Install Auto Molding Yourself -- Eliminate Door Dings

Prevent most minor dings, paint-chips and body blemishes that can happen when someone parks next to you, opens their door and whacks your vehicle. Many vehicles had factory-installed decorative/protective side moldings strategically placed at "door-ding height" to help prevent this problem. But in the last few years, these moldings have been left off to save a few dollars in this very competitive market.

If your vehicle lacks protective molding, you should consider installing it yourself. Installing auto body molding is a fairly simple undertaking for DIY, provided that you take the time to apply it carefully and give it your full attention.

Materials: Body Side Molding kit, Sharp Cutting tool, Rubbing alcohol, Clean white rag, Masking tape, Grease pencil (marks will easily rub off). A warm garage or a sunny day makes the whole job a lot easier.

Quality moldings with 3M peel-and-stick tape are best installed at temperatures warmer than 65 degrees. Plastic moldings are more flexible, easier to manipulate and cut when warmer than 70 degrees. Smaller moldings can be easily cut with heavy sharp kitchen shears or tin snips. For larger moldings, more than 1 inch wide or 3/16 thick, a clean straight cut is somewhat more difficult. A clean sharp anvil pruner will make it easier to get a straight cut on all sizes. A carpenter's utility knife with razor blade inserts also works well, but not one with the break-off blades.

The professional tool used by automotive installers to cut molding looks very similar to a set of anvil pruners, except the blade is 3.5 inch long replaceable razor blade. A thirteen dollar anvil pruner from your local garden or hardware store will do nearly the same job if it is sharp and clean.

Prepare the vehicle bonding surface by cleaning it thoroughly with alcohol and a clean white cotton rag. This removes wax residues so the peel-and-stick adhesive can bond to it securely. Avoid using colored cloth for this purpose, as the dyes in the fabric may leave colored residue behind.

If you do not have a ridge or body line to follow on the car, apply a strip of masking tape to be a guide to help position the auto moulding to be perfectly straight. You may want to measure up from the ground at each end to get a parallel line. Stick the masking tape at one end, and hold it a few inches away from the car while pulling tape off the roll to the other end, eyeball your line, then stick it down lightly. Step back and look to see the lines are right, change if necessary. It is easy to change the tape at this point. Once the body molding is installed and the glue sets for a few days, it does not come off!

Once the straight line of masking tape is in place to provide a guide, use pieces of masking tape to temporarily "dry-fit" the entire length of body molding in place on the vehicle.

Determine where you'll need to cut the body molding for the doors and seams for a precise and accurate installation. Use pieces of tape or a grease pencil to mark the exact locations on the molding where you'll make the cuts. At the door openings, and where the molding ends at the edge of wheel-wells, you may need to cut angles to match the vehicle lines. Allow 1/8" minimum gap for door clearance. At the hinge side of the door you may need to bevel the end of the molding so there is enough clearance when the door is opened.

Once you've marked all the locations, carefully cut the molding. The molding is made from a relatively soft plastic. Cutting isn't difficult, but it is easier when the molding is warmer than when it is colder.

Work with one section at a time, peel about a foot of the backing from the adhesive strips and press the molding into place. Then pull on the loose end of the backing and move along the molding, pressing it into place. After it is applied to the vehicle surface, rub the section of molding firmly with a soft clean cloth to help ensure that it is seated securely. You may want to come back a few hours later, or the next day, to give it another pressure rub to ensure the best adhesion.

Open and close the doors slowly, watching to ensure that the side molding is not touched or rubbed as the door moves. Allow the molding adhesive to set up for at least 24 hours before washing your vehicle. Maximum adhesion is reached after 3-5 days in temperatures above 70 degrees, longer if it is cooler.

That's it, Now you're protected.

