Convertible Rear Window - How to Refasten
08-24-2016, 04:17 PM
#201
Instructor
I'm in Northern NJ and I did it a few years back...
Let me know!
11-10-2016, 09:58 AM
#202
3rd Gear
Member Since: Nov 2016
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Rhino glue for gluing top?
Hey all,
I don't have a Vette, but I've got an issue with a Mustang convertible top I ordered of ebay. There's an area where the webbing that staples to the frame has detached from the fabric of the top.
I took it to a shop and they told me that this was heat bonded at the factory and can't be glued, and that this is a high stress area.
I'm hoping that Rhino glue can help here.
Cheers,
Rob
I don't have a Vette, but I've got an issue with a Mustang convertible top I ordered of ebay. There's an area where the webbing that staples to the frame has detached from the fabric of the top.
I took it to a shop and they told me that this was heat bonded at the factory and can't be glued, and that this is a high stress area.
I'm hoping that Rhino glue can help here.
Cheers,
Rob
11-10-2016, 10:05 AM
#203
Hey all,
I don't have a Vette, but I've got an issue with a Mustang convertible top I ordered of ebay. There's an area where the webbing that staples to the frame has detached from the fabric of the top.
I took it to a shop and they told me that this was heat bonded at the factory and can't be glued, and that this is a high stress area.
I'm hoping that Rhino glue can help here.
Cheers,
Rob
I don't have a Vette, but I've got an issue with a Mustang convertible top I ordered of ebay. There's an area where the webbing that staples to the frame has detached from the fabric of the top.
I took it to a shop and they told me that this was heat bonded at the factory and can't be glued, and that this is a high stress area.
I'm hoping that Rhino glue can help here.
Cheers,
Rob
11-10-2016, 10:29 AM
#204
3rd Gear
Member Since: Nov 2016
Posts: 3
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Hi,
Thanks. I ordered the Rhino Glue. I'm sure it will hold, but I'm concerned about the difference in the application here. The rear window might not have as much force applied to it as that area of the top. At first it didn't seem like it was much of an issue, but the top shop guy said it was huge issue. I'd send the top back to the guy, but I'm Canada, and he's in Florida. He's offered to exchange it for another one, but it's not just the fabric, it's the whole framework that I bought. So it would just end up costing me too much to send it back.
Cheers,
Rob
Thanks. I ordered the Rhino Glue. I'm sure it will hold, but I'm concerned about the difference in the application here. The rear window might not have as much force applied to it as that area of the top. At first it didn't seem like it was much of an issue, but the top shop guy said it was huge issue. I'd send the top back to the guy, but I'm Canada, and he's in Florida. He's offered to exchange it for another one, but it's not just the fabric, it's the whole framework that I bought. So it would just end up costing me too much to send it back.
Cheers,
Rob
11-10-2016, 10:33 AM
#205
Please post back about your results. (Even thought it is mustang ... hahaha)
11-10-2016, 12:47 PM
#206
3rd Gear
Member Since: Nov 2016
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Haha, no Vette yet.
Quick update, I dropped into another top shop today. They told me the same thing about the pressure and the pulling on that area. He said it would just continue to give me trouble in the future, which is likely.
I need to talk to the seller a bit more I think. The shipping from Florida to the airport here (2 hours away)was $230. I'm sure it will cost me a lot more than that to ship it back from Canada, but if the seller pays the return shipping, it's probably the best thing. Not sure if they would or if they would be obligated to though.
Rob
Quick update, I dropped into another top shop today. They told me the same thing about the pressure and the pulling on that area. He said it would just continue to give me trouble in the future, which is likely.
I need to talk to the seller a bit more I think. The shipping from Florida to the airport here (2 hours away)was $230. I'm sure it will cost me a lot more than that to ship it back from Canada, but if the seller pays the return shipping, it's probably the best thing. Not sure if they would or if they would be obligated to though.
