davmar

I recently had my SC300 repainted. The rear window was not removed because the body design has a deep groove between the glass frame and the body which made masking relatively easy. However, inevitably there was a little paint left in a few spots on the rubber gasket down in the groove. Most places it would be easy to just scrape the paint off the rubber with a fingernail. This is not possible down in the bottom of the groove and I didn't want to risk damaging the paint by sticking a tool down in the groove to scrape off the paint. I came up with another solution. Make a gasket that fills in the groove completely. I purchased a length (10 feet is more than enough) of 5/16" OD X 1/8" ID black Neoprene tubing. Using my thumb and a plastic tool the tubing was stuffed into the groove. The tubing runs from the gasket at the top of the trunk lid on one side to the same point on the other side. Not only did this hide the unsightly overspray at the bottom of the groove but, in my opinion, it actually looks better than the stock arrangement. The tubing forms a gasket flush with the window frame and body surface. Note: When working on and around the body remove belt buckles or any other items on your clothing that could scratch the paint when you lean into the car.
Photos below show installation in progress and the finished result.

Zinik

iTrader: (1)

man that looks pretty legit right there

where did you get that tubing at

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

Looks real clean, curious as to where you got it as well. My old rubber has seen much better days.

SC400slide

iTrader: (11)

That look's much better. Just a quick q, where are you at in NM? It's rare to see somebody from NM here on CL...that are active users, that is.

davmar

The 5/16" OD x 1/8" ID Black Neoprene is available from US Plastics Corp. A 50 foot roll cost $15 plus shipping. Note: This is not replacing any existing rubber, it just fills the groove between the rear window frame gasket and the painted body surface for a flush look.

davmar

I'm located in Farmington, NM, the commercial center of the Four Corners area. SC's aren't particularly well suited to NM since many public roads are unpaved. I've only seen a few SC's in the ten years since I moved here from the SF Bay Area, where they are a dime a dozen. Nonetheless, just north in CO (Durango is 50 miles north) are miles of two lane blacktops in the Rockies, e.g. the Million Dollar Highway (Hwy 550) from Durango through Silverton, Ouray and northward that the car and driver love to carve.

SC400slide

iTrader: (11)

^^OK, I live in Rio Rancho. Farmington is about 4 hours from here. I understand Farmington has a lot of dirt roads, but Rio Rancho doesn't require so much as there aren't many dirt roads that are a daily route left. It has been a very fast growing city. Will be going to Farmington sometime in July for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. Very pretty place.