bad side moldings from Prius shop, what can I do?

Sorry to hear that flintlock. I think yours is a rare case. It's the first time I've heard of it happening.

I don't know what your remedy would be.

I do know that a good body shop should be able to remove the moldings and reinstall them perfectly. I know of one PriusChatter who installed his moldings slightly crookedly, and his body shop was able to remove them and reinstall them correctly.

 

I ordered the side molding from Prius shop and installed them myself last weekend. I peeled from the non tapered end to the pointed end and did not realize till I was through with the first of 4 molding that I had not removed the last 2" of tape covering and the tapered end was not sticking. I pulled the tapered end back while my wife took off the paper with a tweezers. The other 3 I had no problem installing. They have been sticking well with wind and washings. I would suggest that the instructions add to take off both pieces of paper. I did not see the perforation and just took off the masking tape and thought I had taken all the paper off as I was concentrating getting the other end lined up where the doors connect.

The masking tape method they recommend is not perfect, there was a slight sag in the middle (1/4 ") so I strung a tight string across the measuring points (tying the string to some steel post I pounded into the ground) and they are installed perfectly straight!

I'm very satisfied with the side moldings and can now park next to that Large SUV comfortably!

 

I think the masking tape is there to warn you that after you pull the paper backing off, the last two inches of paper backing also need to be taken off. A note in the instructions would have made me look for it and take off all the tape and not have to mess with tweezers.

The instructions suggest taking off a foot of backing at a time and with the backing against the car you really can't see that the last 2" is still there until you notice the end does not stick.

 

Hmmm, those end pieces are hard to take off and hard to see once the tape and retape are on.

I was thinking how hard those end pieces were to take off without touching the backing and you must have been having a senior moment (been there done that) today not remembeing taking them off. Might go back for a second look.

 

I did the exact same thing today. The instructions should have a warning. How hard is it to add "Don't forget to peel the small, individual tape backings at the billet ends!" The instructions actually do more harm because it tells you to peel the backing as you install the moldings, so your peeling without seeing the backing. If I had just peeled off the backing before starting the install, I would not have missed the little pieces of backing at the billet ends. Damn. It should have been a seamless operation. Now I'll try to dig back and peel the little individual tape backings off, trying not to touch anything.

 

Fixing it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I slid a piece of paper behind the molding where it wasn't sticking, to protect the paint from my tweezers and scissors. I used a small pair of nail scissors, which are very sharp, to poke at the adhesive and to get the backing lifted off the tape a little. Then I used tweezers to pull the backing off, being careful not to touch the adhesive tape. Took about 5 minutes to do all 4.
I used "Oops" adhesive and tar remover (available at Ace Hardware) to remove the Pro-Bond Adhesive Promoter that accidentally dripped down the door and which dried instantly! (I squeezed the paper tube too hard). The adhesive remover is a toluene based product that removes anything from an automotive finish, without removing the finish or the clear coat.
The door moldings look good, I'm happy