Rodger
True Classic
Finished up a couple of more items. I got the windshield trim glued on. It was an interesting project. I thought I would describe how I did it as I have not seen any details on how to do it other than that it is glued on. Sorry, but I didn't take any photos along the way. The stainless trim is glued on with some type of adhesive (polyurethane?), but there is a thin black plastic trim piece that is wrapped around the outer rim and curls up just over the edge of it, I assume to protect the paint from the metal of the trim. Mine had deteriorated from too many years in the sun, so I just cut it off. I also used a sharp blade to trim off the excess adhesive from the factory install. The adhesive is only in the middle channel and over the inner half of the trim. It does not cover the black plastic trim. It turns out that the inside channel of the trim piece is filled with this adhesive that has a wire embedded in it. I am not sure how this trim is installed at the factory, but my thought is that the trim comes with the adhesive already in/on it and then they connect current to the wire to heat up the adhesive, then press the trim on.
The two trim sides are firmly connected by the wire/adhesive combination, so I first cut that apart so I could clean and polish the two trim halves and the two middle clips. I also had to cut out some of this adhesive in one area to fix a dent in the trim. I pounded it out with a screwdriver, then filed the now raised area, sanded with 400-800-1000-2000 paper, then polished. Can't tell it was there.
To simulate the black plastic trim, I got some black 1/4" pin striping tape and applied that in the same position. I masked off the paint surrounding the windshield, then tried on the two trim pieces with the clips to get the fit correct, then used duct tape across the clips to hold the two sides together in the right position. Then I flipped the whole trim over onto a blanket on the garage floor and applied a thick bead of the same 3M polyurethane I used to install the windshield, along the inner 2/3rds portion of the trim. I positioned the trim carefully on the windshield and pressed it down with the excess oozing out onto the windshield. I didn't want the adhesive to come out onto the outer side and that worked out pretty well as the inner edge of the trim is a little off the windshield with the outer edge touching it. As you press it down, the adhesive naturally flows to the inside edge. I then used a 90 degree plastic tool to clean the excess adhesive off to create a nice clean bead. Once it set for 24 hours, I used a sharp blade to shave the set adhesive off the windshield.
I also got the engine compartment lid on. I was relieved that there was still plenty of clearance over the AC compressor.
The two trim sides are firmly connected by the wire/adhesive combination, so I first cut that apart so I could clean and polish the two trim halves and the two middle clips. I also had to cut out some of this adhesive in one area to fix a dent in the trim. I pounded it out with a screwdriver, then filed the now raised area, sanded with 400-800-1000-2000 paper, then polished. Can't tell it was there.
To simulate the black plastic trim, I got some black 1/4" pin striping tape and applied that in the same position. I masked off the paint surrounding the windshield, then tried on the two trim pieces with the clips to get the fit correct, then used duct tape across the clips to hold the two sides together in the right position. Then I flipped the whole trim over onto a blanket on the garage floor and applied a thick bead of the same 3M polyurethane I used to install the windshield, along the inner 2/3rds portion of the trim. I positioned the trim carefully on the windshield and pressed it down with the excess oozing out onto the windshield. I didn't want the adhesive to come out onto the outer side and that worked out pretty well as the inner edge of the trim is a little off the windshield with the outer edge touching it. As you press it down, the adhesive naturally flows to the inside edge. I then used a 90 degree plastic tool to clean the excess adhesive off to create a nice clean bead. Once it set for 24 hours, I used a sharp blade to shave the set adhesive off the windshield. I also got the engine compartment lid on. I was relieved that there was still plenty of clearance over the AC compressor.
