850 roof rails: Has anyone refinished them?

[Doug Warner]

The black coating on the driver's side roof trim is peeling off. I
was going to remove the rails, the rubber edges, strip the coating,
and apply black trim tape.

Unfortunately, when I checked today, I found:
1. The rails fit into heavy metal clips that are attached to the body
by glued-on rubber blocks, which will probably tear off if I try to
remove them.. (And Volvo's price for these clips will be ridiculous)

2. The rubber edges are bonded to the metal, and can't be removed.


So, it looks like the best bet is to scrape off the remaining black
stuff, strip the glue (Paint remover works well) and then tape or
paint.

Has anyone retuned these rails to an even black finish and had it look
good? (My 94, at 220K miles, doesn't have much resale / trade value
as it is, so new trim is too expensive to consider..)

 

[User]

The black coating on the driver's side roof trim is peeling off. I
was going to remove the rails, the rubber edges, strip the coating,
and apply black trim tape.

Unfortunately, when I checked today, I found:
1. The rails fit into heavy metal clips that are attached to the body
by glued-on rubber blocks, which will probably tear off if I try to
remove them.. (And Volvo's price for these clips will be ridiculous)

2. The rubber edges are bonded to the metal, and can't be removed.


So, it looks like the best bet is to scrape off the remaining black
stuff, strip the glue (Paint remover works well) and then tape or
paint.

Has anyone retuned these rails to an even black finish and had it look
good? (My 94, at 220K miles, doesn't have much resale / trade value
as it is, so new trim is too expensive to consider..)

Remove the paint however you want to. Get some aluminum metal prep from
the paint supply store. Erch and clean the molding. Rinse well, tape the
rubber parts, spray with a high build primer. Scuff with 3M 07748
Scotchbrite pad. Wipe with a tack cloth. Spray with bumper and molding
paint. Works pretty good. The bumper paint has a good semigloss almost
black color and imparts a slight texture, just like the original.

Bob