I had to remove left rear door panel to replace window regulator. To do this, a few screws have to be removed, and then the cover pryed off along the bottom and sides. It is held on by typical trim push on clips.

Problem is, that unless the pry tool is located right at the clip, the base that the clip fits into, come off with a bang! Only two of mine remained

The bases that the clips fit into are 2-ply. There is a base and then the top with slot for the clips. Both are plastic. On all of mine, the base remained glued to the door card. The upper part separated. There is no sign of glue between these two parts. Glue could be seen around the lower plare as well as where it had oozed up through holes in the upper plate.

Now I have to decide how to best re-attach these.
- The bases provide perfect location, so I could try adhering the upper to the lower. Adhesive would have to be a thin layer so as to not push panel away from door frame.
- I could remove the bases, glue the upper and lower together and then glue the assembly back n place. Need to be careful about location.
- The upper plate has countersunk holes that look like they were intended for small screws. It may be possible touse a combination of screws and glue to re-attach.
Picture of undamaged attachment:


Top plate moved to side


Top plate flipped to show underside


Anyone have experience good or bad doing this?

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

Yes I've always used plastic epoxy and just glue them back on in the exact same spot. Never had an issue doing it this way.

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Jim

Thanks, nice to know that just gluing back on the baseplate worked