should i dare remove my side strips, have a black magic 04 plate furby, dunno if i should remove them after the mass of people with bubbling experiences.

i want to , anyone recon i should go mental on them and take them?

advice would be good

should i dare remove my side strips, have a black magic 04 plate furby, dunno if i should remove them after the mass of people with bubbling experiences.

i want to , anyone recon i should go mental on them and take them?

advice would be good

just make sure you get them nice and warm with a hair dryer and take your time, i sprayed wd40 on mine and let them soak for a day or 2. plus its usually the silver ones that suffer.

heres mine to give you idea.

Thanks for the confidence boost

nice job on the car m8, looking good.

have you done yours recently then?

just worried that because the car is 6 years old it may be a victim of bubbling rape lol. hope not. might just do it after work tomorrow. :S

I left mine on, I really dont see that much difference tbh on a black car.. I want to spray them magic black though, but think that's little too much effort for me :yes: (same with the door handles)

I left mine on, I really dont see that much difference tbh on a black car.. I want to spray them magic black though, but think that's little too much effort for me :yes: (same with the door handles)

ive thought about the door handles, think it'd look good just a bit of an effort though:)

took my rear wiper off today with a little help from a friend, thats a love hate thing though i recon. gonna keep all the bits incase decide to put it back on sometime.

ive thought about the door handles, think it'd look good just a bit of an effort though:)

took my rear wiper off today with a little help from a friend, thats a love hate thing though i recon. gonna keep all the bits incase decide to put it back on sometime.

Gah I hate not being able to have a clear rear view.. (cant see the people I've left behind! ) either way, personal choice in terms of style though, it does look much better.

I removed mine before xmas (2002 car), and found there to be bubbling on 3 of the 4 doors :(

Took it to skoda who just denied any warrenty issue - sigh.

So i've used a touch up stick for now, and it does look quite naff up close, but hey ho, it's only a car to get me about for work and stuff. Worse comes to worse I can buy a new set of rub strips and stick em back on.

I wish i didn't remove mines as i have the bubbling issue :( gonna buy new ones and get them put on to go with my black theme

Edited 31 May, 201016 yr by Juego

I wish i didn't remove mines as i have the bubbling issue :( gonna buy new ones and get them put on to go with my black theme

do you have a silver one aswell?? i'd like to know if someones got a black one similar year to mine thats is having the problem :S

i removed mine and had no bubbling what so ever very happy bunny. just take them off mate, if you find bubbling then put them back on, if not then you will be enjoying a nice smooth side

Elliott

Mines is silver mate yeh

Mine is an '05 silver and had mild bubbling on the front doors. Hardly noticable though and doesn't bother me in the slightest. Much prefer the smoother look now and think it looked cheaper with the strips on. Doesn't make a massive difference removing them on the black magic ones though IMHO.

It's probably the outer skin of laquer that attaches itself to the strip, without it's laquer, paintwork would look dull against rest of paintwork.

Also a flat painted VRS such as the 'Yellow' or 'RED' would/should not have this danger.

If its a black car - leave them on, any other colour i'd suggest being vey careful or getting them painted!

can you buy primed side strips from the dealer? might have to give them a ring, that would probly be best plan imo

mark

Here is a quick diagram I have just drawn up to explain why the bubbling happens.........

The way that the strip is shaped leaves an empty gap in the middle of the adhesive between the door and the strip. The water sits in there trapped against the paintwork and eventually causes bubbling of the laquer/top layer.

There are many theories as to why this happened on certain year fabias. Different shape strips used, different paint mix used, etc........... the basic jist is if you have one it is a lottery as to whether it has happened to yours or not.

You can buy new ones, but they don't come primed. Take the new ones to a bodyshop, get your paint code and get them painted. Give it a week to harden then swap them over, job done!

Did this on my Ibiza - side strips were alot bigger!