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Sealing of top to top of windshield

Tom BlankinshipTom Blankinship2010 Beck-Dearborn, MI

As many of you know from Facebook, I'm on a quest to go blue tapeless on my Beck in the rain.  The two leak points on the Beck are near the latching mechanisms.  Last year, I added a piece of EPDM rubber weather stripping 3/4" wide by 1/4" thick forward of the seal the seals to the top of the windshield frame creating a seal along the face of the windshield frame.  I never got caught in the rain to test this seal.

 

This past winter, I took it to Carey and he didn't like the way the top was closing because the EPDM wasn't compressing enough.  He removed it and put in a rubber bulb seal, which I had the opportunity to test a couple of weeks ago in a hard rain and the leak performance was back to stock.

 

Yesterday, I went to Home Depot and got the same dimension black closed cell foam weather stripping from Home Depot and installed it.  It compresses much better than the EPDM.  No idea if it will seal, but I will give up after this and have a roll of tape on board, just in case.  I could take it out and test it, but I can't bring myself to do it unless it's really necessary.  It will happen soon enough :-)

Tom Blankinship

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Tom BlankinshipTom Blankinship2010 Beck-Dearborn, MI
I'm not sure that would be much of the test.  You need the top lifting effect of driving at highway speed coupled with the force of the wind driving the water up the windshield.
 
I'm pretty confident of the fix, just too lazy to get my car wet and dirty for no reason :-)
 
Originally Posted by Todd - Jacksonville, Fl - VS:

Time to get out the garden hose and give it a whirl...

DannyPDannyP

I was thinking of a more permanent solution. We used to use clear silicone sealer to seal wings to the fuselage saddle on model airplanes. Method is simple, put plastic wrap(Saran wrap) over windshield frame. Put some Goop(thicker than regular silicone) in the header and cip the top to the frame. Let set overnight, and I would loosen the latches slightly. Next day, remove, remove plastic wrap, and trim any excess Goop with a single-edge razor. Oh yeah, and cover anything you don't want silicone on. Use blue masking tape on any areas of your top that might get glue on them. Finito!

 

Model airplanes done like this had a waterproof and fuelproof seal. Proven with seaplanes too.

Tom BlankinshipTom Blankinship2010 Beck-Dearborn, MI
Thanks Jack, but Beck's are a different animal.  My leaks are actually where my latches are.  It's a weak point in the design.
 
Originally Posted by Jack Crosby, Hot Sp'gs,AR,VS RabyTypeIV:

That looks like a great idea from Danny.

 

Tom, if you don't yet have one, put a center latch on your top bow---that will help a lot!

I get zero water in from my bow seal.

Tom BlankinshipTom Blankinship2010 Beck-Dearborn, MI
This sounds like a great idea, but on a Beck, where the latches are, the header material is not there and this provides for a leak path.  The only way to stop the leak is to stop the water before it migrates to the top of the windshield.
 
This can be done very effectively with blue tape and, I'm hoping, with a seal on the windshield frame.
 
Originally Posted by DannyP:

I was thinking of a more permanent solution. We used to use clear silicone sealer to seal wings to the fuselage saddle on model airplanes. Method is simple, put plastic wrap(Saran wrap) over windshield frame. Put some Goop(thicker than regular silicone) in the header and cip the top to the frame. Let set overnight, and I would loosen the latches slightly. Next day, remove, remove plastic wrap, and trim any excess Goop with a single-edge razor. Oh yeah, and cover anything you don't want silicone on. Use blue masking tape on any areas of your top that might get glue on them. Finito!

 

Model airplanes done like this had a waterproof and fuelproof seal. Proven with seaplanes too.

Tom BlankinshipTom Blankinship2010 Beck-Dearborn, MI
Thanks for the info.  It's cheap and easy enough to replace, though.  I have my extra in my onboard tool kit  :-)  It sure beats the look of blue tape and doesn't hinder top operation.
 
Originally Posted by LeonChupp:

The closed cell foam will deteriorate due to heat and "ozone".....   I've tried it on side curtains with very little success... The glue goes crappy in about 6 months also... 

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