Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- - The Ford Focus Forum

**LornesBored** · 03-22-2006, 03:08 PM

Hey guys, this is for anyone who owns a 2000-02 Focus ZX3! This is my first how-to! I, along with many others, have been hating the look and wanting to paint these pillars, not sure how they come off. But now that ive done it I can solve the problem for a lot of other jetters who want to take it off and get new ones!

Anyways, not all of us were blessed with glossy exterior trim, moreso for the 2001 models, we have no glossy traingles, no glossy pillars, no glossy mirrors, no body-coloured moulding, NOTHING!

what you will need:

Glossy Door Pillar Trim:
PART NUMBERS!
98AZ-6120555-CB
98AZ-6120554-CB,
Fingers,
Flathead Screwdriver,
Masking Tape / Shop Towel,
Time!

Glossy Pillar Trim usually costs around $65 (for the pair) however, you can get it form your local dealer or from www.fordparts.com, I got mine from SportCompactGuy, who had a wrecked SVTF. Lets get into it!

first of all, the stock pillar trim has to go, its dull plastic which has colour-faded over the 5 model years my car has been alive.

Here is a picture of the 2 glossy pillars I recieved in the mail yesterday:

a little bit dirty, but you get the point. Notice how their are hooks at the top as well as the bottom? those are what keep the pillars in place!

Now here is a picture of the (1) of the new pillars, and (1) of the old ones. The newer one is on the left:

as you can tell the newer one has a darker profile to it, even though its a semi-bad picture, it was taken at 11:30pm!

First of all, here is a picture of what the car looks like with the sloppily manufactured pillars:

Notice how the colour scheme seems a bit off? mainly because the flow of the ungly black doesnt flow into the tinted rear windows. This mod 100% fixes that.

Now, onto the installation:
This is a very un-labour-intensive mod, it takes about 5 minutes per side, moreso if you know what to do already, there is a clip holding in the top-side of the pillar, you will need to peel back the weather stripping on the top of the window to see it,pictured below:

This weather stripping is very fragile and can rip very easily. This clip has to come out for the pillar to be able to be released. You can avoid completely taking out the clip if you are able to wrestle it off of the hook where the pillar is attached to. I chose to grab my handy flat-head screwdriver and wriggle it off. Took a couple of seconds to get a decent angle but I got at it!

After you have this clip cleared of the top hook, you can wriggle and remove the pillar from the top half only, the bottom half will still be attached, make sure you protect the paint immedaitely around the pillar, they are made out of metal and will scratch the surface of your car very easily! this is where masking tape, or a shop rag will do wonders.

Also, at the bottom of the pillar, you must peel up that weather stripping as well, these ones are a tad bit harder to do without wrecking so dont rush it!

This is what you have to do to the bottom weather stripping:

to minimize paint scratches, I suggest lifting them straight out towards the rear of the car:

with the old one out, I suggest maybe cleaning the spot where it will attach, you can see in the photo above how dirty mine was! At any rate, now with the pillar out, you have to put the new one in. It is very straight forward just reverse what you just did!

here are the fantabulous results!

happy modding!
~Lorne

**Spatakula** · 03-22-2006, 03:37 PM

looks way better. nice write up

-spatakula

**focusonfocus** · 03-22-2006, 03:39 PM

wow, thank you for the how to..
this is what i wanted

**LornesBored** · 03-22-2006, 03:48 PM

exatcly! this could make someones opinion change on Focus in general, now to work on the mirrors and rear hatch trim =/

**o2_designs** · 03-22-2006, 04:50 PM

Nice! I'm just gonna take mine off, and paint them. That should do it. I just was'nt sure how to take them off.

**DisrupTer911** · 03-22-2006, 11:51 PM

nice how-to dude, imma put this to use this weekend I think

**2focusd** · 03-23-2006, 02:53 PM

Awesome work Lorne

-Brian

**Silfox** · 03-23-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o2_designs

Nice! I'm just gonna take mine off, and paint them. That should do it. I just was'nt sure how to take them off.

You could probably just clean them well and clear coat them since they are flat black right now.

**youngkal** · 03-23-2006, 07:19 PM

thanks 4 the how to...i'm hopeing to get them soon

**LornesBored** · 03-23-2006, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silfox

You could probably just clean them well and clear coat them since they are flat black right now.

most of them are colour-faded, mine were TERRIBLY colour-faded thats why I would do it.

**o2_designs** · 03-23-2006, 11:02 PM

Mine still look like the day they came off the assembely line...

**2focusd** · 03-23-2006, 11:04 PM

Mine don't look too horrible, but once I get done changing over some other little things these will be swapped out as well

-Brian

**LornesBored** · 03-23-2006, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by o2_designs

Mine still look like the day they came off the assembely line...

