A Column Windscreen Finisher Plates

[Guest]

Still got a little time to kill and I seem to be on a bit of roll so another piece that may be of interest to a few.

When I bought Black Bess last year I noticed that the Windscreen Finisher Plates on the A Column were looking a little tired and in a couple of spots surface rust had broken through the paint. As everyone should know rust has something in common with ice-bergs insofar that what you can see is typically on 10% of the total so a re-furb of the plates went onto the short term To-do List. Occasionally, until I got around to actually doing the job, I would take a look at how the plates were fitted and, finding nothing obvious, I was growing concerned that these had been bonded in place somehow or were craftily snugged into a recess in the door seals. Perusal of the Workshop manual provided no clues and the available diagrams so small it was impossible to make out any details.

Anyway, in for a penny, in for a pound and in best Edd China tradition off I goes to Halfords to pick up some Black Satin and a selection of Wet and Dry. Naturally, and as always, I came back with a few more bits and pieces but least said about that the better.

Having armed myself with the necessary I set about puzzling out how to get the Finishers off so that I could do the necessary. After fifteen minutes of pushing and shoving the plates and the surrounding mouldings - and a little head-scratching I admit - I finally realised that I needed to open the perishing doors so I could peal back the door seal. Under which, I was pleased to find, are four shiny screws that hold the plate in place. Having got the plates off I was also pleased to find that the extent of the rust was much less than I could reasonably expect. In short order the the plates were rubbed down, all rust removed, sprayed with several coats of Hammerite Satin Black and hung up to dry in the shed. Next day they went back on a treat except for the occasional and, I'm glad to say temporary, loss of a screw (they're rather small and I've got fat fingers) and now Black Bess is looking less tired. Amazing what a a little cosmetic surgery can do.

By The Way - one of my additional purchases from Halfords included a Clay Bar and Spray which I had intended to use when the weather gets a little warmer. By chance earlier this week I opened the box to find the spray but no clay bar!  Some dastardly !Removed! had obviously nicked it and put the box back. So check the contents folks before you leave the store.

Oh, and if you're the !Removed! that nicked mine, I hope you scratched your paint.

[Russ68]

Well done Steve, I've enjoyed you reading your last posts!

Not sure if the A column finishing trim parts are the same as I need to attend to? Do you have a pic? On my X200 they are cloth covered, so I guess not! The cloth on mine has got loose and floppy. I would hope a hour or so with a can do attitude and perhaps some spray or other adhesive would show a marked improvement, but I'm afraid it's quite low down on the job list at the moment!

I generally avoid Halfrauds at all costs, but if they support the club and offer 15% I could consider softening my attitude (probably not though!). I tend to find Amazon (and eBay) a great source for a lot of the bits I would've gone there for once upon a time. Amazon would've accepted a return on your clay bar and spray, no questions asked. Plus I also aim to get / blag trade at the local auto factors, which are invariably offer a better deal at a fraction of the costs of the aforementioned retailer...

All the best 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Russ68 said:

Not sure if the A column finishing trim parts are the same as I need to attend to?

Hi Russ,

From what you say I think yours is the interior trim letting you / itself down (pardon the pun). Mine were the exterior metal plates right beside the windscreen, sorry no pics, they're normally black but some may have been colour coded to the car.

I agree re Halfrauds on balance and do make extensive use of eBay and sometimes the other crew. Must admit the best bargains I've found so far are courtesy of eBay and I always check there before anywhere else.

Good luck with the interior trim (assuming I'm right) but my guess would be that the column cover can be removed relatively easily if you can find out how its attached - which seems to be the difficult task for both interior and exterior trim bits.

Take care with this bad weather.

Cheers,

Steve

[Russ68]

Thanks Steve, yes mine are interior parts. I'm driving the Discovery for the foreseeable but look forward to some Jag fettling when the weather improves