Best way to glue on a used OEM Beast bar

[JCERRN]

Ok. So Pete and the other scrapers were right. It worked but I did a very boneheaded thing.
Right towards the end I lost control of the blade and hit the wire transecting the black and green. I carefully dissected it for exposure which is how I know it’s black and green. It’s rather close to the bar unfortunately.
I don’t have have that kind of stripping and soldering skill. Anyone have any advice or did I just throw away this bar?

If you change your mind on this project ill buy it off you, dm me! But yeah those are seemingly thick stranded copper wire, should be fairly easy to strip the ends and splice/ heat shrink wrap them. Soldering is fairly easy but requires heating the wires to above the melting point of the solder so it flows onto the wire. Flux helps. Just be careful heating the proximal aspect as its not clear whats behind that plastic cover, the wire might have 2 more inches then be soldered to a board, no idea unless you open it

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[hemiarch]

My wife and I may have actually pulled that off. The Great Jay stopped by to help too. He’s a great friend.
We used heat shrink solder connectors, stripped the wire back carefully and shoved them down there for two of the wires.. the green wire required a spot of solder.
The bar fires up and the truck registers it.
Have it covered in VHB but waiting on optimum weather.

 

[hemiarch]

Why not cut around the green/black wires to expose them more to strip them ? You can carefully cut a semi-circle around those wires and after you restore them with press connectors fill in the space with silicone.

This is very good advice and was my next move if we couldn’t get it fixed with solder and solder connectors from the outside.
one thing I learned is that this thing does NOT pry open and is one continuously weatherproofed unit.

 

[hemiarch]

This really is the project that keeps on giving! I think you could use a solder-seal butt connector...if you watch the second (19s) video on this page, you'll get an idea of what's needed, but I think you just about have enough wire for it.

Yep. Again good advice. I was singing your praises and showing off with the last few strokes of the scraper when this happened. lol.

 

[JCERRN]

My wife and I may have actually pulled that off. The Great Jay stopped by to help too. He’s a great friend.
We used heat shrink solder connectors, stripped the wire back carefully and shoved them down there for two of the wires.. the green wire required a spot of solder.
The bar fires up and the truck registers it.
Have it covered in VHB but waiting on optimum weather.

You have an AWD right? Curious if the light interface will update

 

[hemiarch]

You have an AWD right? Curious if the light interface will update

I do. And they did. Tested it and the whole interface works just like it did on my friends cyberbeast.
All the ditch light/floodlight stuff shows up

 

[JCERRN]

I do. And they did. Tested it and the whole interface works just like it did on my friends cyberbeast.
All the ditch light/floodlight stuff shows up

Sweet, maybe T will make the accessory available to others at some point.

 

[hemiarch]

So next step is application when it’s not raining. Go figure, in Phoenix today of all places.
I have two sets of these I’m planning to use.
https://a.co/d/49aNv6y
There will be a total of 12.
6 from the glass roof and 6 from the windshield I think.
My goal is even pressure over the whole thing with minimal angle. Flat surface to flat surface but compressed.
I will just have to use my intuition with respect to how tight but I think I’m going to progressively tighten all of them little by little evenly rather than tighten one and then do the next.
First I’m going to mark out the position with painters tape and put a thin coat of adhesion promoter on the glass. I already did that on the lightbar side with a cotton ball.
I like the technique in the spoiler video you guys posted but there is SO much VHB I think we’re just going to peel it all and my wife and I will lower it onto the hole in the painters tape from either side of the truck.
No idea how long to leave them on but the aftermarket bar guys recommended 48hrs which I did and it worked, so probably around that here too?
Anyone got any other advice or wisdom?

 

[hemiarch]

Sweet, maybe T will make the accessory available to others at some point.

You can order it from a third party Tesla shop I think. You just have to be willing to shell out $2500 for it which I wasn’t.

 

[hemiarch]

Oh. One more thing. In case somebody digs up this thread later to try replicate….be VERY careful with a heat gun near the bottom of the lightbar. Whatever that plastic is it gets soft at not a very high temp and runs.
look closely at my wire repair pics. I caused every bit of that damage and I was pretty careful with the heat gun and using a shield.
scrape the adhesive, don’t try melt it off or you’ll do just that to the bottom of the lightbar.

 

[JCERRN]

You can order it from a third party Tesla shop I think. You just have to be willing to shell out $2500 for it which I wasn’t.

I am not willing lol.

 

[hemiarch]

Anybody here a VHB veteran who has some useful tips?

 

[AO-Pete]

Me again, lol. Your plan is good. I’ve not used those clamps before, but they look great. I’d still try to remove at least some (the leading edge) of the red film once it’s in place. Getting it perfectly positioned will be tricky, and with adhesion promoter it’ll grab, fast. Failing that, install when cool so the VHB is less tacky. Go slow, like you’re lowering in a plutonium core into a mission impossible bomb. Then clamp and park outside in the sun/heat. 48hrs will be plenty, just avoid any biblical weather for a week after install. As long as you get a fairly symmetrical placement, you’ll be good, and you’ll know, that thing won’t move after a couple of days of pressure.

 

[hemiarch]

Me again, lol. Your plan is good. I’ve not used those clamps before, but they look great. I’d still try to remove at least some (the leading edge) of the red film once it’s in place. Getting it perfectly positioned will be tricky, and with adhesion promoter it’ll grab, fast. Failing that, install when cool so the VHB is less tacky. Go slow, like you’re lowering in a plutonium core into a mission impossible bomb. Then clamp and park outside in the sun/heat. 48hrs will be plenty, just avoid any biblical weather for a week after install. As long as you get a fairly symmetrical placement, you’ll be good, and you’ll know, that thing won’t move after a couple of days of pressure.

Thanks Pete. Will try figure out how to do that. You in the shop tomorrow? Wanted to call or message and talk about repurchasing armor for my new truck.
Sucks for me, but I have to do it all again. Definitely doesn’t suck for you, but if I have to re-spend with any business, I don’t mind that it’s yours. I’ve known you for a very long time and you’ve sold me some of my favorite Tesla accessories over the years.
If you all don’t know, Pete is the real deal and you should take every opportunity to buy from him rather than the Chinese marketing complex if you can.
Was able to take all the sail roof pieces and wheel arches (except the charge door bit) from the old truck and I still have those side steps that are armored as well as the flap delete, but I need to redo the bumpers and some of the rockers before the steps go on. Also really loved the door kick panel bits so I’m going to redo those too and probably the frunk edge also.

 

[hemiarch]

VHB, done right, works exceptionally well, especially on glass. The challenge with a piece this large is maintaining a constant contact area (having cleaned both surfaces and prepped with adhesion promotor. This technique is the best way to ensure you maximise the contact area. I really don't know why Tesla opted for a more complicated technique that's clearly more error prone.

Beware of fake VHB on Amazon, it's everywhere. Most of the time the fake stuff is fine, but not for this, and the seller "Couzeely" screams of yet another Chinese temporary brand. I think this is the VHB you'll need. I'd switch out the nano tape you have with this, the nano tape doesn't do well long-term with UV exposure and high-vibration environments.

So I’m just reading back through this thread and realizing I did not heed your advice about that seller. The taped looked pretty legit with 3m labeling everywhere.
think it’s worth removing it all again and trying to get different VHB before I stick it?
Damn it, why wasn’t I paying attention? Now it’s all stuck to the lightbar.
What do we consider a reputable source?
This one says 3m and is a lot more expensive than the others.
https://a.co/d/eBgNtVP
$150 roll of tape?

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