How To Remove Windshield Trim On Ford Truck

Removing any part of your vehicle should be done with extra caution to avoid further damage to the parts you are removing or other parts of the vehicle.

As a car owner, removing your Ford truck's windshield needs to be done with extra care to avoid continued windshield breaks and damages to the edge of the windshield holding compartment. With that being said, the bumpside of your vehicle is also important as other sides. To successfully remove the windshield, you must follow many details and instructions steps by step to avoid any unnecessary damage to the vehicle.

What Should You Do?

Planning on removing the windshield to install a new one or repairing your Ford truck, you would have to go the extra length to remove the trim around the windshield. Black rubber is the connecting layer between the windshield and the vehicle windshield frame. This black rubber holds the windshield in place and helps it stick to the vehicle frame. On the other hand, the windshield trim is the 1-inch thick strip that goes around the perimeter of your Ford windshield. To remove the trim holding the windshield and the frame together is very easy; however, you must ensure that you avoid bending the trim too much at all costs.

Also, as you are removing the trim, it might leave back some crimps of the trim, which you wouldn't be able to reuse for any purpose.

Steps To Successfully Remove The Windshield Trim

To successfully remove the windshield trim, there are some steps you must follow. 

These steps include:

Start the removal from the bottom corner of the windshield: to avoid any crack on the windshield and limit the amount of damaged trim, you should start from the corner side of the windshield. Gently slide in a putty knife under the corner edge of the windshield and gently lift the corner.

Slowly pry the windshield corner up: the windshield trim can easily splice together at different corners through the notch in the trim corner. To successfully scale through these steps, you should easily slide the corner pieces apart slowly and gently to avoid any crack, thereby pulling the virtual piece towards you. Gently continue to pry the windshield trim up to the uncovered section by sliding the putty knife along the edge of the trim. Gently and slowly pry it free from the glue used to connect it with the windshield frame.

Pry off the windshield trim off the entire windshield: at this point, you will need to pry off the trim from the windshield itself completely. Gently pry it up from the side if you want to preserve the trim for further use. This is essential because if you only grab the trim and pull it away from the windshield, there is a high tendency to create kinks or unsightly bends marks and eventually weaken or damage the trim.

Apply spirit to a dusting rag: at this stage, you would need to clean the windshield frame with the rag to help get the residual trim of the windshield frame. The rag must be dipped inside the spirit and critically used to wipe off any excess glue or trim residue of the truck frame of the windshield.

Things You Should Take Note Of While Removing Windshield Trim

To successfully remove the windshield trim, you must be extra careful to avoid cracks. Furthermore, you must gently pry the windshield trim of the windshield frame if you are thinking of using the trim again. The most commonly used tool is a putty knife, a flatbed screen driver of a specialized windshield trimming tool.

You might discover a rusted part of the trim or the windshield frame during the trim process. If you observe any, ensure you are extra careful at calling in experts from Ford body shop to help with the trim removal.

Ensure that the flatbed screwdriver or the putty knife is properly placed under the trim to facilitate easy removal.

Completely remove the old glue or sealant to avoid future leaks through the windshield or, worse, crack when pressure is applied to the windshield coated with new sealant or glue.

While removing the trim, ensure that the edges of the windshield are primed with the appropriate primer as the primer increases the strength of the new glue.