Someone slashed my plastic rear window. I went through the dealer routine ($200 for the part, $900 for labor) and decided to try something else.

I replaced the plastic with new and bonded the new to the heat-bonded strip on the existing top. There is only one edge (bottom) that shows and I covered this with a black boat stripe tape to finish it off. The top material covers the rest of the edges. There are also plastic strips at the top and bottom on the inside of the top. These provide rigidity to the plastic panel.

I purchased 40 mil vinyl window material for a boat (I have one) from www.sailrite.com - $35 for a 29 X 62 inch sheet. Go to their site; select online catalog, window material and your there - Part # 5874. This stuff is the best window material there is - 20 mil is normal in a boat. The 40 mil is about the same thickness as the old window. Should be good for 5+ years in a boat, they tell me.

I wedged a piece of 1/4-inch plastic I had inside the top to give me a flat working surface. I cut the old plastic out with a single edge razor blade. This becomes a pattern for the new plastic. Cut the new leaving about 3/4 of an inch for bonding beyond the pattern.

I laid in the new plastic, put 3M polysulfide rubber sealer (this is the stuff used to make the 1/4 inch rubber strips between teak decks on a boat) on the old bonded strip, and used very small screws to hold the plastic in place while the sealer set up; about every two inches. The screws go into the top and bottom plastic strips, while they go through the old bonded plastic on the sides. They hold the plastic in place until the sealer dries. I took them out later.

Mask off everything. I used the blue 3M masking tape (blue is designed to not leave a residue and not weld itself if left in place for a week) and it worked well. The sealer I used is really messy. Cover the back of the car, the rest of the top, inside the top, the rear compartment, etc. Make sure you have a solvent for cleaning off the sealer. Lacquer thinner worked well for the 3M sealer.

How did it turn out? Not as tight as the original window but pretty close and good enough for me. I am not a purist. I figure I will have to replace the whole top eventually and the replacement window looks a lot better than the scratched one I had before. For $50 I will do it again when needed and probably will be able to get it tighter.

How long did it take? I spent 3 to 4 hours. A lot of time was trying to figure things out, masking and getting a flat surface to work on. I was not difficult. It was messy.

Things learned: I would use a different sealer. The 3M stuff gets tacky in 2 days and finally sets after a week. There must be something that sets faster but I had worked with this before and knew how strong it is when set. I would probably try to get the stuff they use to bond the windshield to the car. That's actually what led me to try this. The Helms manual describes windshield replacement in detail and I realized they just glue them in - why wouldn't this work on the rear window if I could get a really strong and flexible bonding agent?

Why is the cost so high at the dealer? You have to take out a bunch of the plastic stuff to put in the new panel. Look at the Helms manual and you will understand. I did not have a lot of confidence in the dealer

 

Very interesting. Any pics you can share?

 

Find out the EXACT material the window is made out of... I'd bet it's the same as the old one. You should be able to find a cement for that material and use it. ABS, PVC, and other cements like this normally dry (workable) in a few minutes and set permanently in a few hours. Assuming you get good coverage, you won't need to seal it (the material will seal).

Good thinking on this... I "resurrected" my scratched one, but it's good to know there's an option that's non-destructive to the rest of the top (that's affordable!).

 

did you still make a claim with the insurance company. put some money towards a hardtop maybe?

 

toohoos: No pictures, sorry.

1a-race: Did not make an insurance claim

 

good DIY!

This should be added the library if possible.

-- Chris

 

Would getting the small piece of glass, and bonding it somehow to some plastic/vinyl, and attaching that to fill the original window space work? That would alleviate the need to have a hinged piece of glass, and would not require replacing the whole frame, or so I would think. Just something I've always thought about, and besides not having an idea of how to do it, wouldn't know where to go to look for the right materials.

 

just pulled my tape on my 01, used a small ammount of heat from a hair dryer. turned out flawless, took 15 min.

 

No it wouldn't, when the top folds down into that space behind the seats the plastic window folds in two to fill it.

If it was a piece of glass the same size it would not fit.

Also the way the top folds down wouldn't 'drop' the glass exactly into place unless you use a few elastic straps and refit the whole roof.

GFagerlin: Top work man, it's given me inspiration to try something similar

 

Answer a question 8 years later???