@west: exactly what type of rubber did you use?

Now this is a test of my memory as this was about ten years ago

I think I used this one

http://www.europaspares.com/window-glazing-rubber-seal.html

The small option and I think I used it the wrong way. i.e 5mm to the glass fibre and 3mm to the perspex.

As I say I reglassed the opening to suit this rubber, and I also did the same for the front and I think that is the small rubber too. I am not near my car at the moment to be able to check.

Neil

Thanks Neil!
Looks like the window has to be a tight fit.

Yes the opening does need to be quite tight.

When I did it I put the window into the opening with some small pieces of rubber then glassed and trimmed until I could only fit a pencil through the gap so about 5-6mm, I used this as a gauge to see where to make the opening smaller/bigger as required.

Neil

Ohh Errrh, Matron.......



Come on,someone had to......

Yesterday I Got the rear window and rubber out, cut the rubber where it was glued together and cleaned the rubber and rim.
There was Some kind of glue between rubber and polyester, i got it all out and off.
The window is only 2mm thin, and doesn't fit very well.
It seems too flexible and thin to me.
I desided to reuse the parts for now, Got the rubber back in and pushed it as far as I could over the rim.
As result the rubber is too short now, It's Got a gap of about 10mm now between the ends.
With Some bending and help of my girlfriend I Got the window back in.
It fits a bit better now the rubber is longer.
When getting the string back in, partly with a selfmade tool and lots of washingup- fluid, the string sometimes got stretched, so I pushed it back a little.
As a result the window now fits better and wont pop out of the right corner, but also the string is now about50 mm too short...
Sometime soon I Will try to make me I thicker window, maybe 4mm, and get me a new rubber.
Dont now whitch rubber yet, it has to be better bendable than the one I Got now, on the other hand it has to cover at least 10mm of partly less beautifull polyester....

These folks have quite a range to choose from

http://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/

As a side note washing up liquid is not a good choice for lubricating rubber seals. It's not just metal that it will attack - the stuff in it will make the rubber deteriorate too.

Pure lanolin is by far a better option - it's often sold as an industrial hand moisturiser in industries where workers hands are exposed to nasty stuff. You can also get it as cheap hand lotion in shops - just look at the ingredients and go for one that's lanolin based with as little in the way of perfumes and other stuff as possible.

You could also get friendly with an old school tyre fitter and see if they will fill a small jam jar with tyre soap for you.

Iain

Thanks for that tip Iain, I'm getting closer to putting screens in, maybe next year
John

Thanks for the tip about washingupliquid, didn't know it is aggresive for metal and rubbers.
I Will replace these rubbers soon, so I guess it's okay for now, but next time I will find me lanolin based lubricant.
Also Thanks for the website, gonna see if they have some rubbers for me.

If you start investigating then you'll find that the contents of most soaps are fairly nasty. It's logical when you think about it as you want them to break down whatever they are supposed to be removing from the thing you are trying to wash. It's just the thought that you put them on your skin that makes you think they must be OK but by design they are only supposed to be in contact with your skin for seconds or maybe minutes at a time. The ones that are designed to be used in machines and not come into contact with people are even worse - dishwashers will make glasses go cloudy and take the glaze off ceramics because of the stuff in the soaps and detergents that you put in them is etching the surfaces.

I remember an old Chemistry teacher giving us a tip if we had spilled a strong alkali on our hands that you could tell when you had washed it all off because it would feel "soapy" under the running water if there was still some alkali there. Guess why soap feels "soapy"

Iain

I found my company still had some Lanolin in store from a project of many year ago so my supply is sorted. We do make soap and if it is alkaline the saponification process was not completed properly, it should be neutral
Cheers
John

If you're stuck just rub a sheep on it.

Or see your local midwife as it's used in n1pple cream

Hi Ken I do worry about you chaps in the far corners of the British Isle, you have a thing about rubbing sheep, I thought it was only the welsh had this problem it must be something to do with those long dark winter nights making you think about nipple cream as well
John

http://www.screwfix.com/p/ideal-yellow-77-wire-cable-pulling-lubricant-950ml/44462

I was talking with some electricians at work today and they were talking about a lubricant they use to help in pulling cables through conduits. Its called Yellow 77. I've linked it above at screwfix but plenty of outlets sell it.

It is specially formulated to do no harm to any electrical insulating products and is apparently safe for rubber too. The guys were saying it was developed following problems being caused by dodgy sparks using things like washing up liquid to help pull the cables - got the cables through okay but did all sorts of damage to the insulators!

Sounds ideal for window rubbers.

Thanks @sanzomat, I will see if they sell this stuff in our flat land too.