I have a 1995 850. The two vinyl roof strips are peeling and need to be replaced. I founf info on this site before on this but cannot relocate. I have used several things to patch but they noe need replacement. Any suggestions besides replacing entire ites ($250)

I painted mine, and they look virtually new. I found a metallic dark gray/black spray paint at an auto shop that is nearly identical to the strips. I removed the strips from the car, removed the remainder of the vinyl, masked off the rubber seals along the length, and sprayed away. Did it in 98, I think, and no problems yet. Just don't lose the end pieces. I lost one, and had to plug the end with some kind of an industrial chewing gum that I colored black with magic marker. Oh well. That's my only problem with the car, so life could be much worse.

I recently purchased a 1995 850 that had the same problem and also posted a message on here. One individual gave me the idea of painting them and it was very easy. I purchased one can of engine primer and one can of flat black engine paint, for the high temperature resistance. It took a matter of minutes to remove the strips, I then peeled of the remainder of the vinyl and used a drill with a wire wheel to sand it down to bare metal. Just make sure not to paint or sand the rubber on either side of the metal. Mask off the rubber and paint away. Looks Great and is a lot cheaper than $270.00 a pair.

Tony

I'm having this same issue with my '97. Oddly, only the outer edges on each side are peeling up. The service manager at the dealership suggested that often this and the rubber strip across the top of the windshield have problems at the same time.

Sure enough, about a month after I noticed the peeling vinyl strips, I realized that the windshield's top edge rubber strip was.... gone. It may have peeled off during some recent high-velocity driving up California's HWY-5.

What have you tried to fix the peeling black on the roof strips? I was going to attempt SuperGlue, but that stuff can be a challenge to control....

-Kennedy Brandt

kennedybrandt@earthlink.net

'97 850, '90 780 Turbo

You may get away with what I did. Autozone(or any local car shop) sells inch and a half wide black detail tape. 7 bucks a roll and it does both sides. I peeled all the loose old rubberized covering put the tape on it and it looks very nice. It is not a 'purist' fix but my friend who notices details hadn't noticed. The price is cheaper than new rails and the tape has been on for 2 years and still looks great. My car is garaged, but it has made it through the tough winters no problem. I can buy a lot of tape over the years at 7 bucks a pop if I ever need to replace it.