Hard Top Protection

[Quickdraw]

Trpar, you posted to be helpful and it is appreciated! When you get yours on let us know.

[Sophia]

Quick, it is a good thing you went ahead and added the pic of the silver strip thing, cause my patela is in such good shape, they won't be x-raying it any time soon.
Dr. only checked it out because I told him it felt like I had knelt on glass shards when I got on my knee to plug something into my pc.
If I ever do need an x-ray, I will be sure to share it with you guys.

[Sophia]

I like that hard top fix!

[Skylark]

I installed Ford's "Yugo Class" fix on my t-bird this afternoon. I am very disappointed with the look and quality of the mylar tape fix. Is there anything new on the stainless steel fix? It seems to have become a cold topic since the winter is over. How well is the molding suggested here doing long term? It looks great in the pictures. Ken

[Quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Skylark

I installed Ford's "Yugo Class" fix on my t-bird this afternoon. I am very disappointed with the look and quality of the mylar tape fix. Is there anything new on the stainless steel fix? It seems to have become a cold topic since the winter is over. How well is the molding suggested here doing long term? It looks great in the pictures. Ken

The stainless strip fox from Ford is dead. I keep hearing rumors about third parties working on them but nothings out yet...

[George]

I finally have put on the 5/8" chrome strip on my Blackbird. Really looks good. I plan to put the Ford Mylar strips over it in the fall when I reinstall the hardtop.

[George]

Well, I found that the strip has small bubbles under the chrome. They told me I may have put it on wrong , until I told them I inspected the balance of their product and it has the same defect.
They offered to take it back and replace it. So now I have to remove the bad piece, which they also want back. I thought I would be able to leave on until the new one was here but no deal.

[George]

I have my replacement 5/8" chrome strip. BUT, I now have a Stainless Steel Strip that comes in three pieces and should be available soon. Pricing is not yet available but they say it's coming.
I'll try to post pictures here

[Quickdraw]

Originally Posted by George

I have my replacement 5/8" chrome strip. BUT, I now have a Stainless Steel Strip that comes in three pieces and should be available soon. Pricing is not yet available but they say it's coming.
I'll try to post pictures here

George, are those the ones from QAA? They don't look like it...

[George]

Quickdraw:
Yes, that picture of my deck with the SS Steel three piece is the latest from QAA. I volunteered my car to be a measurement vehicle for them and then a model for their pictures.
The strip they had for sale came out far beyond the hard top, all the way to the third tail light, and looked bad when the hard top was on.
I am currently riding with my hard top on, just to see if this new strip will scratch the chrome. However, in the long term, I do plan on putting the Ford Mylar or Invinca-Shield over this new strip. In October, for the winter season.
WHY?
A) We wanted to protect our paint from scruffing/scraping. Hard to stop dirt from getting between the HT gasket and the paint. I think that this strip will do that job.
B) I as well as others I know wanted a better finish line when the hard top is off the car. I think that this strip actually does that as well.
C) I now want to protect the chrome strip and enjoy the car without worrying about scratches.
Others have asked about continuing the strip across the doors. While I was there, we made these up but the door strip did not meet the hard top strip so we stopped.
However, I am currently speaking with them about going forward with that strip and making a cross-over piece to meet with the deck strip. This was suggested by another member and so far they have been very receptive to suggestions.
I spent 6 hours with them assembling every piece they make to my car and making adjustments to the designs as we went. Then pictures were taken.
I'll keep you posted.

[Quickdraw]

George,

Yours looks WAY better than that wide strip they had originally - what were they thinking? Maybe they used the clear wide Ford strips as their template. You did good to get them like they are now. Do you know about removal? That was the reason I'd heard Ford didn't use the stainless strips like they planned for 2004... that they could not be removed & replaced without damage to the paint.

[George]

QD:
They just went to the rear third light. Tha's why so wide. They did tell me it would come off w/o damage. You would use the 3M solvent. Same as used for tar removal and some fishing line slid under the strip that is under a warm condition. That could be weather or hair dryer.

[George]

For anyone interested, those SS Steel strips for the deck are available on ebay at the QAA store, I'll try to post the link:

http://stores.ebay.com/Quality-Autom...isplayZ2QQtZkm

There is a picture that was post # 38 above.

There are other parts available as well. By the way, during the process of using my car for measurments, other products were developed, so the black car, shown at that site, is mine. I did not buy everything, though.

[davepsun]

THEY SENT ME M852005 PLEASE SEND PICS OF THE APPLICATION: TO: davepsun@comcast.net . thanks....DAVE. Here's a product from Prostripe Moldings avialable from auto body shops that does a terrific job protecting the body from the hardtop scuffing. It's 7/16" wide and comes in a 20' roll. It is hard vinyl covered -- not coated-- with polished aluminum. It also comes in flat black for those of you who don't care for the "chrome" look. You can order it online at www.AutoBodyDepot.net Cost is only $19.95 for the 20 ft roll. Product number is M1052005. I was using the dooredge molding previously, but this works much better. I had it on most of the winter with the hardtop on--and there were no scuffs on the body...it also makes the top rattle free! The strip did not scratch because I covered it with clear tape before putting on the hardtop. Ford's not going to give us a solution that's worth while and APADCO may or may not come out with SS strips--but this works and it's not expensive. Attached are a few pics...[/quote]

[George]

Davepsun:
From the looks of your last post I you did not know that there is a SS Steel strip available. I have had it on my car for a few months now.
Read the post just before your last post and there's a web site. Need more info, email me.