Looking for this rubber strip/seal

[Vinnie]

Hey folks,

The picture below shows a cross section of how I want to fit my front and rear window on a raised ledge. Modern cars have a rubber strip/seal like in this picture. I'm guessing it's glued to the glass before the glass is fitted and glued in. If there are any people with actual hands on experience with fitting glass in modern cars, please do chime in, especially if I'm going in the wrong direction with this!

There are lots of rubber strip providers and shops etc but I cannot find this one anywhere.

If you have an idea of where to get a strip like this or another strip like it, please let me know.

Cheers,
Vincent.

 

[giantpune]

In modern cars, since like 50 years ago, that black strip comes from a tube. It is black urethane. It squeezes out of the tube via a caulking gun. The glass is set in place. The urethane cures in about a day (you can drive around, but be somewhat careful slamming your car doors with the windows up). After its cured, the urethane turns into a flexible rubber.

That may be what you're thinking you need. When a windshield is removed, typically the urethane is cut out in strips. But it definitely didn't go in that way.

If you want to make the windshield from an old car fit like it does in a new car, that requires custom glass, or custom sheet metal work to change the size of the windshield opening. The term folks use when doing the conversion is flush-fit glass.

 

[Vinnie]

The procedure you describe is somewhat puzzling to me. So the urethane comes out as a thick fluid and cures in the shape of the rubber strip in my picture? I imagine the strip has to be somewhat pressed against the metal side for it to seal properly. How is that effect achieved?

 

[giantpune]

Draw the same picture again, but leave out the rubber strip. Its just glass, adhesive, car frame. There is a little channel left like in your picture. The channel is considered the outside of the vehicle. Everything is shaped so that gravity does its thing and moisture runs out of that channel.

Many cars do include some form of trim that helps cover up that channel. Like our 71-73 mustangs. We have that chrome trim. It is there mostly for appearance. Sometimes cars will have the rubber weatherstripping that presses/clips down into the gap. That does a better job sealing out pinestraw and debris. The weather strip is not completely weatherproof. And that doesnt matter. Its job is still just for appearance and to keep out debris. Even without the trim or weather strip, just the windshield with the urethane is weatherproof. The glue bond itself is stronger than the glass.

The trim and weatherstrip are used more as a bandaid to save costs. In manufacturing, it takes a lot more effort and money to repeatedly create the glass and the car body such that they always fit together nicely with a small gap. It is easier and cheaper for the manufacturer to keep looser tolerances, which result in an ugly gap, and then slap a piece of trim or weather strip over the gap. When you see classic cars that have been converted to flush-fit glass, there is usually a lot of custom work that goes into making sure the glass and the sheet metal fit very well. The person doesn't go and hide that with a piece of weather strip.

 

[Sheriff41]

Hey folks,

The picture below shows a cross section of how I want to fit my front and rear window on a raised ledge. Modern cars have a rubber strip/seal like in this picture. I'm guessing it's glued to the glass before the glass is fitted and glued in. If there are any people with actual hands on experience with fitting glass in modern cars, please do chime in, especially if I'm going in the wrong direction with this!

There are lots of rubber strip providers and shops etc but I cannot find this one anywhere.

If you have an idea of where to get a strip like this or another strip like it, please let me know.

Cheers,
Vincent.

View attachment 96972

I second what @giantpune is describing but if you're still looking for the rubber seal, have you checked with https://www.steelerubber.com/?