My experience with aftermarket outer window felts
07-15-2016, 02:29 PM
#1
My experience with aftermarket outer window felts Just figured I'd throw up a post to help people save time, money, and a little frustration.
Both my '95 and '98 Trans Ams suffer(ed) from the windows getting scratched as the outer window sweeps felt material wore down. With my '95, I got lucky and found a nice set at the junkyard. Not so lucky with my '98, so I decided to try an aftermarket set.
I purchased the Muscle Car Industries set, described as being the best on the market:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262046088104?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
They came packaged very well and looked great removing them! Onto installing them, I had 3 of the metal clips fall off my original window sweep as I was removing. Keep in mind I've done this a few times before and am familiar with how these are supposed to clip in and be installed, mine were pretty rusty and in poor shape (Car sat outside for a while).
The replacement window sweep would not "clip" into place. I could get it to sit perfectly, but as soon as you closed the door it would partially lift off the door frame. After uninstalling/ reinstalling a couple times I attempted to bend the tabs on the clips ever so slightly because I noticed that the OEMs were bent differently. I barely applied any pressure with my thumb and it snapped, incredibly brittle!! I said f**k it and put the OEM back on for now with the remaining clips, and even with 3-4 clips holding it on it sits perfectly. Back to square one
(And more scratches until I find another set....)
Pics:
Aftermarket vs OEM:
Tab snapped with the slightest bit of pressure, the metal had zero give to it:
OEM is slightly thicker and much more malleable:
Both my '95 and '98 Trans Ams suffer(ed) from the windows getting scratched as the outer window sweeps felt material wore down. With my '95, I got lucky and found a nice set at the junkyard. Not so lucky with my '98, so I decided to try an aftermarket set.
I purchased the Muscle Car Industries set, described as being the best on the market:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262046088104?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
They came packaged very well and looked great removing them! Onto installing them, I had 3 of the metal clips fall off my original window sweep as I was removing. Keep in mind I've done this a few times before and am familiar with how these are supposed to clip in and be installed, mine were pretty rusty and in poor shape (Car sat outside for a while).
The replacement window sweep would not "clip" into place. I could get it to sit perfectly, but as soon as you closed the door it would partially lift off the door frame. After uninstalling/ reinstalling a couple times I attempted to bend the tabs on the clips ever so slightly because I noticed that the OEMs were bent differently. I barely applied any pressure with my thumb and it snapped, incredibly brittle!! I said f**k it and put the OEM back on for now with the remaining clips, and even with 3-4 clips holding it on it sits perfectly. Back to square one
(And more scratches until I find another set....)Pics:
Aftermarket vs OEM:
Tab snapped with the slightest bit of pressure, the metal had zero give to it:
OEM is slightly thicker and much more malleable:
07-19-2016, 12:44 PM
#4
Sure thing, just doing my part. If anyone knows of where I can get proper fitting sweeps, please let me know!!
My car won't be held together by duct tape/ silicone/ epoxy. I want to paint it in the next couple years and gluing trim pieces onto painted surfaces is a no no for me.
My car won't be held together by duct tape/ silicone/ epoxy. I want to paint it in the next couple years and gluing trim pieces onto painted surfaces is a no no for me.
07-19-2016, 03:58 PM
#5
http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...rts/g6554.html
http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...rts/g6553.html
^ They are usually the place for that sort of thing. I understand they partner with suppliers who either made the original parts, who have the original specs, or have purchased the original tooling for the parts from GM.
07-19-2016, 08:48 PM
#7
Classic Industries is advertising theirs with "with original General Motors quality":
http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...rts/g6554.html
http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...rts/g6553.html
^ They are usually the place for that sort of thing. I understand they partner with suppliers who either made the original parts, who have the original specs, or have purchased the original tooling for the parts from GM.
http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...rts/g6554.html
http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...rts/g6553.html
^ They are usually the place for that sort of thing. I understand they partner with suppliers who either made the original parts, who have the original specs, or have purchased the original tooling for the parts from GM.
