I have a 47 Fleetline am a little lost on fender welting. There was a thin peace of rubber between the rear fenders and body. I have looking around at the different welting and am lost. What’s with the different size beads and am guessing the bead goes outside of the fender. Mine we’re already off so am not sure how it goes.
The fender welting fits between the fender and the body with the bead of the welting sitting right on top of where the fender meets the body. You can buy the OEM style cloth welting or newer material like vinyl. Easy to install. Don't glue it in place. It's held in place by only the fender bolts. https://www.google.com/search?q=194...ome..69i57.10199j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 and https://www.google.com/search?q=how...rome..69i57.7031j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
^^^ this--and to make the ends look nice you can put a small piece of wire in the end of the hollow part and bend to fit/tuck in nicely
There is a lot of fender welting to choose from, Really Good stuff and real shit that will effect the overall look of your car. Bob
the welting is there to stop squeaks, seal and create a uniform seam. I like to use a fairly small bead 3/16" [?]. the larger bead will help fill bad seams/gaps. for out side corners [like over a fender] you will need to make lots of "pie" cuts to keep the bead smooth. for inside corners just a cut will allow it to bend/fold. I find it easiest and fastest to put the fenders on, with all the bolts left loose. push the welting into the seam. when you push the welting against a bolt, it will wrinkle the edge of the welting. I pull it out and cut a notch, then continue to the next bolt. sometimes I tighten the bolts a little, as I go, to hold it in place. at the ends, I peel the welting apart to expose about 3/4" of the bead tubing, which I cut off. the outer material can be folded in on itself to create a finished end. once I have the welting fit, cut and trimmed I tighten the bolts.
Some times you can't push the welting in far enough for a nice tight fit. In this case staple a piece of welting on the inside with the roll cut off. This way you have somethin to hold and pull the welting into place, just trim of the handle when the bolts are tightened. I like to punch oval bolt holes in the welting, once I know were they are needed. Bob
A trim shop can sew up welting in lengths long enough to do a fender using a color matching vinyl. Have the tail made about 6" long and it will serv as a handle to pull the welting tight. The tail can be trimmed off after the fenders are tight.
If your fenders are off Mack up the welting to the body holding it in place with tape. Mark the paces where the bolts go through. Cut out the material to accommodate the bolts. I used a gasket punch and utility knife. When you are ready to install, put the fenders on loosely. Put a couple three inch long oops of masking tape between the cuts you made for the bolts. Feed the tape loops and welting between the body and fender use the tape loops pull the welting into position as you snug down the fasteners. I started in the center and wored out toward the ends in an alternating pattern. Once you are satisfied with the fit, give the fasteners a final twist. Trim the ends and go to the next one. I got mine years back from Julianos rod supplies. Don't know if they are still open but they had several bead sizes and several colors in vinyl. viny have a "chrome" one aso, but it wrinckles easily if the bend radiuses are tight. You might want to check original pics of your car, some had welting on all four fenders, some used anti squeek pads on the fronts. 3/16 and 1/4 inch are pretty common.
I know this is an older post but does anyone know if there is welting behind the fender extensions mounted on the doors? Thanks
tb33anda3rd pretty much described exactly how to install fender welting the only thing I would add is it usually comes rolled up in someway. The day before if you can lay it out and let it relax (the warmer the better) it will be easier to shape.
For getting around tight radius you can make pie cuts in the flat part of the welting but not all the way to the bead. This allows the flat part of the welting to lay flat against the body around tight corners.
I don't think the 48 Pontiacs used welting between the extensions and door skin. It's the only car I have ever had with fender extensions.
I know this is an older post but does anyone know if there is welting behind the fender extensions mounted on the doors? Sorry, should have added i have a 1947 Stylemaster Coupe.
I would put something, even electrical tape between the two so they don't rub. I would think bead welting would look fine. just my personnel taste, as a rule, I don't use the welting when flat [no body bead], parallel panels join, or vertical seams come together. to me the bead doesn't look right. just my opinion I would use the welting. the fender extensions come off the door at a different angle so the bead would work and "disappear".
If you're not doing a Pebble Beach restoration just do what looks best to you. Do the fender first and stand back to see how the extension(s) look. It's your circus so you get to choose who rides the elephant and who tames the lion. If the extension rides wider than the fender, you may not want to shim it additionally wider with the welting. But if it would benefit from the welting to be flush, just do it. Since it's on top, at the door gap, you will be able to see one or both cut ends. The tip in post #6 by tb33anda3rd is a great detail to finish off the ends. You have a flap of extra material with no core to wrap over the ends and tuck in. Report back with your results and photos after you do the deed. please.
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