The 3 inch wide PVC trim piece at the very bottom of the drivers side door on my 1991 240 SE wagon (204K) popped off. (I just saw another wagon that looks to be the same year with the same piece off, so I'm thinking this is a pretty common problem.) Advice that I've been given so far is: use PL 400 polyurethane adhesive; use a silicone adhesive; clean the trim and metal completely then apply double sided tape to all contact points. That last came from a tech at an collision/repair shop.
I'd like this repair to be one and done, so I don't really want to (potentially) experiment with all three fixes. Findings and advice from all who have experience with this repair will be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the lack of pictures. I'll take some and post if needed.
How to reattach bottom of the door exterior trim on 240 SE?
OK. Finally got that trim pannel back on. Here's what worked well:
I used a 3M product called adhesive and mark remover along with a plastic putty knife and rags to remove all the old adhesive on the door and most of it from the PVC trim piece. It worked pretty quickly, softening or dissolving the old adhesive without seeming to harm the paint or the PVC. Afterwards I cleaned both surfaces with 91% rubbing alcohol and let it dry.
I didn't tape a line at the top of the trim for alignment; I just lined it up with the trim pieces on either side and eyeballed it.
Double sided trim tape, also by 3M, (I swear this isn't guerilla marketing!) on all contact points of trim piece and really firm pressure seems to have made a pretty solid seal.
I was left with one mystery: the trim piece seems to have shrunk in length while it was off the car! No matter how I placed it, I couldn't make the gaps between it and the trim pieces for and aft match what is on the passenger's side.
I used a 3M product called adhesive and mark remover along with a plastic putty knife and rags to remove all the old adhesive on the door and most of it from the PVC trim piece. It worked pretty quickly, softening or dissolving the old adhesive without seeming to harm the paint or the PVC. Afterwards I cleaned both surfaces with 91% rubbing alcohol and let it dry.
I didn't tape a line at the top of the trim for alignment; I just lined it up with the trim pieces on either side and eyeballed it.
Double sided trim tape, also by 3M, (I swear this isn't guerilla marketing!) on all contact points of trim piece and really firm pressure seems to have made a pretty solid seal.
I was left with one mystery: the trim piece seems to have shrunk in length while it was off the car! No matter how I placed it, I couldn't make the gaps between it and the trim pieces for and aft match what is on the passenger's side.
