Hatch delamination - fill with silicone?

[OK-944]

A small length (about 4 inches) of the upper left hatch seal on my 85.5 is beginning to delaminate. Still watertight, but the noise is driving me crazy!

The actual delamination is, thankfully, happening very slowly - in fact I have not noticed any real increase in this over the past two or so years.

Question: as a temporary measure...could I simply fill this gap with some silicone caulking/sealant to quiet things down a bit - and perhaps even slow the delamination process? Has anyone tried this?

[mhariush]

I filled a crack in one of mine with silicone, it stopped water from leaking in and no more wind noise from it. but it's not the prettiest fixes.

[doublestuff]

I don't have first0hand experience here, so take it with a grain of salt, but from what I've read putting silicon there will make it difficult, if not impossible, to get a good seal when you eventually re-seal the hatch. I'd investigate that carefully and see if there is a better solution. Just my $.02.

[DannoXYZ]

No, DO NOT use silicone! While it does seal, it doesn't have strong adhesive properties to stick to the glass & frame. And if you try to re-glue the hatch later, without COMPLETELY removing all of the silcone, you'll have a difficult time with bonding.

If you just want to squirt something in there to fill the gap, use the same type of urethane windshield adhesive that's used to bond glass to metal. Something like this Transtar Autobody - Urethane Windshield Adhesive . Or any of the 3M Windo-Weld type of urethane windshield adhesives will work. No silicone.

[sausagehacker]

I'm guilty of using a silicone based sealant...

I grabbed some at Home Depot that's designed for glass and metal bonding (think: what holds together fish tanks). It should be easily removable with a razor when the time comes to have it professionally redone.

I used painter's tape to make sure the sealant was applied directly to the crack. Mostly a cosmetic thing I guess. So far, no more leaks! Before, I could literally see a couple drops every second splash in during a heavy rain. Fixed for $4

[Racerbvd]

I had our graphics guy make make us rear strips that wrap around the frame, the hatch that was delaminating, I used a windshield adhesive to bond the glass back to the frame.

[Tiger03447]

Really neat! What a patriotic thing to do to the sunroof!

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by Tiger03447

Really neat! What a patriotic thing to do to the sunroof!

Thanks, was easier than repainting & fixed a leaky sunroof.

[M. Murphy]

Is this what yours looked like?

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by M. Murphy

Is this what yours looked like?

Sadly, yes..

[M. Murphy]

Years ago I worked on modular window systems for J F Donnelly an assembly like this would be fabricated in a dedicated fixture with the proper primers, adhesive and a complete clamping system (De Staco). I don't believe there is a way to repair this without replicating the suppliers process. It would be helpful to find out who the original supplier of this hatch assembly was.

[mazdaverx7]

I will agree that its not the proper method and that the silicone can be tough to scrape off, but it will work in a pinch. My plan is to replace my hatch glass anyways, as the glass is foggy around the defroster lines, so filling the separation with silicone or window weld was an ok option for me. I did it on my 85.2 and have had no leaks since:

[amehl]

Originally Posted by M. Murphy

Is this what yours looked like?

I have a question. where does the water get in if it delaminates?