Rust! Warning: contains images some viewers may find distressing.

[pudding]

Sill cover removal.  Long post alert   

It's worth taking the time to read through it as there are some 'gotchas' you need to be aware of to ensure the covers go back on to a factory standard. I messed it up the first time. Easily done 

Removing the sill covers is fairly easy, just need to take your time.  The sill covers are very tough, so don't worry about snapping them. What you need to be careful of is not damaging the good paint with a blade when cutting through the double sided tape.

I started at the front because the rust had destroyed the paint, therefore that end of the cover pulled away from the car very easily.  Whilst prizing the sill cover away from the car with a plastic wedge, I sliced through the tape with a scalpel, and worked my way along to the back of the car 3-4cm at a time.

At the back you may find there is a massive blob of urethane glue (you can see it on the 4th pic down, first post) bonding the cover to the car.  This was a right pain in the arse to break free.  I used assorted plastic trim removal tools to peck away at it until it finally broke free.  Be very careful with this bit as you can leave a permanent indent in the sill cover if you gorilla it.  I believe you can get urethane glue removing chemicals but it may damage the paint.  Not sure.  That was by far the most tedious, difficult bit of the whole removal process.

Once all the tape and glue is broken free, lift the sill up and off the car.  You will be left with a long plastic guide strip and 9 self tapping screws, and a big load of double sided tape to remove from the car...and sill covers.  Simply slide the plastic guide to the right and it will pop off the screws.

Remove the screws with a 5.5mm socket.  These may be rusted.  A few of them broke off on mine trying to undo them.  New screws are available from the dealer and I would replace them all personally.

Once the cover is off, you're now faced with the hideous task of removing the tape leftovers and glue residue from the car.  For this you will need a Toffee wheel.  Pop it in your drill and run it at a slow speed.  It will grab hard, so hold onto the drill tightly.  You may find your drill overheats and shuts off doing this (4 meters of sh1t per side to remove!) so give it a rest every few minutes.  If you over speed the toffee wheel, it WILL take your paint off, so be very careful.....but it's 1000x faster than using Goo Gone or similar oil based glue remover.  Don't use cellulose thinners as it WILL wreck the good paint. 

I recommend using the toffee wheel on the sill covers first to get a feel for it as they are a lot tougher than the paintwork on the car.

After removing all the tape from the car and sill covers, treat the rust and repaint the affected areas accordingly.

For repairing rusted areas under the factory seam sealer, and also to replicate the dimpled finish on the sills, I used U-Pol Grey Stripe.

For paint, VW do rattle can kits, or I found Halfords paint was a good match, and a lot cheaper.  I used U-Pol Clear One laquer as it's way better than the factory stuff.  Red cars in particular will benefit from that as it's UV resistant.

When it comes to refitting the sills, honestly, I highly recommend doing a 'dry run' without the tape first to get a feel for how they line up on the bodywork.  First you need to refit the plastic guide strip (VW used this to make sure the cover sits dead parallel on the car) onto the 9 screws mentioned previously.  The sill cover then clips into said guide strip and it's important you slot it in fully along the whole length or it will never line up properly.

Start at the back (important!) as the body to cover profile is very exact. Offer the sill up, and when you're happy with the alignment, pull on the tape's backing strip and work your away along towards the front, pushing the sill onto the car firmly as you pull on the backing.  If you want to reapply a blob of urethan glue, go ahead.  I did.  I figure VW put it there for a reason so I did the same.  The glue is also a good 'get out of jail' card to stick the cover down afterwards if there are gaps.

Don't use cheap generic double sided tape either.  The stuff you need is 1mm thick 3M automotive tape (linked below) and it will stick down perfectly.

