Removing side trim on 95 civic

[jackddup]

Howdy. I'm new, so this question will probably show that.

I have a 95 Civic EX, and I want to take the black 3 piece plastic side trim off to paint it. How do I get these pieces off (safely)? I don't want to go in there and start prying. Are there bolts/screws, or just clips holding these on?

Just to clarify, they are the black strips that run along the side of the car on the door, to the front fender.

Any help is much appreciated.

[pdiggitydogg]

theyre held on by clips. To do it in the safest way remove the interior panels and pop em out that way...i believe that they need to slide one direction first and then pop out. (Take off the fender to do the front ones)
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But, Id just sheild off the area w/ some masking tape and some plastic (Ive used cut opened garbage bags). This way is very easy and still effective

[jackddup]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not too comfortable w/ my masking skill, so I think I'll try and get them off. Any tips on gettin the front fenders off? Never done anything like that before. Also, anything to look out for (hidden bolts and such) when removing the interior panels?

Thanks again.

[pdiggitydogg]

yeah im really bored today so im trolling the boards lol

well ive never played with a 5th gen before...so I'm gonna have to say wait for more people to respond for that fender info.
(But it is really easy to mask, really really easy if you get 3" wide tape)

edit**whoops forgot the interior... Most if not all of the interior is held in by clips...so get a putty knife to slide around behind panels to see where they are, so you know exactly where to pry at (dont want to crack plastic). Some are easier to remove than others...but its not difficult.

[andy_reynold28]

i need to respray my rear 3 quarter panel strip on my 95 coupe. is it hard to get the rear interior trim out to pop the clips out? front is easy but the back looks like a big job.

[ebpda9]

removing them is a royal pain in the rear. i'd just mask them and go from there. sometimes if the car is older the plastic will loose it's elasticity and when you are gonna touch it it's gonna break.

[jackddup]

Upon pdiggitydogg's advice, I ended up masking. It was THE way to go. Turned out perfect. I shot 3 layers of Krylon semi gloss and two coats of krylon satin clear. Looks new OEM. So much easier than trying to get them off.

[andy_reynold28]

ok i may do the same thing on the rear strip. just mask it off, and spray.