Ideas to revive targa bar/window seal

[Quickstep192]

The seal that goes around the front side of the targa bar on my car I showing it’s age.

Frankly, replacing it looks scary and I’ve read that it’s expensive.

It’s not torn or anything like that and I don’t really care that it leaks, I just want to renew the faded areas. Are there any products to make it look better?

[Solamar]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

The seal that goes around the front side of the targa bar on my car I showing it’s age.

Frankly, replacing it looks scary and I’ve read that it’s expensive.

It’s not torn or anything like that and I don’t really care that it leaks, I just want to renew the faded areas. Are there any products to make it look better?

Are you talking about the fabric covering the lower parts of the targa bar seal? The areas that the window slides past?

If so, I recently replaced that fabric. Not particularly difficult to do - I removed the seal from the Targa bar, scraped off all of the deteriorated cloth and glued on new cloth with contact cement.

Autos International is near me so I stopped in and asked what fabric they recommend. They said it was nothing special, had a name for the fabric (which I forgot) and cut a few strips off the bolt for me. I'll post a picture later this afternoon.

edit - I've heard of people re-dying the fabric. Mine was too far gone for that...

[Quickstep192]

Originally Posted by Solamar

Are you talking about the fabric covering the lower parts of the targa bar seal? The areas that the window slides past?

If so, I recently replaced that fabric. Not particularly difficult to do - I removed the seal from the Targa bar, scraped off all of the deteriorated cloth and glued on new cloth with contact cement.

Autos International is near me so I stopped in and asked what fabric they recommend. They said it was nothing special, had a name for the fabric (which I forgot) and cut a few strips off the bolt for me. I'll post a picture later this afternoon.

edit - I've heard of people re-dying the fabric. Mine was too far gone for that...

Yes, I'm talking about the cloth part that the window slides past. Replacing the fabric didn't occur to me, so I'd appreciate any information you have.

[Hi_Fi_Guy]

A bit of black shoe polish does wonders for this fabric. Rub on, buff off. Brings back the black. No longer and eyesore. I am sure there are better or professional products for this but it will do in a pinch.

[Solamar]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

Yes, I'm talking about the cloth part that the window slides past. Replacing the fabric didn't occur to me, so I'd appreciate any information you have.

Heres a picture of mine after replacing the fabric. The rubber under mine was cut up in places which makes it look a bit lumpy...

The fabric is called Bowdrill

[twistoffat]

I used black clothes dye on mine.

[Darkly-Noon]

I used Forever Black on the cloth part of my targa bar seal to darken it. Worked well, though you may need to do it once or twice a year to keep it that way. I did it a coupe times to tide me over until I replaced the seal when I got the targa bar cover re-painted

[Quickstep192]

Originally Posted by Darkly-Noon

I used Forever Black on the cloth part of my targa bar seal to darken it. Worked well, though you may need to do it once or twice a year to keep it that way. I did it a coupe times to tide me over until I replaced the seal when I got the targa bar cover re-painted

Was it a big job to replace the seal?

[Schloer2]

Originally Posted by Solamar

If so, I recently replaced that fabric. Not particularly difficult to do - I removed the seal from the Targa bar, scraped off all of the deteriorated cloth and glued on new cloth with contact cement.

Looks great! How difficult was it to remove and reinstall the old seal without damaging it?


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[Solamar]

Originally Posted by Schloer2

Looks great! How difficult was it to remove and reinstall the old seal without damaging it?


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When I bought my car the rear Targa seal was missing. I bought a used seal from a fellow Pelican, redid the fabric and installed.

Really nothing to the install, I bought new plastic rivets, some 3M weatherstrip adhesive and stuck it in.

[Schloer2]

Originally Posted by Solamar

When I bought my car the rear Targa seal was missing. I bought a used seal from a fellow Pelican, redid the fabric and installed.



Really nothing to the install, I bought new plastic rivets, some 3M weatherstrip adhesive and stuck it in.

Solamar - thank you
Quickstep - sorry for the thread hijack


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[Darkly-Noon]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

Was it a big job to replace the seal?

A bit tedious, but not difficult. My old seal leaked in the rain, so I decided to get a new one. It was also a good opportunity to get the targa bar cover repainted, as some of the screws holding it on are under the seal. I also got the targa scripts re-anodized black.

The old seal tore off in pieces, so I had to scrape it smooth as best I could. The new seal was easy enough to glue on with 3M Weatherstrip adhesive. Start in the middle and work outwards. I also replaced the door seals at the same time. You may need to adjust your door window alignment once the new seal is on so that the window contacts the seal all along its length. I also had to shift my targa top side seals out a little so that everything lined up properly.