Carefully removed fender beading, without cracking the paint!

My car is wearing most of its original paint, with the exception of the front hood and 4 fenders. The original owner had them repainted in approximately 1980, due largely to the predominantly gravel roads that she drove on in Austria. (The colour difference seen in the above photo is just that, a photo issue, not reflective of an actual paint colour difference).

The problem is that when I purchased the car, there was overspray on the fender beading. I bought reproduction off-white/tan fender beading from Wolfsburg West 13 years ago – note that the correct original colour is not black – while I searched for NOS beading. Years later, I found a set, and was able to replace 3 of the 4 on the car. The problem was with the left rear fender – the paint was so thick that I worried I would crack the paint on the fender. Those who saw my car at the 2003 VW Classic in Southern California may remember seeing the big, ugly, painted fender beading. I finally had enough a few weeks ago, and jumped in with both hands – cracked paint be damned! To my joy, I was able to remove the fender beading without damaging the paint on the fenders, installing the remaining NOS fender beading. I couldn’t be happier!

It only took me 13 years to try it.

NOS Fender Beading

You can tell NOS fender beading because the round bead is coloured, and the flat rubber piece that goes between the fender and body is black. Reproduction coloured beading is all one colour, and does not have the flat piece in black.

I also realized that I have a new project for next winter: carefully removing the paint overspray from the original fender beading and reinstalling them. Sound crazy? My car is preserved, not restored, so it’s important to me to maintain as many of the original parts as possible, even if they’re imperfect. All of the rubber (door, window, hood, decklid, etc.) is original, so I’d prefer to also have the original fender beading as well.

But it will take a dark, cold, lonely winter night to do it.

Painted Original Fender Beading