I'm going to assume that OEM pieces are long gone? I haven't seen them when searching for these.
The seller of these strips offered me a spare set or a refund, excellent customer service!! Its just too bad it didn't work out
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07-19-2016, 11:58 PM
#8
Sure thing, just doing my part. If anyone knows of where I can get proper fitting sweeps, please let me know!!
My car won't be held together by duct tape/ silicone/ epoxy. I want to paint it in the next couple years and gluing trim pieces onto painted surfaces is a no no for me.
My car won't be held together by duct tape/ silicone/ epoxy. I want to paint it in the next couple years and gluing trim pieces onto painted surfaces is a no no for me.
07-20-2016, 11:49 AM
#9
This is the price one must pay for keeping a classic car proper... This company deals in new restoration parts and generally only picks them up once the OEM parts have been exhausted in the market. Once that happens we need to pay a premium for the new stuff or go to the junkyard and pray for the best. (It costs a lot for this company to keep a small amount of highly specialized stock around. That's why GM doesn't carry the parts any more.)
07-20-2016, 11:53 AM
#10
No need to be dramatic, adhesives hold a lot of **** together in our world. I've installed these belt moldings before and they are tough to get on, I never had any break though. I always coat the clips with clear silicone adhesive before setting them in place. Never had a issue after doing it this way. Good Luck
^ We should probably also mention that there are purpose-formulated autobody silicone products for this sort of thing. I'm sure RockinWs6 wasn't talking about getting a tube of bathroom caulk off the shelf of Home Depot.
... but our cars are of a vintage that there are people out there doing that! So, we should be careful to be specific about this.
Rest assured! Anyone caught recommending maintaining their car with actual duct tape or home center caulking products will be banned from this site. (We should also probably extend that same rule to WD-40, but there are a lot of misconceptions with that product and decades of market brain-washing that we have to work through...)
07-20-2016, 12:01 PM
#11
^
Rest assured! Anyone caught recommending maintaining their car with actual duct tape or home center caulking products will be banned from this site. (We should also probably extend that same rule to WD-40, but there are a lot of misconceptions with that product and decades of market brain-washing that we have to work through...)
Rest assured! Anyone caught recommending maintaining their car with actual duct tape or home center caulking products will be banned from this site. (We should also probably extend that same rule to WD-40, but there are a lot of misconceptions with that product and decades of market brain-washing that we have to work through...)
But...but...but.... I'm from South GA. I was taught you can fix anything with duct tape and baling wire!
07-20-2016, 01:25 PM
#12
No need to be dramatic, adhesives hold a lot of **** together in our world. I've installed these belt moldings before and they are tough to get on, I never had any break though. I always coat the clips with clear silicone adhesive before setting them in place. Never had a issue after doing it this way. Good Luck
My paint and body shop couldn't even get the aftermarket felts to stay in place mine did exactly as the OP said but thee clips never broke. The passenger side recently seated nice and tight, but I may have to silicone the driver side. What particular silicone do you use?
07-21-2016, 09:51 AM
#13
My paint and body shop couldn't even get the aftermarket felts to stay in place mine did exactly as the OP said but thee clips never broke. The passenger side recently seated nice and tight, but I may have to silicone the driver side. What particular silicone do you use?
To be fair, the one that broke was because I tried to bend the tab a little because thats what looked like the culprit to me (The tabs/ clips being spaced too far away from each other, look at the above pic with OEM next to aftermarket).
Muscle Car Industries gave me a full refund, nice guys.
Probably going to try either 1AAuto or Hawks next.
07-23-2016, 09:39 PM
#14
FYI, a clip tab was broken on mine from when I had a little paint work done on that door. I installed a fresh clip from a junkyard car on the weatherstrip, and now it will click into place, but it pulls up when the window is rolled down and up. I realize now that the problem is that the fiberglass slot was damaged when they removed the weatherstrip and that's why it won't hold. But with the proper silicone it might.
