I am glad to be back and have missed the dialogue. My driver door lower outside trim is loose but only about the first six inches starting at the front. As it starts to "poke out" I am afraid it will catch on the front fender edge and break. Any idea if black silicone trim adhesive would work if I "inject" it then clamp it as it cures overnight or am I just making a mess to deal with later? Again, it is just at the front and I hate to remove the whole trim piece but am asking....not telling. Sincerely hope everyone is well and 2013 is good so far. Thanks.

Euroman

I was recently addressing this issue. One of those door mouldings had fallen off, or likely removed before it fell off and had been in the "trunk" (wagon) for several years. The other mouldings were "poking out," just as you described. I removed them and cleaned up the old adheasive tape with solvent and a razor blade. I re-attached with the HP 3M adheasive tape the others as suggested. I also used every clamp that I could fit (and I have a LOT of clamps!) The 3M tape is was a big roll that I "aquired" over 25 years ago when I worked at a VW-Porche-Audi MB dealership in the detail department during college. It's Still sticky as hell! I saw it at my local Oriely parts store in a MUCH smaller and narrower roll for about $7, at which point I decided to give the 25 y.o. stuff a try. Upon reinstalling I realize the cruxt of the problem: The moulding has two "cleats" that fit through coresponding holes in the metal door skin. The problem is that the plastic moulding has "shrunk" and the cleat no longer align with the hole in the door skin, causing the plastic moulding to curl outward at the ends. I don't know the solution, other than removing one of the cleats and relying entirely on the 3M adheasive tape! (this was the ase for two of my moudlings as the one cleat had already broken off) It has been about a month with with the 25 year old 3M tape and so far so good!

Both good ideas/solutions and I think in the interest of time I will try the "fix-on-car" idea of gluing the end where it is just starting to come loose. If it were not for the obvious rust problem I would be tempted to put two small black screws through the molding into the door sheet metal. I have seen so many fixes like this for the air dam under the front bumper where it comes around the two sides and over the lower end of the front fenders. In the event the car lasts as I intend it to, I really don't want to invite rust to a garaged and rust free 1989! Thanks for the further input.

Don't put screws into it.. I know you're not going to, if anything, a plastic zip tie worked for me. If you look at the back of the door, near the front obviously, there's a drain bolt right where you'd want to put it.. For me (and I'm not saying you should) I drilled a small hole right where I needed it. I put the zip tie in and trimmed it. I didn't "zip" it in too tight, as the other end would bend up. But you get my drift.. It was more utilitarian looking after that. Not horrible, but looked better than before. Kinda clean if you do it right.

But then again, living in the rust belt, I've learned to love the zip-tie. No screw jobs for me. I've got zip ties and duct tape in every size, shape and color they make em. Rust inhibiting paint and undercoating too.. But you're right, screws are the easy way out. And more often than not, the metals react differently with each other, and throw some 0^2, H2^0 and salt in there, and it's all over. But best of luck!.. Hope the tape/sealant actually works for you!

BTW, zip ties, very small ones work great for broken air dam holes. You need to "create" a small hole here and there to get it to function, but it's way better than having it flop around, and is a pretty permanent solution too.

Use 3M VHB [ very high bond] trim tape. Either take the entire trim piece off and do it right or just try to do the section that is loose. You need to remove the old double sided tape to get a really good bond. Also clean the paint where the tape will stick using rubbing alcohol.

Well, as I had hoped, I am getting more than one good suggestion/idea/solution. This car looks good enough ( good-quality total repaint and really nice interior ) that I want to keep it looking nice and as authentic as possible. When I really take a closer look I will decide which of the ideas given me. I am inclined to use the idea of using the 3-M double-sided "tape" because I remember it being used for similar fixes when I worked at Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Too, the trim itself is in such good shape ( car always garaged ) and only the first several inches are loose. Thanks for all the input.

If the 3M product isn't readily available where you live, I've had very good luck with the Permatex RTV sealant in this application. I just leave a cement block - or similar - against it overnight such as to make sure it properly bonds.

Link: http://www.permatex.com/products/product-categories/adhesives-sealants/sealants/permatex--clear-rtv-silicone-adhesive-sealant-detail

3M makes a plastic and trim adhesive for occasions just like these. Buy a tube at NAPA. Peel the trim off. Clean the back and the door. Apply the glue. Stick it on. Peel it off ( I have no idea why). Stick it on again. Secure it with tape. Leave it for a couple hours. Remove the tape. Done.

Greg

Yeah, after you try glueing and clamping and everything else fails, which it probably will... What I did was trim the part that's flapping and warped clean, and just tape it off (with painters tape, precisely) and paint it in with a matte or semi gloss black paint. It's not so much you have to protect the bottom from gravel.. LOL "Gravel Guard." But it's that visual line from afar what everyone cares about..

After I did that, you don't even notice part of the guard is missing unless I say something. Plus, if you really care that much, you can replace it with a proper used guard when you get around to it in the future.. I never did. But make sure you don't tape above where the guard would sit. Everyone likes to have the option of replacing that with a proper used guard. And a six inch piece of slightly raised black paint just looks goofy. So be careful. Tape and stand back and don't be afraid to adjust the tape again. Once its right, go for it.

But when you do replace it properly, it doesn't matter what's underneath. Like paint or glue. A true restorer will either sand it and repaint, or leave it, and cover it up with a proper gravel guard.

Again, use this idea as a last resort... If you're ever going to show your car at a meet, ignore what I said completely. But for a beater grocery getter that's worth 500 bucks on a good day, I say it's not a bad idea.

For me the glue and clamp never worked, and more and more it would just pull up from wind, until it was completely warped off.. I even drilled a small hole on the front and back edge and put zip ties around to hold it down. It worked, but looked pretty ghetto. So I know most methods. And it's hard to say there's a perfect method. On my friends car I did this method, and it's looked good ever since.

The molding was put on with double sided tape. I believe 3M makes some for auto applications. Have also read on here about using permatex silicone with good results as well.