Cut & Trim

From experience it’s much easier to cut the body before you paint since it removes the risk of damaging the paintjob with cutting tools. Start off by finding the cut-line of the body, the indented portion that marks the bottom edge of the shell all the way around, from the bumpers to the wheel wells. For this guide we are going to use the scoring method, which results in super tidy body edges.

Mark the cut-line with an ultra-fine point permanent marker, this will give you a better visual line to follow for scoring. With a sharp hobby knife, score along the entire cut-line making sure to follow the marker. I prefer a #16 style blade for this job since they’re designed for scoring and are also very precise along curves. They’re also a great choice for cutting masking film and stickers as well. Don’t press too hard when scoring since we aren’t trying to fully cut through the body with the hobby knife. This scoring process etches a fine line in the polycarbonate that allows us to break away sections of the shell in segments to form clean, neat edges.

Take a pair of sharp body scissors and make a perpendicular cut right up to the score line. Make sure that just the very tip the scissors hit the score line, taking care that it doesn’t go over. Do this in segments, starting with the straight edges first. Firmly but gently bend each segment at the score line, going back and forth to work the piece loose. What you should be left with is a clean break of the excess material, leaving behind a nice edge.

For the hard to navigate sections, like wheel wells and intricate curves, I recommend cutting even smaller segments so no part of the score line is too curved. If a curved section becomes too difficult, a simple cut with some curved body scissors can get the ball rolling. In the end you should have a clean shell with the excess trimmed away. Some minor trimming and clean up with body scissors and a hobby knife may be needed, but the bulk of the edges will be nice and neat.