I wish for mine

**LornesBored** · 05-03-2006, 09:15 PM

added to the uber!

I love the new exciting mod of Exterior forums

**XboxHacka** · 10-24-2006, 07:25 PM

The pics are gone

**LornesBored** · 10-24-2006, 09:38 PM

the server those sit on are an austrlian web server, which tends to go down a lot for some reason..

so check abck tomorrow or something they should be back up, unless someone has a reliable server that i can upload them to I would do it.

**hEaT** · 10-24-2006, 10:01 PM

www.imageshack.us

Free and pretty reliable.

**LornesBored** · 10-24-2006, 10:37 PM

uplaoded

**turbo2000** · 10-25-2006, 01:40 PM

will this also work on the sedan the same way? if so i might have to make that a weekend project.

kyle

**LornesBored** · 10-25-2006, 01:43 PM

im not to sure if the pillars are the same or not.. what some people are doing is just making off that section and spraying it glossy black with the same type of results. these were done simply because it only cost me $15 for the pair!

**screwdiver** · 10-28-2006, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbo2000

will this also work on the sedan the same way? if so i might have to make that a weekend project.

kyle

The c pillar trim i believe is riveted in, you will have to drill it out.

Also, the paint on the normal pillars are rubberized so glossing it might not be the best idea.

03-22-2006, 03:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
LornesBored [FJ] Special Ed. Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Van, BC, Canada Posts: 9,192	Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- Hey guys, this is for anyone who owns a 2000-02 Focus ZX3! This is my first how-to! I, along with many others, have been hating the look and wanting to paint these pillars, not sure how they come off. But now that ive done it I can solve the problem for a lot of other jetters who want to take it off and get new ones! Anyways, not all of us were blessed with glossy exterior trim, moreso for the 2001 models, we have no glossy traingles, no glossy pillars, no glossy mirrors, no body-coloured moulding, NOTHING! what you will need: Glossy Door Pillar Trim: PART NUMBERS! 98AZ-6120555-CB 98AZ-6120554-CB, Fingers, Flathead Screwdriver, Masking Tape / Shop Towel, Time! Glossy Pillar Trim usually costs around $65 (for the pair) however, you can get it form your local dealer or from www.fordparts.com, I got mine from SportCompactGuy, who had a wrecked SVTF. Lets get into it! first of all, the stock pillar trim has to go, its dull plastic which has colour-faded over the 5 model years my car has been alive. Here is a picture of the 2 glossy pillars I recieved in the mail yesterday: a little bit dirty, but you get the point. Notice how their are hooks at the top as well as the bottom? those are what keep the pillars in place! Now here is a picture of the (1) of the new pillars, and (1) of the old ones. The newer one is on the left: as you can tell the newer one has a darker profile to it, even though its a semi-bad picture, it was taken at 11:30pm! First of all, here is a picture of what the car looks like with the sloppily manufactured pillars: Notice how the colour scheme seems a bit off? mainly because the flow of the ungly black doesnt flow into the tinted rear windows. This mod 100% fixes that. Now, onto the installation: This is a very un-labour-intensive mod, it takes about 5 minutes per side, moreso if you know what to do already, there is a clip holding in the top-side of the pillar, you will need to peel back the weather stripping on the top of the window to see it,pictured below: This weather stripping is very fragile and can rip very easily. This clip has to come out for the pillar to be able to be released. You can avoid completely taking out the clip if you are able to wrestle it off of the hook where the pillar is attached to. I chose to grab my handy flat-head screwdriver and wriggle it off. Took a couple of seconds to get a decent angle but I got at it! After you have this clip cleared of the top hook, you can wriggle and remove the pillar from the top half only, the bottom half will still be attached, make sure you protect the paint immedaitely around the pillar, they are made out of metal and will scratch the surface of your car very easily! this is where masking tape, or a shop rag will do wonders. Also, at the bottom of the pillar, you must peel up that weather stripping as well, these ones are a tad bit harder to do without wrecking so dont rush it! This is what you have to do to the bottom weather stripping: to minimize paint scratches, I suggest lifting them straight out towards the rear of the car: with the old one out, I suggest maybe cleaning the spot where it will attach, you can see in the photo above how dirty mine was! At any rate, now with the pillar out, you have to put the new one in. It is very straight forward just reverse what you just did! here are the fantabulous results! happy modding! ~Lorne Last edited by LornesBored; 10-24-2006 at 10:37 PM.

03-22-2006, 03:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
Spatakula Stoned Scorpion says, "GET OVER H.....OOhhh! Brownies!" Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Rälëigh, NC Posts: 10,689	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- looks way better. nice write up -spatakula __________________ CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL.

