Styles of Side Body Molding

Dark, cloudy today here in Maine... SWMBO snapped this broadside with her iPhone 5...

Certainly not perfect... but I used masking tape to get a straight line and mounting tape on the moulding itself to try out different angles... neither parallel to the lower crease nor parallel to the crease above the door handles... mas o menos half-way in between...

 

Pretty darn perfect to my eyes! In fact I will use the lines as a reference when I mock it up on mine!
Took the liberty to run some lines:

 

Wow! You're serious about this... now I don't feel so bad about the 45 min per side I spent trying to get it "right."

I tried to get the distance from the top of the moulding to the upper crease the same as the distance from the bottom of the moulding to half-way between the bottom crease and the bottom of the door (if that makes any sense).

WARNING: Make sure you look at it from ALL angles... especially from the front... the doors bow outwards (not just top to bottom, but front to rear).

It may look straight from the side, but from acute angles it'll look like there's a "kink in the middle" if you don't compensate for the illusion (classic Greek columns were 'fatter' in the middle than the ends?)... so you'll have to play with it a little to compensate.

Note also, that the angle where the two mouldings meet and the vertical door seam is different... I had to sorta' guesstimate that by eye also

Finally: Slough-off any laughing, sniggling, and giggling you hear from the neighbors.... refer them to the Akihabara otaku and cosplayers for max weirdness

 

Now I get it!:

Ordered through Sparks TRD. Cheapest around $120 plus $11 shipping. Emailed that they would get it through warehouse in a day. Day later in morning they had it. Few hours later sent me link with tracking that it shipped out. Great service!

Is this the kind of mounting tape you used to line it up?
3M Scotch Heavy Duty Mounting Tape, 1-Inch by 50-Inch (114/DC) - Amazon.com

 

Happenings in Akiba... even my Japanese wife opines them weird. Albeit, she's a bit older

Anyone and everyone, if you ever have the opportunity, you MUST go to Japan! They've energy you seldom see in the States.

Back on topic, yes, that's the tape I used... cut 'em into squares, had to double 'em up because the moulding is concave (from the inside)... seems a bit wasteful, but once you attach the mouldings themselves to the clean, clean painted metal... it's done! No adjusting. No wiggling. The bell has been rung... she either is, or she ain't.

P.S. While the right side of mine looks straight, I'm afraid the left side is just a skoshi high at the back of the rear door... I think I can see the slightest kink.... of course, I could adjust the door itself

 

That would be sukoshi, Japanese doesn't have an sk letter combination. It just sounds like sk because the native speakers pronounce it fast.

Watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu

 

Gomennasai... that's what happens when I don't consult Nihongodict: Free Online English ⇆ Japanese Dictionary

 

Thanks! Got her done! The mounting tape was great for getting the right angle. I used a dry erase marker to strike my top line after measuring and using the mounting tape. Thanks again!

 

Hey love your Prius!...just got a 2010...so just order the Rav4 moldings for my same year and color? Also your hitch...you just had one installed and what is the piece you have in the receiver? Thanks J