OK, I hate dents period, end of story, ....BUT, I also hate body side moldings equally as well.

Here in Dallas, sometimes these beautiful cars become a target or sorts. I had my dent guy do a recent perfection job on past and present dents. Too bad I do not have a live attack Jaguar in my front seat to prevent these things from happening!

May I take a short poll? Body side color-keyed moldings for me or not? What would you Jag owners do? WWJOD?

Thanks

 

My 2000 XKR has it's share of door dings. I want to get them removed but haven't found a good PDR (paintless dent repair) guy yet. I have the molding so I can't say if it helped much, but it must to some degree. I don't have a problem with the way it looks though. There was a thread on this and someone has before and after pictures.

 

There's no way a body side molding should go on one of these beautiful cars. Paintless dent removal firms are all over the Yellow Pages, and most of their business is going from car dealership to car dealership. Their services are often come at a high price for individuals just wanting a few dents pulled however.

 

I removed my moldings, didn't like the look, and then reinstalled them. I'm posting from my phone in bed right now but tomorrow I'll dig up the pics and post them.

BTW... taking off the moldings is a pain in the ***.

 

One fallback could be to get a set of those removable side guards that you put on only when you park. I believe there are magnetic ones or something similar. The only downside is that this could actually attract jerks who see the guard as a challenge.

Doug

 

Yes, please do. Yep, when they are on, that is pretty much it. The cars look so slick without them, but it is almost a necessity with them.

 

Here's the car without the molding:





I reinstalled it after a month or so because it just didn't look right. I've seen coupes with the molding removed, and that looked great, but on the vert it looks better with it. That's just my opinion, of course.

 

By the way, since those pics were taken I removed the orange side markers and replaced them with clear side markers. That made a HUGE difference in appearance. I'd like to do it for the front turn signals, too, but I have too many other projects going on at the moment.

 

Tim
My 2001 XKR had the side molding, last year I did a complete repaint and left them off. I think the car looks better without it. I don't park by anyone and I use the car mainly on the weekends. When we go somewhere we usually get Rock Star Parking, It just works out that way or I'll park out in the south forty.
Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

To remove them isn't that hard, just don't be tempted just to rip them off....

Use a hair dryer to warm the moulding, which will warm the sticky crap holding them on, then carefully pull them off, if you rip you can ripple the panel.

Find a local body shop supplier and buy yourself a caramel wheel, this what we call them in the UK, it is basically a lump of rubber on a shaft to fit in a drill, don't go too fast as you might heat the paint but this will remove the sticky rubbish left behind and not damage the paintwork at all, bodyshops use them all the time.

There is one big draw back to this, unless you can guarantee your XK has had no prior paint work done you will not have a problem, if it has there is a good chance you will get a lacquer line around the moulding, the majority of bodyshops will not remove these mouldings during paintwork.

So what you thought is a good cheap mod, could cost you a few $000, or do like most people and put them back on.

As a tip, start at the front or rear not on the door, a lot easier to refit a small moulding than a big one

 

My 04 doesn't have them and never will. I don't take the jag to Walmart or anywhere like it. Even if you park well away from everyone one some idiot will go out of their way to bang your doors.

 

Maybe they used different tape on yours, xkracer. Mine were a bear to remove. It probably took 2 to 3 hours per side. Warming it with a hair dryer didn't seem to help much. I actually made one of my videos of the process but it was so difficult that I didn't want to show everyone how I got my *** kicked by some double-sided tape.

 

In our business we use a product call "Rapid Remover", it's a adhesive remover that will not hurt paint and it's biodegradable It is available at most sign supply companies. Spray it on and it will soften the adhesive for easy removal. I will turn it into a gell, that looks likes snot. Also there is a set of soft plastic trim removal tools that can help, most body shop supply companies carry these. XKR racers right most shops will not remove the molding and spray around it. Rev Sam ran into that when he removed his. The wheel works good, but someone inexperienced can damage the paint.

Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

great comments and advice guys, and thanks for the pics as well!!