I'm prepping the exterior of my '80 242GT to repaint. I want to pull the moldings off, to either repaint them off the car and reattach, or perhaps close up the holes and repaint the thing without moldings to get that "smooth" finish (I've seen one or two older 240's repainted that way, and they looked very nice).

These are the all-metal belt moldings that run just below the door handles, and run from front fender, around the back, to the other front fender; they're painted flat black on the GT, and are pretty narrow, about 1/2" wide or so.

Anybody reading this who has already gone through this, and can advise on the following:

1) How do I remove these moldings without bending them ?

2) Where are molding clips available aftermarket ?

3) How difficult is it going to be to fill the holes and get the "smooth" exterior finish without the moldings if I decide to go that route ? (I presume that welding the holes is the most prudent route, as opposed to Bondo.....)

Thanks in advance !!!!