07-24-2016, 07:42 PM
#15
Repeating the question from above: what kind of silicone is best used for this? My bodyshop said use weatherstrip adhesive and it was a mess and didn't help.
FYI, a clip tab was broken on mine from when I had a little paint work done on that door. I installed a fresh clip from a junkyard car on the weatherstrip, and now it will click into place, but it pulls up when the window is rolled down and up. I realize now that the problem is that the fiberglass slot was damaged when they removed the weatherstrip and that's why it won't hold. But with the proper silicone it might.
FYI, a clip tab was broken on mine from when I had a little paint work done on that door. I installed a fresh clip from a junkyard car on the weatherstrip, and now it will click into place, but it pulls up when the window is rolled down and up. I realize now that the problem is that the fiberglass slot was damaged when they removed the weatherstrip and that's why it won't hold. But with the proper silicone it might.
I would have thought that weatherstrip adhesive would be the actual way to go for this. (They even post some TSB's with the product for similar types of applications.) The instructions say to apply it like contact cement - apply to both parts, let cure a bit, add some more, and then bond. Maybe you weren't using the "Super" Weatherstripping Adhesive? http://3mcollision.com/products/adhe...oreInfoDetails
The silicones are more of a sealant vs. an adhesive: http://3mcollision.com/products/seal...eal-08664.html
There are also urethane adhesives and body sealers, etc. but I'd be worried about the application being too permanent.
07-24-2016, 10:29 PM
#16
Look for any Silicone adhesive, I made the mistake of using it to install a window air conditioner. I COULD NOT REMOVE THE AIR COND. I finally tried cutting away at the silicone, after HOURS of cutting at it the air cond came out. That was a tube of 3M silicone adhesive. I've also used Permatex Black Ultra silicone to attach mouldings etc, once it sets up its dam strong. Like I said above I had a window belt moulding that refused to stay on, I pulled it off and cleaned everything and used the permatex silicone on the clips and ran a bead along the edge. Taped it in place and let it setup overnight and it never moved again.
07-25-2016, 06:48 AM
#18
Permatex is sold at pretty much any auto parts store. I have used it for years. Six months ago, after bringing the wife's 2013 Jeep Compass back to the dealership 3 times for her passenger door side molding coming loose, I finally got tired of it and used Permatex Black Silicone Adhesive Sealant (the Ultra Black is the oil resistant gasket maker). No problem since then. The only thing I can say as a warning is, if it bonds well, good luck getting it off.
Here is the link to Permatex's product description:
https://www.permatex.com/products/ad...esive-sealant/
This is the Ultra Black:
https://www.permatex.com/products/ga...asket-maker-4/
Here is the link to Permatex's product description:
https://www.permatex.com/products/ad...esive-sealant/
This is the Ultra Black:
https://www.permatex.com/products/ga...asket-maker-4/
07-25-2016, 12:40 PM
#19
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Permatex Ultra Black is what I use on cork style valve cover gaskets, it always works great. It even sticks very well to the slick surface of chrome valve covers.
I've used their regular black adhesive for things like loose tail light sockets, etc., in the past. Also a great product with a bond that holds up for the long term.
I've used their regular black adhesive for things like loose tail light sockets, etc., in the past. Also a great product with a bond that holds up for the long term.
07-25-2016, 04:34 PM
#20
Which company were yours from?
To be fair, the one that broke was because I tried to bend the tab a little because thats what looked like the culprit to me (The tabs/ clips being spaced too far away from each other, look at the above pic with OEM next to aftermarket).
Muscle Car Industries gave me a full refund, nice guys.
Probably going to try either 1AAuto or Hawks next.
To be fair, the one that broke was because I tried to bend the tab a little because thats what looked like the culprit to me (The tabs/ clips being spaced too far away from each other, look at the above pic with OEM next to aftermarket).
Muscle Car Industries gave me a full refund, nice guys.
Probably going to try either 1AAuto or Hawks next.