the rear of roof attachment 

point and with the add of other person check if it finishes correctly 

mat bottom of A pillar.

this is where most goof up and

either scratch car or begin install

at bottom of A Pilar and end up with the trim going beyond the roof seam.

check for  length and layout with help

[Flamingo 5]

On 8/3/2010 at 7:37 AM, MikeWooldridge said:

Duck bill vice grips are your friend. Covered with masking tape, they will not mar the surface. Top goes on first, then roll the bottom over the lip. Just did this yesterday, on my newly painted tii.

There's a great write up on this; if you use search. It might have been Willliams that pointed out the use of the vice grips.

Your right

[TobyB]

Necrothread!

 

I use toothpaste, myself.

 

t

 

[Son of Marty]

12 hours ago, TobyB said:

 

I use toothpaste, myself.

 

t

That's it, Toby needs to be the board hygiene officer?

 

[fjord-tii]

New part from BMW dealer, I started at A-pillar, made sure it fit the curve, was the right length at front and stuck out at the rear. Pounded down with fist starting at top of A pillar curve, then backward, and then gently with rubber mallet and block of wood. Did myself, could have used another person. Not difficult but lots of anxiety based on write-ups by others.