Removing plastic moulding from a Ford Transit Minibus
In this blog post we’re going to run through how to remove all the plastic moulding and roof lining. As well as anything else left to completely strip out the back of a Ford Transit Minibus!
Keep reading for everything you need to know about...
About our Campervan Build
So we are super excited to be building our very own campervan - or what will be calling our home for the road for when we travel around.
Our goal is to keep the entire van build and conversion under £20,000. And we will be documenting every little bit of our van conversion, giving you step by step guides and all of our top tips - mainly so you don’t have to endure our mistakes!
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to follow our DIY minibus to campervan build, and be the first to hear about our upcoming episodes - such as...
- Van Buying Tips! Choosing the right one for your campervan conversion
- How to remove seats and rails from Ford Transit MK8 Minibus
- Our top tips to remove any surface rust, and...
- How to design your own van!
Plus LOADS more!
Watch how we did it here!
Equipment Required
- Trim Removal Tools - 4 Pieces Auto Trim Removal Tool Car Door Trim Panel Tools Car Radio Audio Installer Pry Tool for Car Auto Door Clip Panel Trim Removal
- Detailing Brushes - Auto Car Detailing Brush Set(Set of 5)- Automotive Detail Cleaning Brushes For Cleaning Wheels, Engine, Interior, Emblems, Interior, Exterior, Air Vents
- Microfibre Cloths - Amazon Basics Microfibre Cleaning Cloths Pack of 24
- Eco Multi-surface cleaner - Delphis Eco Multi Purpose Cleaner 5L Refill | Eco Friendly | General Purpose Cleaner | Natural Multi-Surface Cleaner
Removing the roof lining
Note: All you will need are some trim removal tools
To remove the roof lining you will need to start by removing the plastic trims around the windows. Use your trim removal tools between the edges, to help ease away the plastic from the van. You'll then need a little bit of force to pull the plastic off as they are held in with little metal clips.
Then proceed to removing all of the little fittings in the roof lining, such as any vents and lights. Make sure to unplug the lights and store the cables safely.
Once you’ve removed all of the lights and fittings, it is just a case of giving the roof lining a firm pull down to remove it completely - they will need a bit of force to remove them.
Be careful of the wiring as they are stuck to the roof lining, so just unpeel them from the roof lining to detach it completely.
If you’ve got a roof window already fitted then leave the plastic moulding around it, as this is bonded to that section of the roof lining.
Note: The roof lining panels are quite large so make sure you’ve got enough space to store them!
Removing the aircon vents
Note: No tools required!
Once you’ve removed all of the roof lining, you can take out the aircon vent system which sits around the rim of the roof.
To remove them, simply pull and they should easily pop out!
Removing the plastic lining
Note: You will need some trim removal tools to remove the black panel boards.
Start by removing the hard plastic moulding around the lower half of the minibus. No tools are required - with just a bit of force you should be able to remove them!
Then use the trim removal tools to slightly pop out the plastic fixtures on the black panel boards - leaving the fixtures half in place as they will easily come away when you pull the board out.
We recommend keeping the panels which sit around the wheel arches, as they can be used as a template when cutting wood for your walls.
Cleaning the minibus
Now that everything is stripped out of the van, you can give the walls and floor a good clean!
Start by sweeping all of the debris out, and then give the floor a good clean using a bucket of warm water with multi-surface cleaner.
We recommend using a little brush to reach any awkward spots and give it a really good clean around the ridges of the van floor.
Then use a microfibre cloth to wipe away any excess dirt and give it all a really good scrub down.
Overview
So that should be everything you need to know about how to remove all the plastic moulding and roof lining! We did it over a the course of a day, so it probably took us about 5 hours in total.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog post where we’ll be talking through how to treat any surface rust and fill the holes in the floor (from the seat rails). And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to hear about our new vlog releases!!
Comment below if you have any questions, and I'll be in touch soon! Or get in touch online here.
Helen x
Coconuts and Camels
2 Responses
[…] Everything you need to know about taking out plastic moulding […]
if there are some big equipment that needs to be cleaned, it is recommended to use a laser cleaning machine.