560SL hardtop trim removal?

[MitchSF]

My 88 SL is in the shop being disassembled for a paint job. Is it true that the headliner has to be removed first, to be able to remove the chrome trim?

I searched, but couldn't find any info on this.

Thanks in advance.

Mitch

[Strife]

Some (like the two strips on the top, yes); others, no.

All of the (soft aluminum!) trim is fairly delicate and the trim around the windows might be very difficult to remove without damage if someone hasn't done it before (but the under-the-back-edge trim is easy if the screws are not rusty). I know that to "do it right" you don't want to mask, but unless there is rust involved, I would (and, in fact, did).

I need the two pieces under the back of the top. The price new was absolutely eyeball-popping three months ago, and I'd be afraid to think of what it might be now. I'll bet you could spend well over 1.2K list on new trim for the top alone.

I have a junk top for parts and this summer I intend to "practice" on it.

A lot of this is described in the shop manual but, as usual, with not quite enough detail.

[MitchSF]

Thanks for the comment. Since we are going through the trouble to do it right I really didn't want to mask anything, but the top will probably never be put on the car. We live in South Florida and the car is garaged. Also, I don't want to invest in replacement trim in the event that some of it is damaged, especially at those prices.

I will speak with the body shop guys on Monday about this, but I'm leaning toward masking, at this point.

Mitch