Rob
12-04-2016, 10:13 PM
#207
Intermediate
Member Since: Nov 2014
Posts: 36
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My 2001 window let go today at a car wash. I know.....
Ordered glue on Amazon and got suction cups at Harbor Freight for $15. Gonna give it a shot. I am a bit nebulous about how to hold window in position while I am gluing. Suggestions welcome.
Ordered glue on Amazon and got suction cups at Harbor Freight for $15. Gonna give it a shot. I am a bit nebulous about how to hold window in position while I am gluing. Suggestions welcome.
12-05-2016, 11:30 AM
#208
Team Owner
12-05-2016, 01:26 PM
#209
12-05-2016, 03:39 PM
#210
2002 vert top window
Hi,
Thanks. I ordered the Rhino Glue. I'm sure it will hold, but I'm concerned about the difference in the application here. The rear window might not have as much force applied to it as that area of the top. At first it didn't seem like it was much of an issue, but the top shop guy said it was huge issue. I'd send the top back to the guy, but I'm Canada, and he's in Florida. He's offered to exchange it for another one, but it's not just the fabric, it's the whole framework that I bought. So it would just end up costing me too much to send it back.
Cheers,
Rob
Thanks. I ordered the Rhino Glue. I'm sure it will hold, but I'm concerned about the difference in the application here. The rear window might not have as much force applied to it as that area of the top. At first it didn't seem like it was much of an issue, but the top shop guy said it was huge issue. I'd send the top back to the guy, but I'm Canada, and he's in Florida. He's offered to exchange it for another one, but it's not just the fabric, it's the whole framework that I bought. So it would just end up costing me too much to send it back.
Cheers,
Rob
I was lucky 3/4 of the bottom of the glass was still attached on the bottom of the convert top.
I did not have a garage.
I used small and large suction cups on the tonneau fiberglass cover and the handles of the suction cups holding the window in place. I fit them in there tight enough to hold the window in place. Once I had the window in place I cleaned the surfaces and masked my top carefully covering the canvas close to the glass as I could. To control the glass I installed two large suction cups to the outside of the glass. Once I had the cups in place I started applying rhino glue 2 inches at a time one side at a time working to the top middle carefully overlapping as much glue as I could. Next I installed the suction cups to the inside where I had them laid out holding the glass in place from inside to out. Next I removed the masking and admit if you look real real close you'll see two slivers of glue on the canvas inside the 180 to the glass.
I was a union spray painter 30 years and masked a lotta my own jobs.
I tried a lotta mock ups with the suction cups and different ways to applicate the glue before gluing the window in place. Believe me it was Corvette Forum members who got me thru this repair. I think I read every piece of advice I could find. Not only on the forum, everywhere. Good luck Rob.
Last edited by km60sb@yahoo.com; 12-05-2016 at 03:44 PM. Reason: Do better
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Sam Handwich (12-05-2016)
07-11-2017, 04:51 PM
#212
Cruising
I recently used this write up and Rhino Glue to refasten the rear window on my 00 Vert where it was separating on both sides. Didn't use the suction cups, but put a pillow inside pushed up against the window. Worked perfect and is still holding. Luckily for me, I caught it before it completely separated so it a lot easier. 
07-11-2017, 05:22 PM
#213
It really feels good every time I read how another member dodged the Corvette tax with this fix. And I didn't have anything to do with developing the method, etc.
Just happy to know the the do-it-yourself community is alive and doing well.
Cheers!!
Just happy to know the the do-it-yourself community is alive and doing well.
Cheers!!
07-12-2017, 01:48 PM
#214
Advanced
Did this fix two weeks ago. Before I did I called a local convertible top shop and he quoted
$1500 for a new top. Needless to say I ordered the Rhino glue. It took my wife and I 30 minutes to glue the top using a suction cup and pillows. That was a Sat. morning. I let it sit until Monday and have no leaks since, and this is Florida in the monsoon season.
