There has been some talk regarding the tendency of 850 roof strips to peel and crack, leaving the metal undersurface of the strip exposed. This is quite unsightly.

Kino's Volvo website surveys indicate that this is certainly a problem on some 850s.

No-one seems to know what causes it.
(I suspect it might have something to do with chemical attack & degradadation of the strips, due to polishes/protectants, but that is just a hunch. Another theory is 'environmentally sensitive' glue which may not adhere so well.)

The best solution that I have read for this is to remove the strips (being especially careful with rear connector - slides towards rear of car), remove any residual coating, and then get detailer's tape and apply this over the bare strip. Insert back into the roof and voila! Like brand new... except for the expense.

Here's a similar suggestion from brickboard:

                       ... posted by steve  on Thursday, 21 December 2000, at 9:54 a.m. ...in response to "Re: roof
                       strips are deteriorating" posted by sk, formerly Sunil Kishnani.

                       I used 3M outdoor industrial tape (black) and just relined over the peeling strips. Looks as good a new.
                       If you can imagine using electrical tape, this is similar to what it looks like. Has withstood 1.5 years in the
                       Florida sun with no problems or discoloration. A $5 fix.

                       steve
                       95 855T/118K miles/ipd stuff
                       01 V70T5

... posted by Bob Zellmann  on Saturday, 10 March 2001, at 10:05 a.m. ...in response to "Roof
           Rubber cracking" posted by Dino Virella.
 

           Depending on your car color you may get away with what I did. Autozone sells inch and a half wide
           black detail tape. 7 bucks a roll and it does both sides. I peeled all the loose old rubberized covering put
           the tape on it and it looks very nice. It is not a 'purist' fix but my friend who notices details hadn't
           noticed. The price is cheaper than new rails and the tape has been on for over a year and still looks
           great. My car is garaged, but it has made it through the tough winter no problem. I can buy a lot of tape
           over the years at 7 bucks a pop if I ever need to replace it.
 

Re: peeling vinyl roof strips[850][1995] Tony -- Wednesday, 11 April 2001, at 1:18 a.m.

 I recently purchased a 1995 850 that had the same problem and also posted a message on here. One individual gave me the idea of painting them and it
 was very easy. I purchased one can of engine primer and one can of flat black engine paint, for the high temperature resistance. It took a matter of minutes
 to remove the strips, I then peeled off the remainder of the vinyl and used a drill with a wire wheel to sand it down to bare metal. Just make sure not to paint
 or sand the rubber on either side of the metal. Mask off the rubber and paint away. Looks Great and is a lot cheaper than $270.00 a pair.

 Tony
 --
 Tony 1995 850 GLT 68,000

Details on how to remove vinyl roof strip 850 1996
 posted by  hutch1   on  Thu Feb 28 17:32 UTC 2002
Greetings!

I also have the infamous 'peeling roof strip' on my (new to me!) 96 850 sedan. I'd like to remove it to either replace or repair it, but I'm not sure how to do so. I've heard that it just 'clips in'...I'm assuming that I don't just give it a big yank! I've been all over volvospeed, and bay13 (some of the reason's why I purchased this car), and read their instructions on how to repair the damage - I wasn't sure how to remove the roof strip at all.

I'd appreciate it if anyone could share their wisdom with me!

Thanks - Joe

Details on how to remove vinyl roof strip 850 1995
 posted by  HO   on  Thu Feb 28 18:39 UTC 2002

The 2 roof strips can be removed by hand then you can do whatever to them. You have to start from the rear end of the strip (rear windows area) and then pull them up by hand.

I removed mine in my 95 wagon for the euro-roof rail installation.

Ching-Ho Cheng
 

Thanks for the quick response - there is a larger block at the back of the roof strip. Is this part of the strip, and is it pulled off as well? Or, does the rear of the roof strip start under the front of this block, and just pull out?

After I fix them, will they just snap back into place?

Thanks!

-Joe

 
Details on how to remove vinyl roof strip 850 1995
 posted by  kahuna   on  Fri Mar 1 16:25 UTC 2002

The large block at the rear end of the strip can stay. If you're not planning on buying new strips, be careful when you pull of the old ones: they are attached via metal clips that bite into plastic mounts on the car. These clips have little teeth that bite into the plastic and hold well. If you pull too hard, you may tear the metal clip through the small eyelet inside the strip. I replaced my frayed strips and am still amazed how much it improved the appearance of my car. If you buy new strips, the most important thing is to make sure they're in the proper position before pressing the clips into the plastic mounts. You don't want to try to adjust and break your brand new strips. Good luck.

Jim