moran

On my new black OEM hardtop there's a layer of clear tape on the leading edge that has begun to peal in a few places. Is it there as a protective surface like stone chip protection or was it just something applied to protect during shipping? I've begun removing it as the few pealed places didn't look right and it is not easy to remove. That difficulty together with the sticky surface left after removing tape made me think I should have left it alone. Any advice or experience with this will be appreciated.

zeroptzero

it is permanent which is designed to act as buffer between the painted metal and the rubber weatherstripping that it would sit upon. The one on my hardtop is long gone though and has been used for many years without an issue. I'm surprised yours is loose already but I think it eventually happens to most of them. In place of the plastic I just place some shin etsu grease between the hardtop and the weatherstripping to reduce any rubbing that might occur there.

If your's is gone just clean off the glue and put some shin etsu grease on the edge instead. The replacement cost of those strips is insane so I have no desire to purchase them for reinstallation.