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Rear window

22K views 37 replies 12 participants last post by  rob the elder 
#1 ·
Anyone know how to re glue the rear window of the Sol. I have gone to many upholstery shops and they will not do the work, says the top needs replacement. The top is still in great shape, the whole thing does not need replacement
 
#3 ·
I have done this successfully on a friends car

Have two people

Test fit before you glue including bracing the window to the top. It needs to be held in place till the glue cures. I used the partially open trunk lid and foam rubber to hold the window pressed against the top. Test this till you have it figured out

Follow the directions on the adhesive. Apply the glue then with help carefully line it up and press it against the top. The glue is very permanent so avoid getting it on the top while fitting it in place

Use the bracing supplemented with painters tape to assure a good seal.

End result is great
 
#4 ·
Im starting my rear window expedition today, I have the 3M Urethane(High Viscosity) Adhesive and the 3M General cleaner recommended. I will mask everything off, rough the glass a little with 400 paper, clean then glue. A little worried about how to compress or hold the glass in place. I will put on painters tape after to hold, but olso need the compression aspect too. Ill figure it out, as i dont have any styrofoam to put in the trunk.
I think i will also try the urethane adhesive to finish off my norms sidde skirts as the 3M tape dont last here in the texas heat.

Rob thanks for your advice and insight, new stage 4 clutch is next....
 
#8 ·
I didnt get to the job yet, i will not rough, thanks guys... trying to figure out how to support the top on both sides to apply pressure while the urethane cures.
Any ideas? if you have doen this before with good results please share your support plan, and post pics if you can.

Thanks
Heath
 
#9 ·
Put it on the floor and roll one wheel of your Solstice over it.

Assuming I understand Rob's approach - you have the top up and fastened except for the "fins" on the back, you use foam rubber and wedge it between the rear deck lid, pushing it down to exert pressure against the fabric pushing it against the glass, correct?

If so I think that's the easiest way to do it, leaving it in place.
 
#12 ·
Exactly Sir!

With the trunk lid open part way, and enough compressible material - I have lots of foam packing material in 4 inch thick sheets, I taped the window in position then pushed down on the trunk lid which as it rotates downward applies compressive force on the foam material and provides pressure against the rear window, holding it against the top which is in the "up" position. Worked very well for us.
 
#10 ·
Ok, i understand wedging the top against the partially opened trunk, but what providesd the weight on the inside of the glass. I can see where the foam ribber/styrofoam against the trunk on the outside, but waht provides the force from the inside of the window?
 
#15 ·
I did the same project recently. I used what I think is called rubber silicon which keeps the water out. I used duck tape to hold the window in place. It comes off easy because of the fabric from the soft top. Inside the car I used a 2x4 piece of wood cut to size that was put in between the seat and the middle where the parking brake is so it didn't move. That had enough pressure to keep the window in place. Make sure you have nice warm weather so the silicon dries faster. Hope that helps!
 
#14 ·
I believe it would just be pushing against the taught fabric due to the top being up and in position. The adhesive should bond as long as the fabric is held close to the glass, not necessarily "pressed" against the glass under direct pressure.
 
#17 ·
I'm gonna be honest here, try 3M double sided tape. Yes, you heard right. 3M Double sided tape. That's how I've had my window for almost 2 years now. If done with ONE whole piece aaaaalll around the window you should be able to get a waterproof seal. Use a wide enough tape that it covers the back window's "marker" that runs inside the pocket of the top. It's a really easy and cheap fix. Even if I have to replace once every 6 months it's worth it to me. I've had the current install of my tape on for maybe 6 months now and it even survived a whole night with the entire trunk between the humps flooded from being parked in a hill without a SINGLE drop of water getting inside. That's good.

Now I'll give you a really good tip, and the reason why I had to replace the tape from leaks before, make SURE you are using ONE piece all around. Just ONE. You can curve the tape if you take your time with it. Make sure you COMPLETELY remove the glass and that you use a razor blade to remove all old adhesive. You can disconnect the fog heater cables so that you can more easily remove the window to clean and to mark with tape. +1 Would recommend and allows you to always repair it with the proper glue later.
 
#18 ·
That's not a bad idea at all. 3M also makes a VHB (very high bond) tape that has different thicknesses of foam between the adhesive sides allowing for expansion and contraction. If you can squeeze for at least a few minutes it can get a VERY impressive bite on surfaces!
 