Phil Sollecito is the webmaster for AutoAmenity, Seattle retailer of chrome automotive trim products including hubcaps, wheelskins, grill inserts, auto moldings, door handles, and mirror covers. http://www.autoamenity.com

Ten Tips To Avoid Mold Problems and Lawsuits in Selling and Buying Real Estate

Mold Inspector Laboratory International, Ltd. recommends that real estate sellers, buyers, and real estate agents/brokers, in the UK, USA, Canada, and worldwide, follow ten steps to avoid mold problems and lawsuits in the selling and buying of real estate properties.

1. A property owner should not even offer the property for sale, or list it for sale with a Realtor or other real estate agent/broker, until after a thorough mold inspection and mold testing of the home, rental property, or commercial property. Hire a Certified Mold Inspector (USA and Canada), or use a do-it-yourself mold inspection checklist and mold test kits.

2. If the owner discovers visible or hidden mold problems, he should do safe and effective mold removal and remediation prior to offering the property for sale. Hire a Certified Mold Remediator (USA and Canada), or follow the recommended steps for safe and effective do-it-yourself mold remediation. Re-inspect and re-test the building after remediation.

3. The owner should avoid hiding or camouflaging mold problems by deceptions such as painting over mold growth; concealing mold growth behind stored items, furniture, furnishings, and decorations; and masking the distinctive smell of mold growth with air fresheners and deodorizers. The smell of mold is from the digestive gases of the mold eating the building materials.

4. The real estate sales contract should include an environmental inspection clause that grants at least a 14 to 21 day inspection period. The buyer should hire an independent inspector such as a Certified Mold Inspector, Certified Environmental Hygienist, industrial hygienist, and/or home inspector with mold expertise to inspect and test thoroughly the property for mold and other environmental dangers.

5. The mold inspector or the buyer himself should do an all-around physical examination of the building for both visible and hidden signs of water damage and mold growth. In addition, the inspector or the buyer should mold test the air and visible mold growths in all rooms, the basement, crawl space, attic, garage, plus the outward airflow from each heating/cooling duct register.

6. Mold testing requires mold laboratory analysis and mold species identification of the collected mold and air samples. In building locations with previous floods or leaks, the examination should also include fiber optics inspection to look inside water-penetrated surfaces for hidden mold infestations.

7. The seller should disclose in writing to all prospective buyers any previous or present building water and mold problems, and what the owner has done, if anything, to correct such problems. These water damage and mold disclosures should be attached to the real estate sales contract so that the buyer acknowledges receipt thereof.

8. If the property for sale is a USA residential property (home, condominium, co-op apartment), the seller should order ahead of time and provide to all prospective buyers the insurance industrys C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) Property Report that provides a five-year insurance loss history for a given address.

Every U.S.A. homeowner insurance claim inquiry or loss report by a homeowner (even including those that do not result in any loss payment) goes into the C.L.U.E. database. In some states (including California) it is becoming standard for sellers to provide Realtors with a copy of the C.L.U.E. report up front so that there are no unpleasant surprises at closing or afterwards.

9. In consideration of the sellers accurate and complete mold disclosure, and the buyers full and unrestricted opportunity to inspect and test the property thoroughly and carefully, the sales contract may include a sellers requirement that the real estate property is being sold as is with no implied or express warranties as to the physical, mold, and environmental condition of the property.

10. Similarly, the sales contract may also include a seller-requested clause that releases the seller, lender, and real estate agent/broker from all mold liability to the buyer. This release of liability should be contingent on the accuracy and completeness of the provided details in the sellers written mold disclosure and on the buyers full and unrestricted right to do mold inspection and mold testing prior to completing the property purchase.

For more mold inspection, testing, and remediation information, please visit:

http://www.certifiedmoldinspectors.com
http://www.moldinspection.com
http://www.moldinspector.com/mold_removal.htm
http://www.bleach-mold-myth.com
http://www.moldmart.net
http://www.ecology-college.com
http://www.mold.ph
Phillip Fry is a Certified Mold Inspector, Certified Mold Remediator, Certified Environmental Inspector, and author of the mold books Mold Health Guide, Mold Legal Guide, and Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, and Remediation