SS trim for the rear desk

[Leroy]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

George, Now that's an excellant idea, and resonable too. Thanks for the tip. Leroy

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[Ediron]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

I don't have a hardtop but that looks nice .It finishes it off may apply it.were using wheel molding every place but wheel wells

[jerrym3]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

George, how do you finish off the cut ends?

What is the small piece in pic #3?

[Peterfurlan]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

I ordered the trim kit from Thunderbird Concepts. I don't know if I really got a bad set
But the burrs on mine were bad. If you were to run your finger across them if would have
resulted in a cut. I was going to return them but decided to remove the the burr myself.
I used a fine file to chamfer the edges and wet sanded and buffed the faces to obtain a
semi satin finish. They do fit and look very good but if I had to do it all over I would go via George's route. I think George's look much better and you can't beat the price.

[MATBird]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

I've had both, so it's really individual choice. I had George's type on for a year or so but went back to the stainless.
Of course I was fortunate enough to get mine directly off the machine at QAA, when it was decided to change them and trim the originals back from the 3rd tail light. So no edge problem. BTW, that's where I found out about the optics lens cleaning of the laser cutting machine that creates rough edges.

[EpTxGuy]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

George, that looks fantastic. If I thought I could handle the install, I would do it today! Very professional looking, I love it.

[Treken]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

That looks good George. I used the standard 5/8" 3M trim and when I took my top off this year, the trim moved about a 1/4" at the doors were the trim stopped. That little lip on the trim that you used seems to be a better choice. I think that is what I will replace mine with...Thanks again for the pictures...

[ge0rge]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

Thanks for the kind comments. This forum is GREAT! I don't post very often, but I do read and learn from it almost daily. Keep it up, folks!

The small photo shows a cross section of the trim. Notice that it has a lip that fits over the edge of the deck so that it's easy to put in the proper place. Also, the lip holds it firmly in place, even while the hard top puts pressure on it.

The photos I posted are for the first trial installation. On that one, I thought I needed to cut the trim into 3 pieces to make it bend around the tight curvature of the deck edge. But I decided I didn't like the gap (as shown in the photos). So I pulled it off and reinstalled. The original roll I bought from JC Whitney is more than enough for two installations. The second time, I just made it all one continuous piece. The trim bends rather easily, especially if it's warm. The lip really helps put it in the correct place while it's being installed. It was very easy to install. Only took about 5 minutes. I pulled the backing off as I went, so I didn't have to deal with a long piece that was sticking to everything it touched. Just cut it to lenght (or a bit longer), and pull the backing off about a quarter inch in front of the point at which it's actually being put permanently down onto the deck.

I've only had the second installation in place for about 9 months. But it has stayed in place as of now.

Personally, I like the black edge on the trim. It gives a dressed look. And it looks more like something that was intended to be there, which in my opinion, the typical chrome strips do not.

Again, note that the only issue with this trim is that its thickness is a bit too much. I don't think it's damaging anything, but I do have to pull pretty hard on the levers to lock the top in place.

Regards,

geo

[ge0rge]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

George, how do you finish off the cut ends?

What is the small piece in pic #3?

The small piece is simply a short segment of the trim. I did that to show the cross section of the trim, especially the lip.

I didn't do anything special to the ends. I simply cut it with some shears.

geo

[Icebluebird]

Re: SS trim for the rear desk

I'll bet the top doesn't rattle George!!

See you soon.