Bottom of windshield rust

stellamon

Active member
Well finally finished around the new windscreen (£140 fitted), got rid of the rubber seal. I'm pretty happy with it:




 
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israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
Now I need to figure out how to get rid of the rust the is bubbling up on the A-pillar under the fiberglass fairing on my Serenity. Perhaps I'll take it to LTV and see what they come up with.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
I believe I am going to seal the perimeter of my windshields rubber trim with a little bit of clear sealant. Except for the drain holes along the bottom of course.
 

tracktoys

Loves his Sprinter
Yes, there must be something. I may even run a bead of clear from the rain gutter toward door rather than the screen. That said it will be well coated under the new screen and rubber.

I may just seal the top so it runs over the screen.

Just got panel off now.
 

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D

Deleted member 50714

Guest
I wouldn't recommend sealing, corrosive debris may still migrate into area.
 

tracktoys

Loves his Sprinter
Is this a problem on other vehicles? Or just German vans. VW buses had the same issue.
A lot of if comes down to windscreen replacement. They generally damage some area of paint, and don't do anything with it. Just slap a new screen in... It just lurks underneath, waiting to rot...
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
I really like what Stellamon did, filling the trench with white caulking (putty? polyurethane adhesive??) but it looks like a nightmare for the next glass replacement?

Is there a peel-out product that could be caulked into the gap, maintain a seal, but be pulled out easily for maintenance? Something that behaves like a 3M Command Strip(tm)? (memories of using beeswax to fill checking on varnished wooden spars...)

Background: Permanence isn’t an option, since a windshield in Alberta seems to accumulate a chip every month or two, goes maybe two years before a crack opens (from a failed chip repair), and will be ready for replacement in three to five. It’s normal for marble-sized stones to be tracked onto highways from rural roads, or spread with winter sanding, and be kicked up in your path. My current windshield made it less than a week before its first bullseye... has been repaired a half times, developed an unrepairable crack last spring, and has finally split in half this winter. Three years cradle to grave. I’ve got a bit of rust showing so I’m evaluating my options.
 

BrennWagon

He’s just this guy, you know?
The closest to a peel out caulking product that I’ve found is Phenoseal vinyl caulk. We use it for storm window repairs at the hardware store and it holds up well in that application and comes up easily when the glass gets broken. I don’t know how well it would hold up on a windshield, but I did use it to seal my third brake light after cutting a slot for a backup camera and it’s served me well so far.
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
Thanks. Adheres to glass and paint... comes in white... I think I’ll give this a whirl.
(not spec’d for marine or automotive use, which is to be expected for a vinyl based product which can be attacked by solvents)

-dave
 

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stellamon

Active member
The only drawback there could be the joint size involved:

Phenoseal: Joint size should not exceed 1/4” wide x 1/4” deep. If joint depth exceeds 1/4", use backer rod material.
 

tracktoys

Loves his Sprinter
I honestly think if prepped correctly, there wouldn't be an issue. Across all the resto work in have done, we've only ever had problems when a new screen has been fitted, it's the blade, cuts into the paint, and they aren't ever going to touch that in.

Hence this time, I took my own out. Am painting it properly. And will call out the glass people to install only.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
Factory white paint is poor. Add in razor damage from the windshield replacement, and it gets bad quick. In addition the drains at the bottom plug up letting water sit in the bottom.
 

220629

Well-known member
The only drawback there could be the joint size involved:

Phenoseal: Joint size should not exceed 1/4” wide x 1/4” deep. If joint depth exceeds 1/4", use backer rod material.
The plastic rope used for setting window screens might work as a filler or backer rod. It comes in various sizes.

Factory white paint is poor. Add in razor damage from the windshield replacement, and it gets bad quick. In addition the drains at the bottom plug up letting water sit in the bottom.
The string trimmer pieces to enhance drainage and WD40 spritzing seems to be working on the bottom of the 2006 windshield.

vic
 

tracktoys

Loves his Sprinter
Scuttle now fitted, and all primed. Have also recoated the front end as can be seen, also doing arches (fenders) on the inside before I refit them for paint. All the other bits are away being powder coated.

The black coating is brilliant, been using it for years underneath resto projects - for those who want to know it's from a company called Buzzweld over here in the UK (no affiliation, just damn good products!)
 

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tracktoys

Loves his Sprinter
After running through several shades of paint, finally got it painted and lacquered yesterday. Decided to go for a lacquer over base, I get a lot of fade there, as the van isn't used often so cleaning opportunities are limited, and it has to sit outside and it's a bit more resilient to UK weather.

But turns out my van isn't 147 Arctic White at all.

The closest match is a Vauxhall Casablanca White, without the yellow. (Casa is next to the circled one) it's the closest we can get without spending hours and hours testing shades.

It really is difficult to paint that section as an amateur, when you don't have much space!

Windscreen up next, while I wait for my turbo manifold to come back, rebuilt turbo on, then I can refit the wings...
 

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