PiP Lower Rocker Moldings - Self Install

I ordered the nice-looking lower rocker moldings from the PC shop. They came well packed in a box with some pretty basic instructions. I looked all around at the other PC boards, and I didn’t find anyone who had posted step-by-step instructions on how to install. And since I had never done anything like this before, I was nervous. But I wasn’t about to give $100 to my local dealer for something that *appeared* so simple. So I decided to do it myself. I took a few pics along the way, and wanted to post here to hopefully give others the courage to do the same.

Here’s a pic of one of the panels in the plastic wrap. Nice, huh?



So here are the tools/supplies I used:
- Soap and water -- to clean the surface
- Rubbing alcohol (50%) -- to prepare the surface
- Two clamps
- Small furniture pads (to put on the clamps)
- A steady hand...

First I cleaned the car with soap and water. Then I cleaned the surface area with isopropyl alcohol (50%). The instructions say you can use 3M Prep Solvent - 70 as well, but I couldn’t find any of that locally.

I started with the driver’s side front piece. Before I started peeling any of the paper backing off, I cleaned it with the rubbing alcohol, so it wouldn’t transfer any dirt to the car surface.



Then I prepared the two clamps by sticking on small furniture pads so it wouldn’t scratch the surface of the molding.



Then I opened the door and used the clamps to hold the piece of molding in place. This allowed me to make slight adjustments to the position of the molding. Once it was perfectly in place, I started peeling off the paper backing, starting with the yellow “starter helper.â€





One thing to note-- those little blue “bridge†pieces you see in the picture? I think those are *supposed* to allow you to pull the paper backing all off in one motion. But unfortunately it didn’t work that way with me. The bridge piece would come off and then I would have to use my fingernail to start the new piece...not so easy. Once I had a few inches of the backing off, and I made sure everything was still lined up, I pressed the front of the molding into place.



Now, I just worked my toward the back, carefully pulling off the paper backing and removing the clamps when I got to them. Every few inches, I would again check to make sure alignment was perfect, then press more of the molding into place.





Then I continued with the rest of the pieces, same method. Although I only needed to use one clamp for the smaller back-door pieces.



I love the look of the car now, the molding is relatively cheap ($165) and it makes the car stand out from the crowd. Don’t be afraid, you can do it yourself!

 

The beauty is that you can use the bottom edge of the door as a guide, so it would be hard to make it crooked. And the pieces fit so there are a couple mm of clearance on every side, so no worries about the door clearance. Don't be afraid!

 

Yes, I neglected to mention that part. I removed those two clear door guards before starting. I didn't heat it up or anything, just peeled it right off.