Hi all, renamed this to the proper title for the issue. recently posted in the "body" section under a more broad title, to hopefully get some good replies/suggestions/comments.

I am ready to put hatch panel back on the window which is in and aligned as well as possible. I am aganizing over this as prior floods in trunk make me very concerned with proper sealing of panel.

Know that I've read every thread and post related to this and have read many times the 1985 camaro shop manual which has detailed instructions and numerous tiny pictures on subject, I still remain puzzled on what to do. the last thing I read was "rear hatch alignment 101" by Duffster which was very good/concise, but said "caulk" on "same line as prior" which is not available to me, or many of us I suspect.

It would have been nice to see "exactly" how and where the GM sealing parts/procedure was done, but because my panel was replaced prior to me buying the car, and it was done by an expert glass company, and was absolutely done incorrectly, and rusted out the panel and dumped water all inside the trunk over the years, and the parts needed in the GM manual 1) molded "foam" sealing strip was discontinued and the 2) square 5/16 butyl strip that went right behind it, I also couldn't find, so I bought a 3/8" round roll.

Note that the GM procedure/parts had NO windshield adhesive on the TOP of the panel, Just the 1 & 2 part mentioned above, plus some add'l sealing procedures i the lower sides of the panel.

Although many have stated the panel "moves down over time" it appears to me that the screws holding the panel, 2 on each side would keep the panel from "moving down" over time as it is attached to the glass metal frame, (unless those screws were torn out OR the metal frame around the glass slid down, OR the hinges bent down)

AND, the 8 studs/nuts sandwiching the panel around the glass should hold it from pulling up from the glass.

So to make a short story even longer, here is my critical question and my proposed solution for your scrutiny/expertise/comments as I have never used the butyl strip I have and is still in the box.

1. Can I just run the 3/8 butyl strip (smashed a little to get to 5/16") around the top edge and sides of the panel?? OR maybe 2 strips, 1 behind the other?

And not mess with the windshield adhesive which can be a real mess to deal with, especially when you need to "align" the panel with the qtrs and sides. and if you move it a lttle and smear the adhesive a little it would seem that that may then defeat the sealing purpose of the tarry adhesive

Thank You all Your thoughts/comments on this will be greatly appreciated,
tom (1985 camaro "sport" -sorry for LONG post

 

For the $75 my glass guy charged me to hot urethane that sucker down permanently - totally worth it. Also warranty. But it's not leaking so I doubt I'll need it. It seems like the sealant they used from the factory works fine but it bonds to the paint, which breaks free from the seam sealer under there. My guy ran a couple beads and ran one right at the edge where it meets the glass and then cleaned it with solvent to leave a nice completely sealed edge like a bathtub seam.

GD

 

GD
thanks for your post- a "glass guy" was my 1st choice, even 100 bucks would be OK. However, after thinking about it and knowing that the previous owner's glass guy did NOT seal it properly, I figured not all glassguys were created equal, and still aren't. Ther job is usually replacing windshields which set down in a track.
Thus I figured that to do it myself with a butyl product which I never worked with, but, which appears to be more of a silly putty than a tar like adhesive, and assuming it "should still seal" the panel from water (not sure, thus my post) and offer ease of removal if it had to be lifted up and re-aligned a little or later re-done, Verses, if you have to move the panel to better align you could create a mess with the tar like adhesive moving around and potentially making the seal ineffective by smearing it. Thus, I'm kinda still looking for some experts working with this panel and both products to comment as well. AND exactly where to place either one, top edge and exactly where on the sides of the panel?? Maybe I'm overthinking this?
thank you for your reply
tom

 

Butyl rubber is useful stuff, but in this case since there's a gap that will allow leaves, needles, etc to fall down between the panel and glass, the non-drying nature of butyl will trap this stuff because it's sticky especially when left in the sun.

For that reason alone, I dismissed the idea of doing it myself with butyl. With the tub seam style seal right at the edge using urethane there is now no gap to collect debris and the hot urethane is not sticky.

That was my reasoning. For what it's worth. It's working great - my swimming pool hasn't returned.

GD

 

Swimming pool? Just plumb the exhaust into it and you'd have a jacuzzi!

Goes without saying, but even if the deck lid is sealed to the glass, you can have leaks from bad weatherstripping, misalignment of the hatch or latch, and my personal favorite thirdgen nuisance for the modern era - faulty seam sealer.

The joints where the quarter panels meet the tail panel, in the corners above the tail lights are sealed with a lump of rock hard dried up putty roughly the size of a golf ball. The sealer usually looks ok until you remove it and see the rust and dirt between the sealer and body panels.

FWIW.

 

GD and anyone else
Good point on the debris, so your saying that the front edge of the panel does not sit flush on the glass, maybe leaving an 1/8" gap? and your guy ran another bead on the very front edge ON the panel itself? and set it down on the glass perfectly without moving/smearing much for panel final fitting, thus completely sealing the gap, and smoothed it like a perfect window caulk joint with a rag/finger and solvent, and not covering the panel paint on the top edge? If so, that's a pretty skilled glass guy!!
OH, was the hatch on the car?

1. Using "clear "hot" urethane windshield adhesive" ??
2. I googled "hot urethane" and got zero hits- what is it he did? a hot glue gun? AND, did the heat eliminate the "stickyness" of the product?
I thought urethane adhesive was highly sticky and can create a mess, like weatherstrip adhesive?
3. would possibly using the butyl and then running a narrow bead of "clear" silicone caulk into the gap on the front edge, and finger smear with water also work?
4. what about sealing the sides of the panel? I don't have it on now so I can't study how it sits on the glass metal trim, on top and underneath the window? Please advise on this also.
Thanks for your help, not sure why others don't comment
tom

 

No we took the panel completely off.

It's the same stuff they install glued in windshields with. They heat up the tubes and then use a cordless caulking gun to squirt it out.

It's black.

He cleaned up the squirt out with gasoline and shaped the seam with his finger. The guys is really old school and cleans his hands with the stuff too.

And yes we sealed up the sides too. Same process.

He said he had done half a dozen of these rear hatch panels over the years. Super common failure point.

GD