protecting sunroof seals during polishing?

ZL1Mark

ZL1Mark

Allergic to One Product
When I first got my car, the seals around the perimeter of the sunroof were in bad shape. They stick up slightly above the paint; they looked abraided & in some cases the outer, slightly 'furry' surface was worn almost completely through.



The service manager who wrote up a work repair to replace the seals said they'd been damaged by someone doing polishing.



Should I do anything to prevent a reoccurrence w. my PC & SMR? Not sure if this is a likely problem w. an orbital polisher as opposed to a rotary. The only thing I could think of is maybe masking tape.
 
Try opening the sunroof. If your's is the kind where it drops down into the roof panel, then this will get it out of the way. If your's is the kind where it rides back on the top of the roof then obviously that won't work. In that case you could probably mask it off. I don't know if polishing will rough them up, but it does get white stuff all over the seal. So if nothing else, it's worth moving/covering the seals from an appearance perspective.
 
3M Painters Tape works pretty well. It's blue and can be found in rolls at places like Home Depot in the paint section.:up
 
I agree with SRL's suggestion. The blue masking tape is the way to go in any case if you're masking off, it comes off the surface(s) a lot easier than the original tape and leaves no marks or residue behind.
 
On a related note, will the peanut butter trick work on this trim as well? I've noticed that my sunroof seals are getting that white-ish/grey cast to them, and I assume it's from my careless pre-autopian days of applying wax. It feels like different trim from the rest of the car, so I don't really know how to restore it to black. Is there any product that would work on this? (hopefully something I can find at autozone!)



In the meantime, I've been really careful about opening the sunroof (into the roof) before I wax!
 
Peanut butter should work. If not then try using some of whatever you use on your trim normally and a toothbrush. That has always worked really well for me. Be careful not to get it on your paint, of course. It won't hurt it, but it will smear like crazy till you get it off. :)



I have to agree with the tape advice too. I taped off all my trim when I did my car with the PC. For stuff like Platinum or something I don't bother taping off the trim because I know it will wipe right off. You gotta be careful with those filler products though.
 
I just wipe it down with a little 303 and it comes out looking great if I slip up and get a bit of polish on the rubber.



Jeff
 
What if the seals are furry, not like the rubber ones? How do you get the white out of them? I can't imagine PB or Trim stuff is good for it.
 
Seals wouldn't be very effective if they were furry. The only furry seals I've ever seen were endangered and in a zoo. ;) Are you talking about the kind of seals that feel kinda like velvet? I've seen that but I can't recall ever seeing it on the outside of the car. If you have seals like that then you definatly need to tape them so they won't be ruined.
 
Did you try opening the sunroof to get it out of the way? :rolleyes:



I wouldn't think you'd want to put tape on the fuzzy seals (my car has them, but only on the inside of the car against the glass). Even a mild tape might start to pull off a few fuzzes here and there. Over time the fuzz will probably get weaker and pull off easier. Maybe you could try taking a strip of saran-wrap or similar product and close it into the roof so that it sticks up over the fuzzy weatherstrip. This way it would just be light pressure holding it over the fuzz. ;)



I've had great success with my sunroof seals (which are rubber) by using the factory recommendation. The Service Manual for my car recommends using silicone lube on the weatherstripping every six months. This got the white off and now I open the roof so I don't contact it with the buffer anymore. Plus, it leaves long-lasting protection and keeps the seals sliding smoothly.
 
Well, I *am* blonde but not that blonde! :rolleyes:



The sunroof seal is in two parts. One runs around the front & sides of the hole in the roof, the other part is just the back edge of the sunroof panel itself. Opening the sunroof only allows me to polish the roof up to the back of the opening. Doesn't address the other three sides of the opening, nor does it address the back edge of the sunroof panel.



I'll just experiment & figure something out.
 
Mine are suppsed to be furry on the outside for the sunroof. (1990 BMW 525i). They have been run over with the polisher by the PO. I sthere any way to extract the waxy buildup or get them somewhat black again?
 
Mine had been so torn up by the PO that I replaced them right after I bought the car (~3 years ago). Hoping to avoid repeating history now!
 
Buy the blue level 2 hold 3M masking tape from Home Depot, in expensive, you can protect all your seals and it comes off without any crap left behind. I use it all the time now. :up
 
Weird... Maybe you could post a picture. I don't think I've ever seen a sunroof where the seal wasn't attached to the glass. It never entered my mind that the seal would be attached to the roof. I guess you would have to tape that.
 
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