#19 ·
I need to do this as well, glass is completely loose. Based on this thread (http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f11/my-rear-window-adventure-103577/#post1532113) I was under the assumption that I could put the top completely down and with a piece of foam (or something) in the trunk, I could then place the glass on the cloth top (with the glue) and weight it down. Is this correct?

I'm a new owner, (and only helped my buddy put his Sky top down a couple times) so excuse me if I'm not thinking of this correctly. Before reading posts on this forum, I was thinking I needed to remove the entire top (and was dreading it) to make the repair. Anyone who can provide tips (and photos would be great too!) would be very much appreciated.

Thanks...
Art
 
#20 ·
I need to do this as well, glass is completely loose. Based on this thread (http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f11/my-rear-window-adventure-103577/#post1532113) I was under the assumption that I could put the top completely down and with a piece of foam (or something) in the trunk, I could then place the glass on the cloth top (with the glue) and weight it down. Is this correct?
That would be extremely difficult to do, due to the way the top folds when placed in the trunk.

:dunno:

.
 
#22 ·
Based on my experience doing one window where the bottom half was not attached I would do it with the top up. I would make a practice run first dry. Then I would use a combination of tape and magnets to hold the top half of the window to the fabric top firmly. Get everything lined up correctly while supporting the window with tape. Then rotate it enough to apply the adhesive to the top part of the window and apply the magnets to hold it in place firmly. Once the top half has set, you can then apply the adhesive to the bottom half without having to worry about supporting and alignment. You can reuse the magnets on the bottom half and are good to go.

Something like this might work

AOMAG® 10pcs Rare Earth Neodymium N35 Bar Block Magnet 60 x 10 x 4 mm: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
 
#24 ·
I believe it is possible to do. And maybe easier? I worry about controlling the adhesive. If I tried that I would end up with the top glued to the trunk liner ��
 
#25 · (Edited)


Try this out guys and let me know if you have any questions/problems so I can try to clarify. I whipped this up in 15 mins so go easy on me. Also don't PM me guys, others (Read: Lurkers) will probably have this problem sometime in the future, so let's keep this knowledge out in the open!

And if you still don't get it and badger me enough I maaaay be willing to make a neat little video showing you guys how I did it and how my current 6+ month install has held up.
 
#26 ·
Jetfire007, thank you for putting together your "solution" and giving us somewhat of a guide for the repair, very much appreciated! I have been debating on the best way to tackle this problem, and I think I'm going to give your solution a try. Being a very new owner, I have little to no experience on how these tops even retract (and with the glass being separated, I do not have the opportunity to even experiment). I found the 3M tape you are talking about listed at Home Depot (3M Scotch 1 in. x 1.66 yds. Outdoor Mounting Tape-411DC-SF - The Home Depot).

Art
 
#29 ·
You found the right tape but I think it's gonna have to be longer than that. I should've specified a length (I wrote the guide in 15, don't kill me!)

I'll edit that guide to be more clear on that.

3M Scotch 1 in. x 11.1 yds. Extreme Mounting Tape-414-LONG/DC - The Home Depot

That should be MORE than enough in length. Even if 1.6 yards was enough, if you so much as mess up you'll have to start over and you're going to have to go back out and buy more.

You can use the extreme mounting tape if you want a very sticky tape for easiest adhesion but I used the standard

3M Scotch 1 in. x 12.5 yds. Indoor / Outdoor Mounting Tape-411-LONG/DC - The Home Depot

It's only about $15. I'm sure you'll find plenty of uses for it around the house :grin:
 
#33 ·
Got it installed...

Installed the rear window yesterday with the 2-side tape (I used the 3M extreme mounting tape just for extra insurance). I had someone help me hold the glass while I pressed the fabric top into the tape. It worked really well and I'm very happy with the results. So this method is a viable solution in my opinion, big thanks goes out to JETFIRE007.
 
#34 ·
Just this weekend I noticed my rear window was about 80% detached. I went with the 3M mounting tape even before I searched the forum. I must say, it look like it could work. Time will tell. It wasn't that hard to do. If I had to reapply once a year, I wouldn't mind. Sure beats the $2500 the upholstery shop quoted me for a whole new top.
 
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