Tailight piece

[SupaRitz]

The part that's inbetween the two tailights, idk what to call it but is there anyway to remove it? I think it looks really bad and im going to get a new paint job so i can just paint over the blank space.

--96 corolla

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by SupaRitz

The part that's inbetween the two tailights, idk what to call it but is there anyway to remove it? I think it looks really bad and im going to get a new paint job so i can just paint over the blank space.

--96 corolla

It's called a garnish . To remove it, undo the four 10mm nuts on the underside of the trunk lid (you'll need a ratchet), and then give it a firm pull on each side to disengage the plastic clips. I'm not sure if you're just planning to remove it temporarily while you paint the car, or if you want to remove it for good, but if you want to remove it for good then bear in mind that there will be visible holes once it's removed, and you'll be able to see your trunk lock poking out. I'd recommend either leaving it as it is, spraying it the same colour as your car, or getting a reflective garnish to match your tail lights from a higher spec LE model

[SupaRitz]

I was hoping taking it off would look better but if you say it doesnt look right...i dont want it lol. I'll just leave the strip on and get my paint job. How much do you think a gunmetal grey paintjob costs for a corolla?

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by SupaRitz

I was hoping taking it off would look better but if you say it doesnt look right...i dont want it lol. I'll just leave the strip on and get my paint job. How much do you think a gunmetal grey paintjob costs for a corolla?

You'll still need to remove the strip when you paint your trunk, so the instructions in my previous post should still come in handy . As for the cost of the paintjob, it all depends on how much the shop charges (or if you do it yourself) and how much bodywork there is involved (rust removal, dents etc). I'd suggest getting at least 5 quotes first and go from there

[topnotch]

you can simply paint the garnish the same colour as the car as kiwi said before i did it with my car and it dosnt look bad at all.

[SupaRitz]

I can paint over it? I thought I couldnt because it seems to be the same reflective type material that the taillights have

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by SupaRitz

I can paint over it? I thought I couldnt because it seems to be the same reflective type material that the taillights have

So you have the same type as on my Corolla? (close-up pics on my CarDomain page - Link in sig). If so then I can't understand why you'd want to paint it. It ties in nicely with the tail lights. If you're still determined to paint over it though, I'd recommend getting a black non-reflective version off a base model Corolla and painting that instead. That way the paint would have a better surface to stick to and you wouldn't wreck a perfectly good reflection garnish, which are actually quite sought after.

[miib14]

^^
totally agree.. went through quite abit to get that rear garnish.. was thinking of what you want to do, so i talked to local body repair guys and he said he would be able to make a fibre glass one so that i could have a painted one and the reflective one..
in the end i decided against it.. but you could go down that route if you want

[GTChink]

IF yours is not the cheap plastic one like mine, then don't paint it. Although personally I never liked the painting it look..just doesn't look right to me. LOL If you remove it and just leave that area exposed, this is what you see:



And paint jobs range from $50 (do it yourself) up to $3,000 for a shop to do a nice paint job. Your call LOL

[monkeypower102]

Unpainted plastic garnish..



Painted white


Finally just painted it black, which I think looks best.



Doesn't look bad painted if you do it right buuuut since you said you have the one like kiwi's, we should totally trade