wing beading

[Jeepster]

How does the wing beading (fender?) fix between the wing and shroud? Will it just pull off or does it have holes that are fixed by the bolts that hold the wings on?
I was wondering if I could replace this without removing the wings?

 

[bighealeysource]

Hey Jeepster,
Not as easy as simply pulling them out. The beading has soft metal tabs that fit between the wing and shroud and are bent up under once installed to keep in place. Be almost impossible to install without at least loosening the wing attachment bolts. I have installed doing just that but when you get to the middle of the front wings becomes difficult to get to the wing attachment bolts/nuts to loosen. I would loosen the bolts as much as possible so you can get space between the wing and shroud to push the metal tabs in between. To help avoid scratching your paint wrap some masking tape over the metal tab when you push them into position. There are quite a few tabs so space them out with equal distance between the tabs. Would help to have someone assist you to handle the beading as like handling a metal snake ! Good luck and be patient, you can get them installed. BTW, got my new ones from AH Spares- very nice quality.
Regards,
Mike

 

[AH100M]

The beading is not fixed in place by the bolts that hold the wings on. It is held in place by tabs on the beading that fit between the wing and the shroud (about 15 of them, positionable up and down the beading but should be evenly spaced) and then folded under the edge of the shroud.

To remove them you need to loosen, but not remove, all the wing bolts. Replacement requires care that the (sharp!) tabs don't nick the paint - masking tape on either side of the wing/shroud gap works. Gradually fit the beading, tightening the bolts gradually, pushing down on the beading while bending the tabs over the shroud lip. Don't pull on the tabs to bring the beading down into the gap - push from the top of the beading as there is slop between the tabs and the beading. You'll see what I mean.

Tricky but do-able!

 

[Jeepster]

Thanks for the info.

Some years back (long before I acquired the car) my BJ8 received a not so good paint job that painted over the whole car including the wing beading. Thus no nice chrome strip down the wings. I hoped I would be able to replace the beading without too much hassle but as it cannot be done without loosening the bolts, I may wait until I get around to the respray.

 

[tahoe healey]

If you use a razor blade top cu;t the paint before you loosen the bolts, you could do it with out pulling the paint off with the beading. All the bolts are fairly easy to loosen the the tabs can be bent with some effort. If you decide not to do it you may try scratching the paint off. The beading is brushed stainless to you could mask off the body color and lightly sand and scrape.

 

[AUSMHLY]

Thanks for the info.

Some years back (long before I acquired the car) my BJ8 received a not so good paint job that painted over the whole car including the wing beading. Thus no nice chrome strip down the wings. I hoped I would be able to replace the beading without too much hassle but as it cannot be done without loosening the bolts, I may wait until I get around to the respray.

Here's the problem you're going to run into. When trying to remove it, the paint most likely will crack and chip at both sides of the stainless steel bead, being the bead was painted when on the car.

Even if it does not crack/chip, you will have a hard paint edge where the paint stops at the bead, rather than the paint rapping around the edge of the wing and the shroud like it should. That edge will now let the elements get under it, and things like a wash mitt or drying towel may catch and pull the paint off some.

The best thing to do is to remove it when you're going to repaint the car. It's important to have the paint wrap around all edges.

Don't try and sand the paint off the bead with the bead on the car. No matter how carefully you try to protect the paint by adding some sort of tape, you will not be able to get to the paint at the edge where it meets the wing and shroud. Plus you may sand thru the tape.

If you really want to try and remove the bead, put the car in the sun and let the paint warm up. You can even use a heat gun to warm up small areas of the paint. (I sometimes use a heat gun to warm up the metal if I choose to glue-pull dents out. PDR...Paintless Dent Removal is my business)

To use the heat gun, move it back and forth, distance of about six inches from the metal, for about 10 seconds. Then feel the area to see how warm it gets. Keep repeating untill the area feels hot, like when a black car sits in the sun. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has touched a black car on a really really hot day to find yourself say, wow, that's hot!

Once the paint has warmed up, use a new razor blade and run it along the bead to cut the now soft paint. Remember, you only want to soften the paint, so don't rush the heat gun by holding it too close to the paint or you chance doing damage by seeing the paint start to bubble. Just take your time, move it back and forth, always checking the rising temperature with your fingers.

My recommendation is to wait till you want to repaint the car, then use the heat gun to soften the paint so as to minimize the damage that removing the bead will cause to the edge of the paint.

1. Make sure the paint is warm/hot, then use a new razor blade to cut along the bead.

2. Find all the tabs and bend then straight.

3. Loosen all the screws that attach the wing to the shroud.

4. Now you should be able to pull the bead straight up. Have a helper, for the bead is long and a helper can help keep the bead away from the car as it's pulled out.

If the stainless bead is in good shape, not dents, you can save it by using 0000 stainless steel pads to remove the paint. Those pads will also return the luster .

Maybe some of what I brought up may help you.
Cheers!

 

[tahoe healey]

Roger knows his business(he removed dents from my Cayenne a few years ago). I would only add that the beading is very sharp and can scratch the paint easily when removing so do have a helper.

 

[Jeepster]

Thanks for the good advice.

I think its best left until I finally get around to (or can afford) a re spray.

Your tips all make good sense but I may have a problem with the " put the car in the sun until the paint warms up " part.

We did see the sun for a day or two last week but then it was back to horizontal sleet and snow again just in time for our bank holiday weekend. The wonders of living in Wales!!!!
Maybe I should move over to California? :cooler: