Fender Beading... Paint???

holton222 · Post by **holton222** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 6:22 am

Hello Friends,
I'm working on a 64 Bug and sometime in the not so distant future I will be painting it. I want my fender beading to be the same color as my car. Does this mean that I should paint with the fenders and the beading bolted in place on the car??? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Mike Holton
Nashville, TN

64bug · Post by **64bug** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:44 pm

no. the paint is going to flake off any way you do it... but if you do... hang the fender loosly on paint the beading off the car. So paint get where it needs to.

holton222 · Post by **holton222** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:02 am

Thanks for the response. I've never paid much attention to this before but do more people keep the beading black or paint to match car?
Mike Holton

JordanK · Post by **JordanK** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:27 pm

Colored beading is (last time I looked) availabe from some of the major places. I think Mid America Motorworks was the catalog I saw it in. That being said, I don't know how well the colors would match, or if they'd fade, etc. I left mine black.

64bug · Post by **64bug** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 7:16 am

Black is classier.

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:55 pm

Colored beading is out there.
CIP lists 3, but I have seen dozens including chrome.
http://www2.cip1.com/SearchResults.asp? ... er+beading

I painted a bug two toned with gray & white paint and used white beading on the fenders. Quality of beading is random, sun damaged my beading after a few years (too soon in my mind) and I bought some more at a swap meet but haven't gone to the point of cutting out the notches for the fender bolts. Custom fit is more work that black beading.

FITNESSFORYOUTOO · Post by **FITNESSFORYOUTOO** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:17 pm

You can just scuff the fender bead with a green scotchbrite then add flex agent to the paint you want to shoot the beading with. Make sure you only use this treated paint on the bead and shoot it separately. I will not crack if you do it this way, all new cars flexible bumpers are painted this way.

BUILDER · Post by **BUILDER** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:26 pm

there is a product on the market called bumper cladding, we use it on plastic/ urethane bumpers and other parts at our body shop. You just scuff the part with a grey scothbrite pad spray the bumper cladding and paint. the cladding is ready to spray no mixing involved. We get ours from Kustom auto color in knoxville, tn.

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:02 am

Would you do this to fiberglass parts too?

72SuperDude · Post by **72SuperDude** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:27 pm

As metioned before, dont paint it all at once. The person who owned my super before just painted over everything without taking things off. The paint on the beading is flaking and discoloring as time goes by.

FITNESSFORYOUTOO · Post by **FITNESSFORYOUTOO** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:41 pm

MNAirHead wrote:Would you do this to fiberglass parts too?

No only flexible parts like bumpers and in this case fender bead.

Steve C · Post by **Steve C** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 4:33 am

Hi

Its funny in way, you will go to all this trouble to get it right and some jackass will say, "why didn't you pull the beading out before you painted the car?"

I like my beading black.

Steve

raygreenwood · Post by **raygreenwood** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:43 am

Actually you can paint beading....and it will stick. This issue is first priming it with the correct procuct...and then you have the double whammy of the fact that most fender beading is vinyl based. Over time the vinyl outgasses and then shrinks. This is why the paint cracks off.

In general its best to paint it off the car, but you really should mask the area on the lower "fin" where it is to clamp between the fender and body. If not...its going to crack right away anyway because the paint is not nearly as flexible as the primer once it is cured. This is what starts the flaking.
Since I work on type 4's (411/412's) beading is no longer available. I will be making my own out of acrylic urethane caulk....whick is paintable and stays flexy for up to 20 years...and will not shed paint.
You get the best seal and look on type 3's and 4's if the beading is installed first and then painted on teh car. Very smoooth.

The best results I have seenwith all vinyl beading come when you heat or gae th beading first to get the most shrinkage and outgassing accomplished...then prime it with a vinyl based plastic primer...then install...then paint it on the car. Ray

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:19 am

If I'm understanding (in a ghetto way) it would be best to guy beading like a year in advance and keep it warm?