body and interior Removing Baked Windshield Gasket?

[danco_]

Hi guys,

 

I'm in a dilemma. I'm working on a project car and decided that I want to remove the current DESTROYED window rubber gasket in favor of a new, supple rubber gasket. Only problem is that the PO used a silicon material underneath the rubber gasket, and now they are both baked onto the paint.

 

Is there a liquid softener that can be used to aid in the removal process? This stuff is on there good. Any tips or tricks? I have a new gasket and locking strip at the ready, but removal of the old gasket has become a nightmare.

 

But I shouldn't be complaining. It's a 99% rust free car.

 

Anyways, here are photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help

 

 

 

[fsf517]

Your going to have to use plastic instruments , things like plastic putty knife, plastic wedges, plastic razors, credit card etc, combined with solvents that won't damage the paint, prep sol, tar remover, denatured alcohol etc. it will be a task, but you'll get it. Some tough finger nails help also. And when your done, before setting the new one, you may want to polish out the marks you make. Good luck, fred

[TobyB]

Looks like someone's glued the piss out of that one!  

If it's been repainted, you may discover there's a paint

line under there too.

 

Heat may help- lacquer thinner is probably about as aggressive

as you want to get with chemicals (wear gloves and a respirator)

but 3M adhesive remover and the rubber buffing wheel that 

gets used for pinstripe and decal removal might do the

trick, too.  As you can guess, it's really hard to scrape

those areas without gouging the paint....

 

good luck- that looks like a desert car.

 

t

[Hans]

3M stuff, or Acetone if you want to get rough. Scotchpads handy for scrubbing after application of chemicals.

[eurotrash]

try a heat gun...?

[Mike Self]

Using a box cutter, carefully cut away as much of the original gasket on the outside as you can,until you can see the edge of the glass all the way around.  You'll find that the silicone sealer a PO used doesn't adhere well to either the paint or the glass, so you should be able to peel a lot of it off with your fingers or a plastic putty knife. 

 

Once you've gotten as much of the silicone off as you can, then start working the glass loose. DO NOT PRY it--the backlight is tempered glass, and one wrong move will cause it to shatter.  The windshield won't shatter, but will crack if any twisting or torsional force is applied to it, so be careful and patient. 

 

Once you have the glass loose and  then removed, you can remove the remains of the original gasket, and then scrape all the remaining silicone sealer from around the opening.  Look for, repair and touch up any rust you find before installing new gaskets--and use factory gaskets, not aftermarket ones.

 

It's not a difficult job, just time consuming and requires a lot of patience!  Rush it and you'll be buying a new windshield or backlight.

 

mike

[allbim]

You'll have to get rid of the serrated metal clip(s).  The late gaskets are designed to be used without those.

The headliner will need to be glued in place of the clip. 

[danco_]

When you say "late gasket", do you mean all gaskets that are purchasable in say... the last ten years? Or do you mean "late gasket" as in 1974+ US 2002 cars?

[71bmr02]

could try this: go to local hardware, purchase some small dia twisted wire cable. make a couple of handles out of wood dowel. drill through old gasket and feed wire cable through hole. twist cable around handles and start "pulling/sawing action". this works best on really warn day or you can soften old gasket with hairdryer. wouldn't recommend heat gun, could crack windshield. I will say I tried this on a Datsun once and cable sawed all way round and still cracked the windshield trying to remove it seems like if you get the sealer too hot it will reseal behind the area you just sawed. good luck

BTW, placing feet in center of windshield to try to push it out is a gold engraved invitation to a cracked windshield, again good luck

G

[allbim]

When you say "late gasket", do you mean all gaskets that are purchasable in say... the last ten years? Or do you mean "late gasket" as in 1974+ US 2002 cars?

What I mean is, gaskets (BMW OEM) that are being sold now. I should have said "sold lately"

[danco_]

Ah, in that case, I took your advice and removed the serrated metal clips. I began gluing the headliner and A (?) pillar trim to the frame and mounted the new BMW OEM gasket (purchased over a year ago) to the current windshield. 

 

I'll probably try to mount the windshield tomorrow or thursday. Here is today's progress: