In my seemingly never ending pursuit to fix every little thing that isn't right on my Vette I turned my attention to my rattling, leaking T-tops. The cause of the rattling wasn't hard to find, the front locator pin bushings are missing and so are the nylon inserts in the T-tops that the triangle shaped rear locating bolts ride against. The replacements are on the way as we speak. The leak however was a bit more involved to find. I replaced the seals on the T-tops a while back (the old ones were shot) thinking that it would stop the leaks but it didn't. It turns out that there is a bunch of sealer under the chrome trim that the T-tops sit on and not surprisingly, the sealer underneath the trim had gone bad. My question is this, what kind of sealer is this stuff? It sort of has the consistency of clay. I don't want to use a sealer that will harden when it dries and I don't want to use silicone sealer either because it will be impossible to remove the chrome trim without destroying it a few years in the future when I remove the trim again to paint the car. Can I get something like the clay-like sealer at the local hardware store or an auto parts store? If so what kind of sealer/caulking should I look for? I'd rather not have to order it from somewhere and pay a fortune for it, pay for shipping, and then wait a week or more for it to arrive, I'd like to get something that's available locally so I can get the car back together by this weekend. Any advice is appreciated.

 

I don't know the answer to your question exactly, but it sounds like plumbers putty.

 

Not sure but it sounds like 3M Strip caulk. Stays soft and sticky forever. Same stuff GM used to stick the plastic sheet on the inside of the doors.

NAPA has it and O'Reilly;

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/MMM08578

 

Hi TG,
On the roof panels from my 71 I found a foam strip that seemed to be impregnated with some sticky sealer between the panel itself and the stainless trim piece.
I reused the foam strips and added some black strip sealer.

Then between the stainless trim and the weatherstrip retainer I found some gray material that I would describe as old fashioned 'glazer's putty'.
I was able to find some putty and used it between the 2 parts as originally was done.

Regards,
Alan

These photos show the foam strip and the remains of the gray material.


The foam strip:






The remains of the 'putty' material:

 

You should be able to find it at any good local auto supply.

 

I found the same sealant under the T-Top trim on my 68. I had scraped most of it off before I took the picture. I need to find a substitute for it also. GM must of had a name for it. Anyone know?

 

Hi Don,
The material was symbol 184, GM # 3710409.
Here's a link to a thread about it.
Look at post #5.
Applies soft/flowing...dries 'firm'.
Regards,
Alan

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...rthink-it.html

I believe this is the material.

 

Hi Alan, I just called the local Chevy dealer and gave them that part number and nothing came up. Do you know where I can get that stuff?

 

Well so far I'm turning up a great big zero trying to find that special sealer, there seems to be nothing available on the market that is even close to it. It's not available at the dealerships and nothing comes up on a Google search. At this point I think I'm just going to get a tube of silicone sealer for my caulking gun and use that instead. When it comes time to remove the trim again in a few years when I go to paint the car I'll just have to use a long razor and try to get under the trim and slice the silicone so that I can remove the trim or just leave the trim installed and mask it off. With all the stuff that's available to restore a Corvette nowadays it's surprising that someone doesn't reproduce that special non-hardening putty-like sealer for the T-top trim.

 

Hi G,
Cans of 'glazing putty', both oil and latex based, is available at 'home stores'.
It can be formed into a 'rope' shape to mimic the way it was applied at St.Louis.
Regards,
Alan

 

Not to high-jack this thread but how did you attach the front chrome trim piece Allan?

 

Hi Len,
The piece of stainless trim with the small rubber seal was originally 'crimped' in place.
I decided not to remove it based on input from the fellow who painted my car.
I do read now of some people having success getting it off and then back in place without marring the new paint.
Regards,
Alan

 

I have used electrical putty. It is used to seal openings where wires have penetrated, It is fairly dense but quite formable (warming with your hands helps), it is not especially sticky (unlike strip caulk) but it stays in place and doesn't shrink. It stays pliable.

It is available in 1 and 5 pound bags over the internet - search ELECTRICAL PUTTY for vendors.

 

This is what the AIM for my 79 calls out.

http://standards.globalspec.com/std/468994/gmna-9981486

 

As crude as it may sound I was able to line up the curved end then used a rubber mallet to get the trim back on. Looks like I lucked out.