Removing coachlines

[sunnyr83]

Going to remove the ugly coachlines of the car today using the hairdryer method, anything i should avoid and is there a special way of doing it? is it just heat and peel.

Also want to change my rocker cover to a nice red one i bought and was wondering if i need to replace the gasket which was changed in April?? £14.00 iirc from ecp

Any advice on the coachline removal by 17.00 would be great.

[m8782538]

should be heat and peal, but as with all E30's things always seem to turn out more complicated.

I would change the rocker gasket anyway just to be on the safe side, you don't want any leaks, different rocker cover, new gasket, take the head off, new gasket etc

[bimmaman]

Use as little heat as possible. You want just enough heat to soften the glue without melting it. I found a thin plastic card (credit card sized) helps get things started. If you are lucky, you can get it off in 2 or 3 long strips...

[m8782538]

a small body filler applicator is good for this, about 50p from your local motor factors.

[sunnyr83]

Thanks guys, gona start now so will update, what would the body filler do??

[sideshowbob]

Tried removing coachlines from 635 CSi absolute nightmare. Tried yout method of using hair drier but it just kept coming off at about 1" at a time and left the glue on the body. Hopeless. Then I got a toffee or caramel wheel which is a round rubber disc that yiou put in a drill. That shifted the stripe and the glue but you have to be very careful as you can easily 'burn' the paint.
Eventually I gave up and left the job to the bodyshop where the car was undergoing some restoration work.
My view for what it is worth is that the longer the stripe has been on the harder it will be to remove, especially the tacky glue.

[Ranchero]

I used lighter fluid applied to a soft rag to rub it off.

[sunnyr83]

Ok well neighbour said to put a cloth soaked in hot weather over the coachline and it worked, had about 3'' in my hand then it ripped, gona take forever that way so gona get out the hairdryer and see.

[sunnyr83]

Right before and after pics, I only done 1 side today, hairdryer method worked well with an old bank card but left a layer of glue on the body as sideshowbob said, so i tried water and a cloth but no good, so out came the mighty T-cut and took it of with ease once left for 10-15 min. Just needs a good wash, clay, polish, wax etc etc.....
Who the Puck thought to put these on man, aside from genuine alpina strips they look so wrong!!
Thanks for the tips guys, other side tommorow

The manky coachline

Glue left over


Manky coachline gone...




Thanks to..

[m8782538]

good result, nice.

[sideshowbob]

Well done...I don't think they had been on as long as the ones on my 635 Csi. Nothing would touch the glue residue, not even T Cut, so left it to the professionals at thye bodt shop while they were doing a couple of other jobs.