2002 Aluminum door bezel removal | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models
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2002 Aluminum door bezel removal

  • Thread starter Thread starter PeepPeep!
  • Start date Start date
PeepPeep!
Reaction score
9
Thunderbird Year
2002
Hi there!

My weekend project I've decided is going to be refinishing the brushed aluminum by wet sanding down the entire brushed aluminum panel to repair any seatbelt dings and dents on the drivers side and passenger side door bezels and then polish them back up.

I want to remove them off the door to get a very even sand across the entire piece if possible and protect the surrounding plastic. The plan is to polish and wrap the the final peice in clear vinyl to protect from seatbelt dings in the future and to reach the manufacture gloss level once I am satasfied with the sanding job. My question is, where are the clips located that holds the aluminum peices in as I want to be careful to pry gently in those areas using pry tools. I know it is possible, as on Ebay and Thunderbird Specialties they sell replacements for this aluminum bezel trim that appear to snap in once you remove the old one, I am just worried about breaking the clips by prying the wrong area.

Does anyone have a door panel schematic that shows where the clips are for the aluminum bezel? I will post my results of the re-sanded and polished peice after I get out those unsightly seatbelt dings and reinstall it! 🙂

**Note: Don't do this on any year other than '02 as those later years have actual designs in the aluminum as opposed to just a brushed look that is easy to replicate.

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I have attached a photo of the back of the drivers door panel. It is layered, and many of the connections are plastic tabs
that are melted down to hold the panels together.View attachment 32345
Does this mean the aluminum bezel does not come off? On ebay, it looks like there are snaps on each corner, and then little holes as well that slot the bezel into place?


Bezel.png
s-l1600.webp
 
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