Can Vehicle Wrap cover the sunroof and make if weathertight?

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deltapine1

deltapine1

10 Year
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
Threads
58
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563
Location
Arkansas
I am seeking advice from those with experience with vehicle wraps. I know many of us have issues with sunroofs leaking. I know the gasket is NLA. I know the best way to deal with a leaking sunroof or gasket is to weld the roof up. For those not able to take on welding a panel in place and priming and painting the roof or vehicle would a quality wrap installation be able to be placed over the sunroof and seal it? The sunroof moves slightly with every door slam and large bump so it may not work but I have no knowledge of how durable wraps are.

My sunroof stays covered by the interior shade all of the time so I could car less if the glass is covered. Hate on my goofy idea if you want to but honestly for those of us who have chewed up sunroof gaskets I thought it might be a cheap option.
 
If you want to cover your sunroof to make it not leak just cover the seams with something like FlexTape....a better option would be just to fix it. They usually allow water to semi permeate them but that's why there are sunroof drains.
 
your sunroof can most likely be fixed with parts that are still available, or maybe no parts at all. But it isn't always super simple. It is possible to clean the seam really well on the outside, use masking tape to make nice neat lines around the permiter and the inside. then lay a clear silicone bead on the seam and trowel it in with a gloved finger. most of the mess will end up on the masking tape. pull the tape and you'll have a nice neat invisible seal that will last a long time. Next unplug the sunroof switch so nobody accidentally opens it.
 
I have flex seal tape on mine until I figure out what I'm gonna do. Mine worked and didn't leak until my son was stretching and decided to push on the ceiling. Turns out he cracked the pan and so thus created a pretty terrible leak. Ideally I'll weld it up.
 
To the OP, to answer your question IMO the wrap would not guarantee a waterproof seal. The other thing to consider is it would most likely look horrible. Wraps are not made to hide imperfections and when looking at the truck you will see the variance in height made by the transition from metal to sunroof gasket/surround. Also, most reputable wrappers would probably not even want to do this as it creates a higher liability for them.

The only true way would to solve your issue would be to do as others have said and either pull and fix or pull and place a panel.

(*Edit: Correction via post by Malleus)
To pull the glass assembly you need only pull the trim. If you want to remove the sunroof all together you will need to remove the headliner so you could weld. OR do a panel bond method requiring no welding.
 
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deltapine1 said:
I am seeking advice from those with experience with vehicle wraps. I know many of us have issues with sunroofs leaking. I know the gasket is NLA. I know the best way to deal with a leaking sunroof or gasket is to weld the roof up. For those not able to take on welding a panel in place and priming and painting the roof or vehicle would a quality wrap installation be able to be placed over the sunroof and seal it? The sunroof moves slightly with every door slam and large bump so it may not work but I have no knowledge of how durable wraps are.

My sunroof stays covered by the interior shade all of the time so I could car less if the glass is covered. Hate on my goofy idea if you want to but honestly for those of us who have chewed up sunroof gaskets I thought it might be a cheap option.
Click to expand...
I disagree with your premise. The "best" way to repair a leaky sunroof is to replace the glass assembly. I doubt you can weld the roof for less money, after al is said and done.

BTW, you do not have to remove the headliner to replace the glass assembly, just the trim pieces. It takes all of ten minutes.
 
Brindleboxer said:
To the OP, to answer your question IMO the wrap would not guarantee a waterproof seal. The other thing to consider is it would most likely look horrible. Wraps are not made to hide imperfections and when looking at the truck you will see the variance in height made by the transition from metal to sunroof gasket/surround. Also, most reputable wrappers would probably not even want to do this as it creates a higher liability for them.

The only true way would to solve your issue would be to do as others have said and either pull and fix or pull and place a panel.

(*Edit: Correction via post by Malleus)
To pull the glass assembly you need only pull the trim. If you want to remove the sunroof all together you will need to remove the headliner so you could weld. OR do a panel bond method requiring no welding.
Click to expand...

Can't see it if you're lifted or probably even on a stock height 80

DIY on a section that small would be easy
 
It would probably seal for a short time and then fail comprehensively. Wraps are thin and scratch easily when pasted to steel, so it would probably not be long before it cracked or tore in the sunroof gap, and completely delaminate not long after.
 
Here's an idea since you're so keen on welding it....take a piece of 3/8 sheet metal and completely cover up the sunroof and surrounding area and weld the sh!t out of it. Make sure you do at least 5 passes of thick beads. There you go. Problem solved. 🤪🤡
 
COS80 said:
It would probably seal for a short time and then fail comprehensively. Wraps are thin and scratch easily when pasted to steel, so it would probably not be long before it cracked or tore in the sunroof gap, and completely delaminate not long after.
Click to expand...
I agree, sun would kill it quick due to being stressed over not flat surfaces and also over metal/rubber/glass for temp differences.
 
vfrer said:
The best way to fix it is to remove the headliner, remove the entire sunroof cassette and clean the pan and the drains. It isn't really hard just takes some time. There is no gasket to fix or replace. It is designed to allow water into the pan and down the drains.
Click to expand...
The gasket around the glass is not replaceable. It doesn't keep water out but here in the tall trees of the South it does prevent leaves, pollen tasles and larger debris from entering the pan and stopping up the drains almost weekly.
 
I replaced my sunroof seal with a bmw sunroof seal. Pretty easy, works and looks close to oem.

I

Thread 'Sunroof leak repair'

I came up with a repair for my leaking sunroof that I thought would be useful for the community. My sunroof seal had seen better days. It leaked during heavy rainfall and had a pretty bad wind noise on the highway. I looked into a replacement seal but it comes bonded the sunroof glass so you have to buy the whole thing. For a bit of back-story, I’m a tech at a BMW dealership so luckily I’ve got lots of experience with sunroof leaks and access to repair parts. I decided to try using a BMW sunroof perimeter seal to fix my leak. I remove the sunroof glass and cut the old seal out with a...
  • Like
 
ITRJ said:
I replaced my sunroof seal with a bmw sunroof seal. Pretty easy, works and looks close to oem.

I

Thread 'Sunroof leak repair'

I came up with a repair for my leaking sunroof that I thought would be useful for the community. My sunroof seal had seen better days. It leaked during heavy rainfall and had a pretty bad wind noise on the highway. I looked into a replacement seal but it comes bonded the sunroof glass so you have to buy the whole thing. For a bit of back-story, I’m a tech at a BMW dealership so luckily I’ve got lots of experience with sunroof leaks and access to repair parts. I decided to try using a BMW sunroof perimeter seal to fix my leak. I remove the sunroof glass and cut the old seal out with a...
  • Like
Click to expand...
any more info on this bmw seal?
 
MikePL said:
The sunroof gasket is meant to let a bit of water pass through. If you have a leak, the drain tubes will be the problem. Use compressed air to clean all of the tubes and the problem will be gone.
Click to expand...
My seal was dry and shrunk so much that it made a wind noise on the highway. If too much water gets past the seal, the drains cant keep up.
 
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