Goldmember is moving along at a faster clip now.............It has very minimal rust on it, but on the front fenders there was a little rust thru.......since my beetle is going to metwiz(aka Kelly Brown www.metwiz.com ) Sunday, I figured i would take him the fenders as well, and POR and undercoat the fender wells in the meantime.......glad i did...........surface rust in the wells, but no rust through. Just in time
Well, any of us that got to this point has discovered this odd beading vw used to seal these panels........has anyone discovered a suitable replacement? Once these fenders get back I am taking the car to the paint shop..............and i want to put the beading in when they are thru......
They are the same profile as type 3. But..are cut totally different. I have a different philosophy about fender beading. The stock stuff? Even if I had it...I would not use it. It is vinyl. Its death is 100% assured. In this area, with the summer heat, vinyl will lose half itsplasticizer in the first summer. In other words...it shrinks and gets harder.
I made one mold to try and cast them from 25 year paintable urethane. I have not had time to mess with it.
My philosophy?(A) Fender beading should be painted on the car. It is not a propper seal. They trap moisture between the body parts unless they are painted on. (B) The beading looks seamless when installed first on the car and then painted. (C) Its just as simple to do it this way...because there is not a single maintenance need that requires the fenders to come off...except for anaccident....which will need new paint...and new beading anyway.
So....I have elected to use the same urethane, which is about 65-70 Duro...nice and stiff. Never shrinks, is paintable...etc. I have made nicely cut "ribs" of teflon sheet that follow the contours of each fender bead area. Yes...it was about $85 of teflon. But, I can now stick them down precisely along each bead area with double stick tape. I use them as a "glide" to spread the urethane sealer into the groove made by these little cofferdams...with a 3m spreader with a nicely shaped notch in it. A different notch for front and back. The affect, when the teflon "guide" is peeled away, and primer applied....is factory...and permanent.
I have only done the right rear like this for a test on my two door 412. Its time consuming. About an hour + for each bead section with 24 hours drying time. The fendersmust be sanded in that area..andperfectly aligned...as they are not coming off again. The sealer went all the way through to the inside area. Reach inside and smooth it back into the crack with a wet finger. You now have water tight fenders. Ray
we do have welting that works well.
it comes in several colors ie: black, white, beige, and grey. you can check out the link that debido added and get a good look at it. it is pretty close to the original and very flexible. i like the look of it more that the original. it's cleaner.
$7.99 a roll. one roll does the whole car.
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nadine
revolks.com
Yep, they unbolt. One of the best things to do...is get them aligned carefully, then drill several clean 1/4" holes in the fender lip...carefully....along the top edge, the n spot weld a short 1/4" dowel pin into them so alignment will be perfect. Aligning the fenders and doors is an all day chore. That fender beading looks good. I may have to buy a roll. Ray
Yep, they unbolt. One of the best things to do...is get them aligned carefully, then drill several clean 1/4" holes in the fender lip...carefully....along the top edge, the n spot weld a short 1/4" dowel pin into them so alignment will be perfect. Aligning the fenders and doors is an all day chore. That fender beading looks good. I may have to buy a roll. Ray
