Honda 600 owners and members of this group;
Of late the price of the windshield seal I have produced for over a decade
has come into focus. Others have talked about �Extruded rubber products�
looking for a better price. Looking for a cost efficient product that will
produce a quality restoration. I went to the shop that produces the seal
that I offer. Scrutinized the cost and the process but keeping an eye on a
quality product.
All windshield seals start with an extruded length of rubber, but what a
lot of people don�t understand is that there are other processes that take
place before the final product is sent out. Think of it as a hole drilled
into the head of your engine for a spark plug. The size of the drill bit
used is correct but without making the threads the correct number at the
right pitch, with the proper machining at the top edge to accept the spark
plug gasket, nothing works.
The same goes for the extruded rubber, it looks like it will work, but
there are curing steps and forming at the 90 degree corners which make the
rubber stay in place and give it a quality appearance. Edges of the seal
that rest against the glass must be correct or the rubber will bulge and the
outer edge will lift instead of pushing down and creating a leak proof seal.
Stretching the rubber around the corners of the glass causes less rubber at
that point to either rest on the glass or push into the window frame.
�Forming� the corners on the seals allows the rubber-seal to seal the glass
and frame. Because the rubber used in the production of windshield seals is
dense, once stretched it will bind and not retract. Using soap or silicon
helps but the rubber is already made narrower by stretching it and pushing
the glass against the straight areas of the window frame keeps this
stretched portion of the seal from moving, creating gaps or buckles keeping
it from sealing against the cars window frame. Stretching the rubber also
stresses it in that area and can cause early drying and line cracks within
months of installing it.
I also have extruded rubber parts, they are for the roof and rear hatch of
the Coupe and they sell for $80.00 a length. They are cured but not shaped
and the cost to produce them is far less. There is also tax and shipping
that all adds to the bottom line.
So, if you are looking for a $6.00 a foot seal to hold your windshield in,
then go for the LP30-G seal sold by Metro Molded parts or Steel Rubber, it
is a quality seal, just not right for your Honda 600. Years ago when I
asked how it will go around the corners they (these two very large and
experienced companies) said it will have to be cut and glued in wedges
around each corner to create a good seal while giving a flat appearance.
When I spoke to other manufacturers it was much the same or part of the
curing process was left out to give the rubber more wiggle in the window
frame. These are the seals you see that leave a tacking feel to them after
they sit in the sun for a while.
By now you are saying to yourself, how do you know this? Well, I tried the
cheaper seals, I put in the LP30-G seal and watched one of the corners pull
away from the inside edge of the frame. Even the glass guy I had do the
installation said he wouldn't use it and couldn't make it stay in place
without cutting it in sections and gluing it in.
So I had a better seal produced that didn't need a lock strip. It has a
thicker wider inside lip with a broader inner cut to pull the outer lip
against the glass without the need of a lock strip, all became points of
reference to make this a quality seal. The reasoning behind not wanting a
lock strip is because chrome lock strips available could not be put in place
to do the job of spreading the seal and pushing the edges against the window
frame and the glass without making the lock strip gap a tighter fit. The
windshield seal I have produced will hold the glass in place without a lock
strip. You ask why, what is so hard about pushing the rubber down. As
stated earlier, this is dense rubber, and most lock strips have a "V" lower
edge. Removing the center "V" in the seal makes a better seal and pushes the
edges down without the help of a lock strip. Why even use a lock strip,
well it comes to esthetics; the Mylar lock strip available will turn yellow
over time and needs to be replaced, they all do. Once again, making the
seal conform to the lock strip causes stretching and over time (a few
months) can cause the seal to harden around the lock strip making it almost
impossible to change out.
I change the lock strips out on my Honda 600�s almost every 18 to 20 months.
So, as the saying goes, cheap is cheaper.
Bill