Eyebrows (headlamp chrome crown finisher)

Talk about the E-Type Series 3
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Mephistopheles
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#1 Eyebrows (headlamp chrome crown finisher)

Post by Mephistopheles » Sat Apr 06, 2019 12:26 pm

The brass straps of my V12 eyebrows (for attaching them to the bonnet) are broken due to often bending. I tested new spare parts from several sources but all of them do not match quite well. Does anyone has an idea how to repair the brass straps of the original eyebrows without the need of rechroming?
Thanks in advance
1973 manual LHD OTS E Type
Holger

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vee12eman
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#2 Re: Eyebrows (headlamp chrome crown finisher)

Post by vee12eman » Sat Apr 06, 2019 4:33 pm

Hi Holger,

If there is still some of the brass strip remaining, you might be able to use a self tapping screw, which you can carefully screw in between the stubs of the two strips. This works ok for the remaining stubs of strips that have broken off fairly close to the main part of the eyebrow. I seem to remember also using a small amount of the bonding glue used for the bonnet; I used Sikaflex 221, which helps to retain the screw, but see how secure the screws are first of all. There is only a small amount required around each screw, if any is required at all. You can see it from below so not for a concours job.

I think I also had some success in soldering a strip of brass (from one of the retaining strips for the longer trims of the bonnet) to the stubs. That can be done with a reasonably powerful electric soldering iron and ordinary electrical solder. This works ok if the remaining stubs of the retainers are a little longer. It also looks more original.

Either way, I successfully saved both my eyebrows even though all the retainer strips were broken off.

Good luck,

Simon.
Regards,

Simon
Series III FHC

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angelw
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#3 Re: Eyebrows (headlamp chrome crown finisher)

Post by angelw » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:07 pm

Hello Holger,
The soldering solution will work even when the legs of the Strip Clip are broken off close to where they are attached to the Eyebrow Mould. With a Dremal, or the like and a small die grinding bit, carefully remove as much of the old clip and silver solder holding it in place (without touching the parent metal too much); this will give sufficient room to embed the legs of a new clip in Soft Solder. The temperature required for Soft Solder will not discolor the chrome so long as you only heat the area enough to melt the solder.

I've also used Araldite K138 epoxy glue. I use this to secure Turcite to the Slideways of Machine Tools during refurbishment (it sticks really well). I'm not sure if its available in Small Tube form. The Kit I use contains enough material to fix all such Eyebrow Mould problems, of all the E-Types in the UK and more. To use, prepare area as for soldering described above and embed the new clip in a small deposit of the K138.

Regards,

Bill

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Mephistopheles
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#4 Re: Eyebrows (headlamp chrome crown finisher)

Post by Mephistopheles » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:54 am

Hi Simon and Bill,
Thank you so much for your quick replies. I intend to follow your proposed solutions soldering or glueing. For latter I might use Petec Karoglue which is 2K epoxy adhesive. I will report the result.
Best regards
Holger
1973 manual LHD OTS E Type
Holger

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Mephistopheles
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#5 Re: Eyebrows (headlamp chrome crown finisher)

Post by Mephistopheles » Sat Apr 13, 2019 5:43 pm

Hi,
Last week I succeeded in repairing the eyebrows of my E-Type.
At first I cut the broken brass clips by means of a Dremel supplied with small grindig wheels followed by roughening with a grindig tool. I used brass clips supplied by SNG Barratt (bonnet beading clip, part No. BD19030) and glued them onto the roughened surface after degreasing with silicone remover. The glue was 2 K epoxy body adhesive KaroGlue of company Petec (www.petec.de). The clips were fixed for 1 hour (open time of KaroGlue). After allowing to full curing for two days I installed the refurbished eyebrows.

Quality assurance by Lilly:

Image

Regards,

Holger
1973 manual LHD OTS E Type
Holger

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Nick V12 e type
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#6 Re: Eyebrows (headlamp chrome crown finisher)

Post by Nick V12 e type » Mon Apr 15, 2019 6:10 pm

Thanks for sharing Holger, I will be attempting the same repair at some point in the future.
Very useful info.
Regards
Nick
e type series 3 V12 2+2 1972, BMW iX 2023

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