Hope that helps.  You'll see what needs doing once it's all off the car 

Useful links:

3M automotive tape - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01DVWCXWG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Toffee Wheel - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ATPOH3C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Plastic razor blades - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CZC21YF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Goo Gone - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00006IBNJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Urethane glue - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002SQY852/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Seam Sealer - https://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-and-body-repair/fillers-and-preparation/u-pol-grey-stripe-1l-154195.html

Clear coat - https://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints-and-body-repair/scratch-repair-and-paint-restorers/upol-clear-1-aerosol-387662.html

[maxamplitude10]

Thanks pudding great instructions, still wary of tackling this but it's a must so here goes......
Max

[pudding]

No worries Max 

It's not too bad a job once you get stuck in and have done one side.  The other side you will know the score 

Doing a dry run before peeling the backing tape off, and using the decent 3M tape are the key areas of concern when refitting them. Get that right and you'll have no issues    You will know when it's right when dropping the sill cover into it's locating channel because it will sit flush onto the car. 

If you have to use force to get it to sit flush, particularly in the rear arch area, something is wrong. The cause of that would likely be the rear of the cover isn't located into the guide channel correctly 

It all sounds complicated and scary but it really isn't.  Could probably be explained in a 1 minute video but it's too late for that now 

[maxamplitude10]

Thanks I'll feedback my experience:-)
Max

[bobby_fodge]

Thanks for making the effort Pudding.

[pudding]

No worries guys.  I don't know how long my amateur repairs will last but looking OK from 6 feet away and lasting 2-3 years will do I think! 

[shail]

You might be surprised how long it lasts.  I did some rust repairs on my old MK4 - arch lip and boot handle.  No issues after 4 years, and that was using cheap paint from Halfords.

[pudding]

That's encouraging 

MK4s were just a lot better made than MK5s in the first place, imo.  My missus has a MK4 1.6 that's 18 years old and there's not a single bit of rust on it anywhere, not even around the boot handle - which was a common spot on those.  My old MK4 R32 was equally rot free.

I don't know if all MK5s are the same but mine is terrible. Iffy panel gaps, zinc inclusions everywhere and the paint on the roof and bonnet is incredibly thin and fragile. If I was OCD about paint and detailing, I would have got shot of it long ago 

The annoying thing about MK5s is they drive so damned nice, so I end up forgiving it's shortcomings.

[OldGTI]

"Iffy panel gaps, zinc inclusions everywhere and the paint on the roof and bonnet is incredibly thin and fragile. If I was OCD about paint and detailing, I would have got shot of it long ago 

The annoying thing about MK5s is they drive so damned nice, so I end up forgiving it's shortcomings."

Sounds like you are talking Italian :)

[pudding]

Funny you should say that, these cars do enjoy a good Italian tune up!

But yeah, they are irritatingly similar to an Alfa..... love / hate 

[chimp400]

While you are there, check the bit of the sill that is under the front wing.  I had bubbles both sides at that location.  Sorted it out last month.  Wasn't too bad, but glad I did it.


<a target='_blank' href='https://imgbb.com/'>upload photo to website[/url]

I see evidence of this on mine and will take a look soon, is the wing easy to remove?

[shail]

To remove wing is a bit of a pain.
Need to remove bumper and wheel arch liner to access some of the bolts holding wing in place.  Once bumper and liner are off the wing bolts are straight forward. 

[pudding]

Is there any scope for wing re-alignment when you bolt it back on?  My passenger wing's shut line sticks out proud of the door slightly.  Not massively so, but it's noticeable.  One of those things you can't unsee once you've seen it.  Or maybe the door itself needs moving out?  I hate bodywork stuff    Would much rather be building an engine!

I see you've got the same white line in the paint just above the top of the sill.  Mine was like that all the way along. I think grit gets in that gap and just abrades the paint away or something.

[shail]

You can realign the wing.  If it's sticking out by door then you may get away without needing to remove bumper.   Get wheel liner off and loosen the 3 or 4 behind.  Also loosen bolts at top of wing under the bonnet.  Don't forget the one tucked under windscreen.

You should then be able to move wing about a little.

[pudding]

Thanks mate, will give that a try