An exterior windshield garnish clip came loose from my Crossfire so I decided to use JB Weld to re attach it. I place some blue painters tape between the two clip so I would not bond those together, I do want to be able to remove it. Anyway, the JB Weld bonded to the clearcoat and paint just fine, but did not bond to the metal strong enough for the clips to separate. What do you think I should do? Can I super glue it back in place and then drill through the holes and place rivets there? I have no idea what’s on the other side and I really do not want it to leak. What’s stronger or better than JB Weld?

 

NEVER use the quick setting JB Weld. It is an inferior product. Always use the 2 part overnight cure and it will never fail. The quick setting never seems to fully cure. My experience is things that cure quickly, as a rule won't last as long as I will.

 

I just pulled my repair attempt on the other side. Only now it let go of the trim piece. I am so bummed.

 

You will note the JB Weld did not fail as none of it is torn apart, it failed to adhere to the surfaces. I have to assume you fully cleaned all surfaces and scuffed the surfaces to be attached. Never skip either step. Never use quick cure. You should also clamp it. Now you know.

 

Maybe you are right. This stuff said it sets in 6 minutes but needs 4 to 6 hours to fully cure. I gave it 24 and thought it was welded in place. I also tried Gorilla Mounting Tape, but that was a fail too. I guess I will try another JB Weld product. I did clean everything well and sanded the surface to try and help the bite, but I guess it takes more than that. Personally I would love to find a double sided tape that was up to the job. That would be a much easier install.

 

What you need to use is double-sided tape that is the same thickness as the OEM tape. Not just any DS tape but a VHB or UHB tape.
VHB is Very High Bond and UHB is Ultra High Bond. JB Weld or any other such cement is NFG for this job.
How thick is the OEM tape? This is an important question as you do not want to use a tape that is too much thicker or thinner than the existing OEM tape.
By coincidence, I have been looking into writing a How-To thread on this subject.
The common 3M DS tape is not the best to use and is outperformed by other common DS tapes, VHB and UHB are the best tapes for the job and come in various thicknesses.
DS tape allows for expansion and contraction of the trim piece, solid setting types of cement do not allow for expansion and are put under shear forces.
The surfaces must be cleaned with alcohol or acetone prior to using DS tape for best results, it should be applied and left for some (?) hours before it is at the strongest bond.
JB Weld is good but not right for this job.

 

I have used JBWeld for years and have never had a failure. In the past year I bought some of the "quick cure" stuff because sometimes I don't want to wait. It failed like yours did. I threw the rest away. Tape will never hold, you can't trust it. I like to do things right and once but sometimes I get stung and it's usually because a product didn't perform as advertised. That's how you get experience. Just sayin'

 

Where can I find this VHB or UHB tape? I would love to buy it local, but I will order it tonight if I need to go through the internet. I have no idea what thickness I need. Should that be something that’s the same or close on most crossfires? Mine is a 2005 STR6 coup. I will try to measure it but, how exactly and how exact does the measurement to be? Sorry for all the questions, I’m just trying to get it done and ready for a car show.

 

Amazon has it, measure the thickness with a feeler gauge. Some of the industrial tapes are basically the adhesive alone with no core, others are .005, .010, .015 and up, the normal thickness appears to be .040 with a foam core like the regular 3M DS tape.
Just try to match the thickness a close as possible, check the other clips as well. I have not seen these parts close up so I am a bit in the dark on details.

 

You guys are confusing me. The garnish molding is attached to clips not directly to the windshield frame. The clips on the frame are riveted to the frame. The clips on the garnish molding on my car appear to be electrically plastic welded to the clips and garnish molding directly. The clips on the molding snap into and float on the clips that are attached to the frame. The garnish molding floats on the clips on my car. The JBWeld does not attach the garnish to the frame, but to the clip. I must be missing something and I hate giving bad advice. Please help me out here. Where is this tape you guys are talking about? The only tape I found on the frame area was on the inside under the A pillar covers, protecting some wiring.

 

For what it's worth, I've gotten double sided tape of various thickness at auto body supply stores. NOT Autozone or Advance Auto but at REAL auto body supply. The places where you can buy PPG and Dupont automotive finish's and wet or dry paper by the sleeve. Find out where your favorite body shop buy's their supplies and you should be able to find DST in various thickness and strength.

Jim

 

The original, from the factory, attachment method is to use double sided tape to attach the clip to the molding. It is done like that because of contraction/expansion difference of the plastic molding and the metal clip. I also go to auto repair suppliers for this, as Jim replied, and most other adhesives, They will have what you need.

 

As I said I have not seen these personally, so if the clip floats all well and good but never rely on JB Weld for this job.
Double sided tape is the answer so long as it is good for outdoor use, VHB or UHB tape is best, they came to market later than the OEM tape.
As I said before check that all the clips are tightly attached to the trim.

 

Thanks for some clarity. On our car, of the 11 pairs of clips on the moldings, only 2 were loose when I removed the molding to paint. Upon careful inspection there was no sign of any tape ever being present. I am guessing from what has been posted that these clips were loosened from a previous windshield replacement. It was probably reassembled "non factory" and appeared to be an electronic steel to plastic weld, which failed. Who knows. I don't see any tape at the other clips so it must be under the clips and doesn't show. I am expecting my JBWeld repair to last longer than I do, but if it doesn't I'll uses some real good double sided tape next time.

 

An 'electronic steel to plastic weld', I know of no such process. Welding is the fusion of the two parts with or without a third material. Maybe there was no tape or whatever, it was left floating?
The thickness of the tape will determine how flush the trim is to the glass. The tape can be .005 thick and up, I would like to know how thick the OEM tape was.
Our man in Puerto Rico Velocabstract added some nice pics but I cannot quite see the fit of the two clips.

 

180
Velocabstract is located in Puerto Rico, unless he's moved lately....
Dennis
DTMenace

 

True, I got on the wrong side of the continent. He comes from the island that was forgotten, I should have remembered that. They have plenty of paper towels there I hear.
Maybe Les can let us know how thick the tape should be, it looks as thick or thicker than the steel of the clip.

 

I've had mine off twice and replaced tape this last time. I didn't measure it, but approximately 1 mm.

 

That is the most common thickness to be found, the common 3M tape is about that size.

 

Here's my old thread. https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...rim-loose.html
The clips are held to the trim pieces with some form of double sided adhesive foam. Usually they clips stay attached to the car when the trim is taken off ... improperly taken off. Pry the clips off the car, use double sided 3M tape to attach them to the trim (you'll see where they were) and snap them back in place on the car. Easy peasy once you know how it comes apart and goes together.
I had to deal with this problem because the people that replaced my windshield ... ahem .... buggered the job! They used windshield adhesive to hold it together until I drove off. Real shady, but they didn't have a clue how the clips worked either. Hope this helps.

Les