A few people have beem PMing me about a tool I've referenced in some of my How-tos, so I though I'd post a quick thread...

If you plan to do ANY work in the MINI cabin (removing trim panels, plastic interior door skins, etc. etc. etc.) then do yourself a favor and spend $5 (yes, only $5) for a set of THESE:



All these are is a set of tough plastic trim tools in a variety of configurations. The angled peices with the notch ends are sometimes called "carrot pullers" and are great for sliding into the door skins to free the friction clips holding the skin to the door metal. The hook-shaped tool is useful for pulling out light lenses and other tightly-fitted, recessed objects. The other tools are all good for sliding into tight spaces to lever apart objects.

I bought a set of these about a year ago and since then I don't think a month has gone by that I haven't used them. Since they're plastic, they will not chip paint (unlesss you really crank on them) or scratch metal peices - no more half-assed wrapping a screwdriver in tape! And they're thin enough to get in almost anywhere while being very steong - as an example, before I had these tools I replaced the plastic roll-bar covers on my cabrio using the tape-wrapped screwdriver method. Result: the covers finally came off after about 30 minutes of breathless prying and cursing, ending up with a few nicks and scratches. I repeated the job on my new cabrio with the tools and got both covers off 100% unmarred in about 5 minutes - just sliding the tool in levered them apart with no muss or fuss.

For only $5 a set, I'd recommend ordering 2 or even 3 sets - they will eventually get nicked up, which increases your chances of marring your paint, but since they're so cheap, why not?

 

harbot freight has a second set of yellow plastics trim tools that is very handy as well ... they were both on sale last week , there are three sets of each sitting at home on the tool box

 

I've never used the yellow ones, but they just look like slightly beefier versions of these.

 

I wish I knew about these two days ago!

Set ordered!

 

I need those. I always ask myself, self, why are you using a screw driver for this? Something soft would be a lot better to use. Then I use the screw driver and mess it all up.

I'm going to get these. Thanks ImagoX.

 

No problemo - glad it helped.

 

If they get knicked you can sand them smooth or whittle them down with a razor knife in a pinch ...

 

Ordered x3.

Nice find, I've needed a set of these for 20 years. Finally.

 

LOL... I thought the same thing the first time I used them. They're a steal at 3X the price - being $5 is just gravy.

 

Nice... I'll snag a set next time I'm shopping out there!