Gunk under windshield trim...
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 2
From: Corona CA
Gunk under windshield trim...
I was pulling the windshield trim the other day and once I got it off I found that under the stainless was this gray gunk...kinda like modeling clay or window caulk. Is this stuff supposed to be there? It seems like someone was trying to seal the windshield molding to the car. I found this same material under the door sills and and sealing the access panels in the doors. So is this stuff supposed to be here?
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 190
Likes: 0
From: Hot AZ
Sounds like Bubba tried to use some homemade sealer the last time the windshield and door sills were removed and replaced. According to the NCRS Judging Guide the windshield seal should be "a black rubber channel gasket seal." Don't see anything about sill seals.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,142
Likes: 704
I recently pulled my trim and found this gray stuff as well. Also found it underneath the base of the windshield itself after I pulled it out. Amazing, after 40 years it was still soft and sticky. Kinda looks and smells like the putty they used to use in house windows, except it stayed pliable.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 2
From: Corona CA
Originally Posted by buns
I recently pulled my trim and found this gray stuff as well. Also found it underneath the base of the windshield itself after I pulled it out. Amazing, after 40 years it was still soft and sticky. Kinda looks and smells like the putty they used to use in house windows, except it stayed pliable.
That is exactley the stuff, mine was still fresh and soft as the day it was installed...I'll be digging it out of my work shoes for a week. It was rolled out and had knife cuts in it about every 3/4 inch. It is just like the roll caulk from home depot I have used around windows. I'm pretty sure the windshield has never been replaced so this could be factory installed. As I mentioend I have found the same material in several places in the car, it was sealing the body mount access doors too, which I am pretty sure the mounts have never been changed. I don't think I will replace the stuff in the windshield unless the trim is loose or something.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,397
Likes: 35
Bubba used black silicone around the rear window trim to make it watertight.
It was a rear PIA to get it off prior to painting the car.
I don't care if it leaks, i don't drive it in the rain.
When washing the car, I know the trouble area and I just put a small amount of light stick painters tape prior to washing it.
It was a rear PIA to get it off prior to painting the car.
I don't care if it leaks, i don't drive it in the rain.
When washing the car, I know the trouble area and I just put a small amount of light stick painters tape prior to washing it.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 990
Likes: 4
From: DAVIE/FORT LAUDERDALE FL
Originally Posted by macdarren
That is exactley the stuff, mine was still fresh and soft as the day it was installed...I'll be digging it out of my work shoes for a week. It was rolled out and had knife cuts in it about every 3/4 inch. It is just like the roll caulk from home depot I have used around windows. I'm pretty sure the windshield has never been replaced so this could be factory installed. As I mentioend I have found the same material in several places in the car, it was sealing the body mount access doors too, which I am pretty sure the mounts have never been changed. I don't think I will replace the stuff in the windshield unless the trim is loose or something.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,068
Likes: 27
From: St. Joseph Mo
Originally Posted by kenEDMUNDS
The stuff is called Strip Caulk, made by 3M. It is original and is supposed to be there. No longer available in white-black only. It was also used to seal the vapor barriers in the door behind the door panels.
That stuff is in there for good reason, don't remove it unless you have something to replace it with. Stops water leaks and drafts
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 2
From: Corona CA
ummm, okay it is supposed to be there, but I had to remove it to remove the glass. I will maybe replace it but but I don't see how it stops an leaks....the glass and it's seal should stop leaks this stuff is just sealing the trim if anything and the trim is outside the car, seems like the best it could do is seal it so water from the windshield doesn't flow under the trim but if it did wouldn't it just keep going and flow out at the bottom and leak onto the hood or into the wiper vents and then to the ground?
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Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Washington Michigan
It was applied at St. Louis as a pumpable sealer, applied with a flow gun, over 16 ounces per windshield, all the way around the rubber channel to fill the gap to the body opening, after the glass was installed and before the reveal moldings were applied. The current-day equivalent is 3M #08509 Automotive Bedding and Glazing Compound - comes in 10-oz. tubes you put in a caulking gun, is about the consistency of toothpaste, and stays that way.
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 12,458
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Originally Posted by JohnZ
It was applied at St. Louis as a pumpable sealer, applied with a flow gun, over 16 ounces per windshield, all the way around the rubber channel to fill the gap to the body opening, after the glass was installed and before the reveal moldings were applied. The current-day equivalent is 3M #08509 Automotive Bedding and Glazing Compound - comes in 10-oz. tubes you put in a caulking gun, is about the consistency of toothpaste, and stays that way.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Washington Michigan
Originally Posted by 65 Hardnoks
Did they put any of that in the windshield frame before the put in the windshield?
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,142
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Six weeks is up already
Here's a couple pics from the service manual. The first one says: Apply a bead of gun grade body sealer such as 3M-1170 in apex of windshield frame.
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Next pic: Apply 2 beads of sealer on outer surface of weatherstrip. Next, inject a moderate quantity of windshield cement such as 3M-6699B between windshield glass and weatherstrip using pressure gun as shown.
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Next pic: Apply 2 beads of sealer on outer surface of weatherstrip. Next, inject a moderate quantity of windshield cement such as 3M-6699B between windshield glass and weatherstrip using pressure gun as shown.
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Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 2
From: Corona CA
Dumb question but do Glass shops know to do all this? Is it pretty standard? I pulled the stainless and removed the gunk that was stuck to it and some of it that was just hanging around. However I will have a pro remove and install the new glass, I have the rubber seal and a clip kit which was all I thought would be needed. I'm not concerned that this be done 'original' as much as it seal and not leak air or water and that it looks right and the molding fit back in place.
