With snow and cold outside this weekend, I thought I'd stay in the warm garage and replace the clear tape which protects the front body deck from rubbing by the bonnet. The old tape had yellowed somewhat and was loose and discolored at the front due to rubbing the black rubber pads under the bonnet front. I had earlier purchased some 3M Scotchguard body protection film in a 1" wide by 96" long roll online for about $15. Removing the old tape was very easy. Initially I just grabbed one of the loose ends and slowly pulled it back, but that was leaving significant amounts of adhesive residue. I then switched to a heat gun on low setting and gently warmed the taped as I pulled it very slowly. This method left virtually no adhesive residue. I cleaned any residue with Goo Gone, then soapy water, then hand polished the horizontal deck to remove some minor scratches. Applying the new tape is pretty straightforward. I elected to "roll" the tape up the body side at the rear rather than trim it lengthwise the way the factory did it as I wan't confident in my trimming skills. Ends were trimmed with a straight razor blade.
Check out the before and after photos.