$1500 for a new top. Needless to say I ordered the Rhino glue. It took my wife and I 30 minutes to glue the top using a suction cup and pillows. That was a Sat. morning. I let it sit until Monday and have no leaks since, and this is Florida in the monsoon season.
07-25-2017, 04:52 PM
#215
Drifting
I got about a year and a half out of my Rhino glue mock up . I clean the surface and do it again . Even if I do it every year that's only $40 a year as opposed to $1500 .
07-25-2017, 10:42 PM
#216
Melting Slicks
Rhino glue worked well. I separated again. This time I used windshield urethane adhesive. The same stuff glass shops use to install windshields. It is really stuck on good now. I peeled off whatever cloth/adhesive strips that was between the glass and canvas then laid down a bead.
Art
Art
10-16-2017, 11:50 AM
#218
2nd Gear
My 2001 convertible is my everyday car. I drive it in rain, snow and good weather. It is and always has been garaged. Three weeks ago at about 128,000 miles the back glass window separated from the top. The separation first started at the top and when it got to the sides and started separating at the bottom I stopped driving it.
I’ve done lots of research on this site and others (including BMW, Audi and other convertible top postings). The results are that upholstery people usually say the sealing process is high pressure done under heat at the factory and there is no way to duplicate it in the field so you have to replace the top. Estimates for top replacement range from lows in the area of $500 to $1000 to a high of $3000 with the average being $1000 to $1500.
Some people report glue attempts with total failures after days or weeks. Others report glue success and the glue holding after much longer times.
Those reporting glue success used a variety of glues including: JB Weld, Black silicone RTV sealant, pure clear silicone sealer, 3M high black weatherstrip adhesive, and urethane windshield glue. One person posted that he used a cyanoacrylate glue that he got at a hobby shop. Super glue and its various other names are cyanoacrylate glues.
I did my own research and settled on Rhino Glue which is a specially formulated cyanoacrylate that is waterproof, weatherproof and completely resistant to heat and cold. See www.rhinoglue.com for more information.
Attachment 48169551
I was not able to find this glue in any store and bought it online. This is a totally different glue than Liquid Nails Rhino Ultra Glue. Do not buy the Liquid Nails kind.
Here are pictures of what the separation looked like before I started gluing.
The first one was taken when the separation first started. Compare it with the ones below with the suction cups and you can see the progression of the separation down the side with just a little more driving.
My advice is to catch it before the window comes completely loose.
Attachment 48169552
Attachment 48169553
Attachment 48169554
These round red things are suction dent pullers.
Attachment 48169555
Attachment 48169556
I found these online. They come in a 1, 2, 3 or 4 suction cup variety. www.cvfsupplycompany.com/sucusucupdep3.html. I bought the 4 cup variety without thinking. I got 2 of them (only needed one in the end) for $30 and that included the shipping. When they arrived, I realized that they were too large for the window so I cut them in half. A better choice would have been either the 2 cup or 3 cup ones. I then rigged up a way to pull them so that the glass would be pulled against the fabric. You can see that this simply involved screwing an eye into the rafter above.
Attachment 48169557
I found that if I unlatched the top and lifted it about a foot that it relieved the stretched fabric enough to manually push it against the glass. Note the rubber mallet I used to hold the front of the top up.
Attachment 48169558
I then applied the glue around the glass about 3 to 6 inches at a time. Be careful and test this out before you apply the glue. I made the mistake of starting on the sides and moving toward the middle and was left with a significant bunching at the middle. The glue set up so fast that I actually had to cut the top away from the glass at the corner to smooth out the bunching. At the finish of the job, I was still left with a little bunching at the drivers side. As I’m not a perfectionist and it isn’t very noticeable, I haven’t tried to correct it.
This is the finished job before I removed the dent pullers.
Attachment 48169559
I did the job at 7 PM and left the suction cups attached until the next morning at about 8 AM. I then drove the car to an automated carwash which I figured would be a great test for the bonding strength. It came through with flying colors - no separation of the window from the top and no sign of leaking.
I then drove it 50 miles with no sign of any separation.
If the glue is as advertised, judging by the part I had to remove and redo, I expect it will hold up for a very long time.
I’ve done lots of research on this site and others (including BMW, Audi and other convertible top postings). The results are that upholstery people usually say the sealing process is high pressure done under heat at the factory and there is no way to duplicate it in the field so you have to replace the top. Estimates for top replacement range from lows in the area of $500 to $1000 to a high of $3000 with the average being $1000 to $1500.
Some people report glue attempts with total failures after days or weeks. Others report glue success and the glue holding after much longer times.
Those reporting glue success used a variety of glues including: JB Weld, Black silicone RTV sealant, pure clear silicone sealer, 3M high black weatherstrip adhesive, and urethane windshield glue. One person posted that he used a cyanoacrylate glue that he got at a hobby shop. Super glue and its various other names are cyanoacrylate glues.
I did my own research and settled on Rhino Glue which is a specially formulated cyanoacrylate that is waterproof, weatherproof and completely resistant to heat and cold. See www.rhinoglue.com for more information.
Attachment 48169551
I was not able to find this glue in any store and bought it online. This is a totally different glue than Liquid Nails Rhino Ultra Glue. Do not buy the Liquid Nails kind.
Here are pictures of what the separation looked like before I started gluing.
The first one was taken when the separation first started. Compare it with the ones below with the suction cups and you can see the progression of the separation down the side with just a little more driving.
My advice is to catch it before the window comes completely loose.
Attachment 48169552
Attachment 48169553
Attachment 48169554
These round red things are suction dent pullers.
Attachment 48169555
Attachment 48169556
I found these online. They come in a 1, 2, 3 or 4 suction cup variety. www.cvfsupplycompany.com/sucusucupdep3.html. I bought the 4 cup variety without thinking. I got 2 of them (only needed one in the end) for $30 and that included the shipping. When they arrived, I realized that they were too large for the window so I cut them in half. A better choice would have been either the 2 cup or 3 cup ones. I then rigged up a way to pull them so that the glass would be pulled against the fabric. You can see that this simply involved screwing an eye into the rafter above.
Attachment 48169557
I found that if I unlatched the top and lifted it about a foot that it relieved the stretched fabric enough to manually push it against the glass. Note the rubber mallet I used to hold the front of the top up.
Attachment 48169558
I then applied the glue around the glass about 3 to 6 inches at a time. Be careful and test this out before you apply the glue. I made the mistake of starting on the sides and moving toward the middle and was left with a significant bunching at the middle. The glue set up so fast that I actually had to cut the top away from the glass at the corner to smooth out the bunching. At the finish of the job, I was still left with a little bunching at the drivers side. As I’m not a perfectionist and it isn’t very noticeable, I haven’t tried to correct it.
This is the finished job before I removed the dent pullers.
Attachment 48169559
I did the job at 7 PM and left the suction cups attached until the next morning at about 8 AM. I then drove the car to an automated carwash which I figured would be a great test for the bonding strength. It came through with flying colors - no separation of the window from the top and no sign of leaking.
I then drove it 50 miles with no sign of any separation.
If the glue is as advertised, judging by the part I had to remove and redo, I expect it will hold up for a very long time.
10-21-2017, 08:33 PM
#219
2nd Gear
C4 convertible window repair
You're instructions were great. Worked perfectly. I used one double suction cup from Harbor Freight which held the glass firmly. Gorilla glue seems to have worked great. Masked off the window and to to reduce chance of glue migrating where it wasn't desired.
03-05-2018, 01:24 PM
#220
Burning Brakes
Worked great
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to say thanks to the OP. I fixed the window in my 2001 Vert this weekend using his instructions. I spent $8 and saved $1500. This thread ought to have been stickied years ago.
