Roof Rail Weatherstripping Tips On Install

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Lord Sparky

Lord Sparky

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I ordered some roof rail weatherstripping for a 1969 Dodge Dart 2-door. The long, fat sponge rubber strip that seals the top of the windows when you close the door. Any tips in removing the old and installing the new?
 
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Are you talking about the sealer in the roof gutter? If so, in the cases where it is hard and has cracks, I have used a flat screwdriver and a hammer and chiseled it out with the blade laid pretty flat to the gutter. It pops out in chunks. If it is tough, then I have used an angle grinder with a knotted wire wheel. Actually even if you use the screwdriver to remove chunks, the wire wheel will do a great job to clean it up.
Again, I'm hoping I'm talking about what you are asking for but to reapply, the sealer I have used came in a caulk tube and I simply applied it with a caulk gun, then with a nitrile glove on my hand, I either dip my finger in water or mist the sealer with a spray bottle so it doesn't stick to my finger and I trowel it out. Hope this is what you are asking for.
 
ACME SS said:
Are you talking about the sealer in the roof gutter? If so, in the cases where it is hard and has cracks, I have used a flat screwdriver and a hammer and chiseled it out with the blade laid pretty flat to the gutter. It pops out in chunks. If it is tough, then I have used an angle grinder with a knotted wire wheel. Actually even if you use the screwdriver to remove chunks, the wire wheel will do a great job to clean it up.
Again, I'm hoping I'm talking about what you are asking for but to reapply, the sealer I have used came in a caulk tube and I simply applied it with a caulk gun, then with a nitrile glove on my hand, I either dip my finger in water or mist the sealer with a spray bottle so it doesn't stick to my finger and I trowel it out. Hope this is what you are asking for.
Click to expand...
Actually, the long, fat sponge rubber strip that seals the top of the windows when you close the door.
 
Lord Sparky said:
Actually, the long, fat sponge rubber strip that seals the top of the windows when you close the door.
Click to expand...
Oh, if its like the 71 they are glued into a stainless trim piece and you can pull it out. I used a plastic bristle wheel in a die grinder to remove the contact cement. Then the new one slides or can be folded into the metal trim piece. What I did was pulled out a little piece at a time and applied contact cement to the rubber and the metal, let it dry and installed it. A bit at a time.

Put duct tape on paint if your not planning to repaint, That will protect it from an oops
 
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This is the wheel I used. I got it at harbor freight and it does not damage the metal..
upload_2022-5-10_11-31-4.png
 
Also, if you decide to pull the stainless trim/retainer off the car for some reason, you will see there was a foam seal between it and the body. Once the rubber is removed and you clean it up with the plastic wire wheel, you will see screws. If you remove those the stainless will come off but be aware there is a foam seal between the stainless and the body. I used self adhesive (1/4" thick (it squishes to nothing) x 1/2") foam weatherstripping from home depot to replace that. I think the seal also comes with a screw for one or both ends, I don't recall and mine is a fastback so it may be slightly different anyways. Most of this stuff didn't change much from year to year in the big picture. I'd look at mine closer but its up on the lift and a different model but it's all the same pretty much.
 
Not a fun task for me. The roof rail weatherstripping was made by Metro. Good quality and great customer support. No adhesive held in the old weatherstripping, pulled right out, so that helped. Installing, the new weatherstripping behind the wing vent window stayed in without glue, but the top and part behind the quarter window needed lots of glue. The problem was with original design. The inside lip on weatherstripping was wide and stayed in metal channel. The outside lip was too narrow to stay in channel so it needed adhesive. Done.
 
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