Stainless Trim Installation

[Fleetwood Meadow]

I am attempting to put the stainless trim around the windshield in my ‘51 Meadowbrook and I am struggling pretty badly. The book says to use cord stuffed into the slot in the weatherstripping and gently pull it back against the stainless. That works great until I get to the upper corner. The trim has such a curve that it pulls the lip in under itself. I can’t seem to get the weatherstripping to go up enough to reach the stainless because it is pulled in so far away from the weatherstripping. Not to mention that the trim is not a perfect 90 and when you pull the side of the stainless it pulls the corner even farther from the weatherstripping. And every attempt I make releases the rubber lock on the weatherstrip so the lip will raise up but then I can’t get the rubber lock back in under the stainless. 

Edited May 1, 2018 by 51Meadowbrook (see edit history)

[Bhigdog]

Not familiar with exactly your model but as  generic food for thought regarding wind shields and weather stripping use soapy water or Windex as a lubricant and if your rubber weather strip is a repro, especially if it's NOT Steele Rubber, that could be part of the problem...........Bob

[Spinneyhill]

Just note that any soapy water you introduce may be there for a long time, trapped under the rubber.

[Akstraw]

I am not quite sure I fully understand the real issue, but I will volunteer a few thoughts.  First, I would ask whether the stainless steel piece was a perfect fit before the rubber was installed.  A piece of rubber will not make a poor fit into a good fit.  Steel beats rubber every time.

 

Having said that, I will share that I  had a similar challenge with another type of car.  What worked for me in the end was to use the cord as much as I could, but I had difficulty with the corners.  I bought a few cheap small screwdrivers, and by heating with a torch, formed some oddly shaped pry tools.  The most useful was one where the screwdriver shaft was bent almost 180 degrees in one plane with an offset of about 30 degrees in another.   It allowed me to get into the corner of the rubber under the trim piece, and manipulate it into place as necessary.  It was rather tedious, but the good part was that I only had to do it once, and it worked.  Perhaps this idea will be useful to you.  

 

Good luck!

 

Sometimes I wonder how they ever did some of these operations repeatedly in the factory.

Edited May 1, 2018 by Akstraw
Grammar (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

Shampoo makes a great rubber lubricant. Get some from the dollar store for a $1 buck. Do not use your wife's $45 a bottle stuff. You will get in trouble.

[JACK M]

In the marine business they always recommended using alcohol for rubber lube.

Isopropyl I think. I am always out of the other kind.

Might work for a windshield but evaporates out quickly.