Hi,

You're right. The clips are a one-time-use, but unless you are willing and able to reset the molding to bear it's original geometry, it is also may be a one-time-use.

The stainless U channel you see on the back of the molding becomes distorted both on installation and on removal in proportion to the amount of violence it's seen.

I lay the molding along the car just below it's intended position and put a 1/2" strip of masking tape on the outer rubber surface precisely at each hole position. These are the only places you need to worry about.

To adjust the gap between the arms of the U, I squeeze the molding, channel side up, in a good square jaw bench vice. Squeeze on the square part of the rubber, not on the outside edges. Check each hole point with a new clip slid into the channel to see if it's too tight or can be easily removed. I prop up one end of the molding with an adjustable stand.

There are 2 small flanges at the end of the U arms pointing towards each other. They become bent inward on installation or maybe end up bent outward if they've been pulled away from the clip. The best tool I've found to orient these flanges perpendicular to the U arms is the ViseGrip flat jawed sheet metal clamp.

The clips I've bought on Ebay can be brittle when cold and may shatter when tapped in. I've not had any problems if they're at least 80 degrees. I apply a heat gun or hair dryer before tapping. Yours may be better.

I prefer a rubber mallet and strike at about a 10 degree angle upward from the horizontal. The object is to hit the rubber at two places simultaneously. If you strike only horizontally on the fat part, it tends to produce a roll on the molding.

To get the molding factory tight is not fast or easy, but if the rubber on the inside edges compresses at preciously the moment the clips grab, you'll have it.

For a more utilitarian fix I often just repair the rust around the holes and put in 5/16" nylon hole plugs sealed with black aviation gasket. A coat of rocker guard followed by a spray of grey paint and I'm done. Not stock, I understand, but it looks fine to me and is much less prone to corrosion.

Good luck
Peter

I had success with the rubber mallet, too. Before you re-attach, I would consider
spraying some rust treatment product into the holes first. It is available with a special nozzle on a wand for treating just such a place. Just be sure to place something under to catch the excess that drips out of the weep holes. In case you are wondering, here is a picture of what it looks like inside the rocker panel.

Did you buy oem clips or aftermarket ones?

I tried both kinds and the aftermarket clips are too small to hold. Somewhere I read a suggestion that the metal inner channel needed to be squeezed slightly in order to grab the clips.

Buying oem clips might require a second mortgage, but they are better than the replacements.

Sounds like you're doing it right. I just did this a couple weeks ago, and the only tool I took to the task was a rubber mallet. The clips were cheap from an ebay seller.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh.