I am about to install the windscreen chrome side finisher on my S1 FHC and there is, of course, a gap where the finisher meets the curve of the roof. I looked at the gaps on friend’s cars during the Grand Circle Oil Leak and they were filled with a black caulk of some sort. I also went out to Classic Jaguar an looked at one of their completed cars and it had a black caulk in there, but the trim guy was away on vacation and I couldn’t ascertain with certainty what they had used. It was believed to be black window weld.
For those of you who have done this before what have you used and how well did it work? Needless to say, these finishers are hard to get into place so I’d like to do the caulking job only once.
Drew, is it possible to get the parts glued in place first so they’re secure and then later add the finishing bead? I’d think that would simplify matters because it wouldn’t be shifting around messing up your bead. Maybe use some wood shims temporarily at the top to maintain an even line, then remove them once it’s set up and then fill in.
I’ve used window weld once before and recall it being fairly easy to work with. It doesn’t pull into strings as much as trim cement.
Glueing the trim in first is indeed the plan, Erica. And yes, the stringy seal glue is a concern. I’ve never worked with window weld so thanks for that info.
Drew, I used a urethane caulk I obtained from a windshield place to fix the finishers and to caulk the gaps.
I don’t have a handy pic of the top but this one shows the bottom joint. You need to continue around the end of the finisher and probably a bit of practice first helps.
I just purchased some urethane seam sealer at the auto paint supply store. It’s of a slightly higher viscosity than the urethane window sealant I used to reset the windows on my boat last summer…but as Clive says, it’s definitely worth practicing ahead of time. I used it to seal the fender flares on my pickup prior to painting and found it very messy during application. On the second attempt I masked off either side of the groove, applied the sealant, made it look somewhat presentable, pulled the tape, and then cleaned up the edges with acetone.
Drew, as Eric brings up the viscosity is a concern as it will tend to slouch down with gravity. You’d probably get a better result if you lay in a bead 1/8" below your finish height and let it set up till almost cured. Then lay your finish bead on top of that. The first bead will support it so it doesn’t slouch.
Yes, I’ve seen a variety of gap fillers n various cars and they vary. I was thinking about filling in below the finisher so it wouldn’t fill up the somewhat large void with whatever gooey sealant I was using. I’ll try to do a shelf bead before I even glue on the finisher. Then when the glue has dried go back with the black sealant to fill the gap. Good idea.
Another errant thought…when I get around to this job I’m going to look for urethane in a plastic squeeze tube instead of the large cartridge as used in a caulking gun. Much better control of the bead…at least for me. I bought an electric gun for doing the windshield on the boat and that was better than a manual trigger squeeze gun, but that urethane still created a monumental mess (on the plastic sheeting covering the bow, thank goodness). The electric gun is still on the boat…1200 miles away in winter hibernation.
Eric,
Yes, I am hoping to find a small tube of sealant due to the control issue and the short bead needed to finish off the top of the finisher. I have a large cartridge of window weld that fits in a caulking gun, but it seems a waste to use a tiny amount just to seal the top of the finishers and then the control issue comes into play. I’ll keep looking to find the Dynamix (or similar), but have so far been unsuccessful.
Drew, how did the install go? I have a 70 FHC and I’m trying to figure out how to install the two windscreen pillar chrome finishers. Did you “lip the rubber” over the inside edge of the pillar piece, or did you simply glue the entire piece to the rubber seal? The piece seems too wide to lip on both sides.
Joe
I’m still bending the LH finisher to shape for that side.
