Tips and Tricks for Removing Banana Wraps

[Vernation]

Hi There,
I'm trying to remove my banana wraps to clean them up, un-dent them, etc.

I have searched the forms and I haven't found many threads talking about what to do when your wraps are just as firmly in place after you remove the rivets as before you did.


What are the tricks to getting the wraps out intact? I don't want to pull too hard or in the wrong direction for fear of ripping the aluminum.


(belly pan is off, trim is off, rivets under trim are out, shell doesn't seem to be sticking to wraps) What am I missing?

[Vernation]

Hi There,
I thought I'd post a follow-up to this. Perhaps it will help someone else in my predicament or perhaps you will have some comments to enlighten me.


I managed to get a banana wrap off today, with only "minimal" damage.
What I found is not what I was expecting.


I thought banana wraps were (tucked under the shell and) secured by the rivets that also hold the rub rail or molding or whatever you call the piece that runs around the lower part of the shell outside front and back corners.


So I removed all the rivets holding the molding on, made sure they were punched all the way through. And when that didn't seem to do anything, I started removing some rivets near the edges of the banana wraps--some that hold the side panel of the shell to the front corner panel, some that hold the front corner to the front proper. I thought maybe the wraps extend farther than I was thinking they do.


When I peeked behind the side panel, I found a couple rivets that were in the banana wrap but under the side panel. I also found a staple securing the banana wrap to the sub-floor. After I removed these, I tugged a bit and the wrap came out--except for one bit about 4-6 inches out from the front panel, right at the curve. I slid an old insurance card in there to see if I could get it unstuck (corrosion, dirt, etc).


But at this point, I was committed to path I started on: The wrap was hanging off, there was no going back. So I pulled harder and it came out--ripping a slot where a rivet had been holding it in that spot.


Here's the thing: Looking at the wrap, it isn't tall enough to be held in place by those rivets on the rub rail. It has about half a dozen holes for rivets and nine staples in it, only one (staple) of which was visible (The rest pulled out with my efforts due to 60 year old steel staples and a questionable sub-floor).


I was hoping to re-use the wraps after getting the dings out, but this configuration was not what I expected. It seems like banana wraps take a beating. I'm hesitant to put something back in that you can only repair if you pull the shell off. Yikes. (Of course this decision is for the far future at this point, but still)...


Those of you who have had their banana wraps out: Is this how yours were installed? I didn't get that impression from what I've read.


Also, have any of you created your own banana wraps using an English wheel? I saw some videos and was thinking how hard can it be? (insert laugh here).