resealing hardtop rain gutter
- Thread starter emac
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Anyone use a different self-leveling sealer that doesn't require a special $60 tool just for this one product?
(or should I not bother with anything other than the SEM product?)
I have used Dicor. Lots of people on here have. Good results, low price and no special tools.
Ah, I thought you had used the 3M Fast n Seal just to bond the metal to the roof, not as a self-leveling sealant.
- Thread starter
- #26
Tucker and Roma's 75 FJ40 Restore
Good stuff on this thread that may be helpful. I really dont recall exactly what I used b/n the gutter and the fiberglass. I may have used a very small bead of the fast and firm. I made darn sure all the rust was gone and it was well painted before it went together. Like someone said, you dont need sealant in the rivet holes. Once the gutter was installed, I carefully laid out the fast and firm over the rivets (but not covering them completely) making sure to leave the drains open. Get it up on a level table that is comfortable to work on. Don't make it the last thing you try and get done for the night!
I saw some pictures where folks sealed the gutter all the way to the top. I just didn't think that was proper for a factory finish. Be careful if you use any kind of silicone based sealant. Paint shops hate silicone. I wouldn't go there.
If you think about it, you really dont need any sealant b/n gutter and fiberglass. Once it is sealed from the top water cant get in there.
Good stuff on this thread that may be helpful. I really dont recall exactly what I used b/n the gutter and the fiberglass. I may have used a very small bead of the fast and firm. I made darn sure all the rust was gone and it was well painted before it went together. Like someone said, you dont need sealant in the rivet holes. Once the gutter was installed, I carefully laid out the fast and firm over the rivets (but not covering them completely) making sure to leave the drains open. Get it up on a level table that is comfortable to work on. Don't make it the last thing you try and get done for the night!
I saw some pictures where folks sealed the gutter all the way to the top. I just didn't think that was proper for a factory finish. Be careful if you use any kind of silicone based sealant. Paint shops hate silicone. I wouldn't go there.
If you think about it, you really dont need any sealant b/n gutter and fiberglass. Once it is sealed from the top water cant get in there.
I used Dicor seal leveling seam sealer, only issue is that it never really gets hard, stays pliable which may actually be a good thing? Wondering what folks thought of the 3M fast and firm product????
@emac what product did you use to paint the fiberglass and was it sprayed on?? Looks fantastic
I'll second...or third...that you don't want to put sealant between gutter and glass and in the rivet holes. This would make a huge mess. Especially with a welded gutter that's not going to be as precise as the original. The rivets are installed painstakingly 2 to three at a time with clamps on either side squeezing the glass and gutter together. The holes aren't drilled until the pieces are clamped so if you have sealant between the two it would get all in the drill bit as well. I powder coated the last two gutters prior to installing them to the glass. The last two also had white linex applied to the interior as a headliner of sorts after the gutter and visor was installed. This was the owners preference. It did seal up the visor nicely so nothing gets through there.
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How many tubes did you use?
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- #31
Pretty sure it was Nason. It was sprayed on by body shop. My top was in too bad of shape for me to try and get it right. I put it together and let them prep and spray it.
@FWaltersnewbie I only used one tube, less actually but I did not have to do the entire circumference. I removed old dryed out stuff, cleaned it up and applied fresh. I had never had the top on, so some areas that seemed dry I fixed before putting on hard top. You only want a thickness of no more than 1/16 to 1/8 so as to not impede the function of the gutter. Hope this helps
@emac my top is in pretty good shape aside from slight bends in frame that I fixed. Can you tell me roughly what it cost to get it looking that good? Looks excellent-like new
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- #34
It was part of the other body work. It took him 2-3 days to get it done. When he was finished he told me he didnt want to see another anytime soon.
Has anyone re-welded the entire CCOT gutter? I didn't want to reuse all the same holes in the roof, thinking that this would weaken the overall structure, since some of them were pretty close to the edge (looks like my roof had been repaired at least twice by two other POs). Was planning to use the roof as a template for re-welding (tacking first), then removing and fully welding and finishing before then re-assembling with roof. Opinions?
Subscribed! I am just now starting this process and this is just the information I was needing. Any alternatives to the CCOT gutter? Mine is rusted through in the rear and rusty all the way around so a replacement is probably needed.
I welded the ccot gutter . Was trial and error. I wish now that I had laid it up on the top with old gutter attached and tacked together to get the proper alignment. It all turned out ok as the top is back on using all the bolts.
Howdy--we should keep in touch during this. Mine was rusted through all around, the fiberglass roof was cracked and looked repaired at least twice with different materials, including Bondo/POR-15 putty.
I'm going to try the modified vice grips, but not sure if they're going to fit to the needed depth. Have a pair of giant pliers that I might try first.
I didn't want to do the CCOT, but couldn't find the whole gutter anywhere else that was willing to ship. Did look in my area for parts (whole roof), but could not find at the time.
1/16"-1/8" is not enough to fill in the voids between the metal and fiberglass along the inside vertical edge. The rain gutter doesn't need to be able to hold a lot of water volume to function properly. It's not a swimming pool up there. That said, it shouldn't be full of seam sealer, either. I find that two packs of the SEM 2K self leveling seam sealer is the perfect amount.
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A few years ago I took the roof off of my 1970 FJ40 to replace the gasket between the gutter and body. I found the gutter to be in very good condition. I did not separate the glass from gutter. Mistake. The leak I was chasing was still there, between the glass and channel. Now facing a restoration on my '79. A year ago I thought about swapping roofs knowing how good of condition the '70 was in. I removed the carpet that had been installed in the '79 and it is just a mess up there. I knew when I bought it that some funny business existed as no rivets are visible and the body putty covering them goes over the edge to underneath. So I think I need to order the rain gutter along with the headliner. I will probably order oversize rivets from McMaster so I get a clean hole in the glass. My point is that unless you live in the desert it is a good idea to seal between the glass and gutter using a slow cure sealant to allow rivet installation. Also, without proper equipment, it is better to fit the glass to the channel and drilled and taken apart, deburr all holes, then apply the sealant and assemble. Head of rivet is on the glass side.