03-22-2006, 03:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
focusonfocus Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: toronto, on Posts: 4,176	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- wow, thank you for the how to.. this is what i wanted __________________ Advanced MECP certified mobile installer 2000 Kona Dirt. www.cardomain.com/id/focusonfocus

03-22-2006, 03:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
LornesBored [FJ] Special Ed. Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Van, BC, Canada Posts: 9,192	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- exatcly! this could make someones opinion change on Focus in general, now to work on the mirrors and rear hatch trim =/

03-22-2006, 04:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
o2_designs Resident Wheel-Whore Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: mnfocus.com Posts: 11,156	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- Nice! I'm just gonna take mine off, and paint them. That should do it. I just was'nt sure how to take them off. __________________ TUNED By FSWerks -- Parts by TOUSLEY Ford ~~BOOST CREW, Bottled Fresh since 2006 ~~ Vacuum Crew, Stirring things up since 2008~~

03-22-2006, 11:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
DisrupTer911 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bloomfield, New Jersey Posts: 15,205	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- nice how-to dude, imma put this to use this weekend I think __________________ 2009 Ice White R-Design Volvo C30 : Strictly \| Focused myFlickr : Canon : Sigma : Tamron : Induro : Domke [FJ] \| Sponsors \| Store \| Guidelines \| Ext. How-To \| Int. How-To \| Mid-Atlantic \| [FJ]

03-23-2006, 02:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
2focusd [FJ] Addict Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Uniontown, PA Posts: 15,364	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- Awesome work Lorne -Brian __________________ Godspeed, Colin McRae, may you live on forever as the reason countless people fell in love with the Ford Focus (myself included). 1968-2007 '08 Carbon Grey Metallic Hyundai Tuscani GT V6 Early '00 ZX3 - E-spec in progress (Rattletrap) - Gone but not forgotten!

03-23-2006, 07:19 PM	#9 (permalink)
youngkal TEAM Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Woodstock Ga. Posts: 156	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- thanks 4 the how to...i'm hopeing to get them soon

03-23-2006, 11:02 PM	#11 (permalink)
o2_designs Resident Wheel-Whore Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: mnfocus.com Posts: 11,156	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- Mine still look like the day they came off the assembely line... __________________ TUNED By FSWerks -- Parts by TOUSLEY Ford ~~BOOST CREW, Bottled Fresh since 2006 ~~ Vacuum Crew, Stirring things up since 2008~~

03-23-2006, 11:04 PM	#12 (permalink)
2focusd [FJ] Addict Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Uniontown, PA Posts: 15,364	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- Mine don't look too horrible, but once I get done changing over some other little things these will be swapped out as well -Brian __________________ Godspeed, Colin McRae, may you live on forever as the reason countless people fell in love with the Ford Focus (myself included). 1968-2007 '08 Carbon Grey Metallic Hyundai Tuscani GT V6 Early '00 ZX3 - E-spec in progress (Rattletrap) - Gone but not forgotten!

05-03-2006, 09:15 PM	#14 (permalink)
LornesBored [FJ] Special Ed. Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Van, BC, Canada Posts: 9,192	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- added to the uber! I love the new exciting mod of Exterior forums

10-24-2006, 07:25 PM	#15 (permalink)
XboxHacka Hacking The Box Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bentonville, AR Posts: 507	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- The pics are gone __________________ 2001 ZX3 Green Zetec MTX Focus RS Conversion in Progress :D

10-24-2006, 09:38 PM	#16 (permalink)
LornesBored [FJ] Special Ed. Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Van, BC, Canada Posts: 9,192	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- the server those sit on are an austrlian web server, which tends to go down a lot for some reason.. so check abck tomorrow or something they should be back up, unless someone has a reliable server that i can upload them to I would do it.

10-24-2006, 10:01 PM	#17 (permalink)
hEaT I <3 UC^3 Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: CT Posts: 7,447	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- www.imageshack.us Free and pretty reliable. __________________ 2001 Twilight Blue ZX3 - Volant Intake, FC 65mm TB, SVT Header, RT High Flow Cat, SVTF Borla Exhaust, Koni's 1985 Nimbus Grey Merkur XR4Ti - Work In Progress Tuned By: Bristol Dyno

10-24-2006, 10:37 PM	#18 (permalink)
LornesBored [FJ] Special Ed. Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Van, BC, Canada Posts: 9,192	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- uplaoded

10-25-2006, 01:43 PM	#20 (permalink)
LornesBored [FJ] Special Ed. Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Van, BC, Canada Posts: 9,192	Re: Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- im not to sure if the pillars are the same or not.. what some people are doing is just making off that section and spraying it glossy black with the same type of results. these were done simply because it only cost me $15 for the pair!

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