Hey everybody: I'm replacing the window scraper seals on my 76' 240D. The seals are held to the door by these little metal clips. They have pointy edges that hold them in place, but also dig right into the paint job. Is there any recommended way of removing and re-installing these without cutting into the paint? I tried leveraging them away from the door body with a screw driver, but I got worried about bending and misshaping them.

How did Mercedes get these things in without damaging the paint? Perhaps it was harder then...my paint is going on 39 yrs.

Seems like I'm just inviting rust in. Or am I just becoming overly rust paranoid?

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76' 240D