stripping t-tops

[nik]

has anyone done this before..
im trying to strip a pair for moulding but finding it a nightmare to get the locking mechanism off..toyota have used some kind of super tack to stick to glass..:jester:

[grash2]

has anyone done this before..
im trying to strip a pair for moulding but finding it a nightmare to get the locking mechanism off..toyota have used some kind of super tack to stick to glass..:jester:

have you checke the repair manual? i am sure i have read somewhre how to remove it to change the lock mechanism somewhere, i ll try to remember where if it is not on the repair manual

something like, you slide a cloth under the handle and push it upwards slowly, but not quite sure, under the handles there are screws

[sketchy]

craft knife and an old accelerator cable was all I used on the Mk2 t top I cut the glass off.

[nik]

have you checke the repair manual? i am sure i have read somewhre how to remove it to change the lock mechanism somewhere, i ll try to remember where if it is not on the repair manual

something like, you slide a cloth under the handle and push it upwards slowly, but not quite sure, under the handles there are screws

the mechanism removal was no probs its the bond they used to stick the mech to the glass which is bloody strong stuff.


craft knife and an old accelerator cable was all I used on the Mk2 t top I cut the glass off.

ah a cable, great idea..will have a go at that..

[Jim-SR]

i had a feeling there might be some bonding stuff under there. cable is probably your best bet, might help to get some heat on it as well from an electric heat gun to soften the glue up.

[sketchy]

heat guns and glass dont go well....
youll soften the glue yes. you could also stress the glass if the heat is not even, and then need to pick up the top with a dust pan and shovel

it might sound odd....but use the oven instead of a heat gun, dont tell your wife...its not like its a CV or diff housing...lol

[nik]

thanks for the words of caution..which i read after using a heat gun..:respekt:
nothing broke luckily but what i thought was three blobs of grey glue in fact was reinforced with a two inch strip running the whole length of the glass of rubber seal..it was a 'mare to get off but its off and i dont think its too massive a job for a customer to undertake when fitting carbon tops..
i will however do an insturctional vid to show that a considerable amount of force is needed to get them apart when i am at that stage in developement..:icon_conf

[Jim-SR]

guess my t-bar is never going to be waterproof again :P it doesnt matter, those were spare tops probably destined for the scrap yard at some point. the heat gun wouldnt have done much harm i dont reckon, not unless you PROPERLY heated it. i was saying to just gently heat it from maybe 8-12". under 100 degrees for sure.

the thing with people replacing the t-tops is that breaking the glass isnt going to matter. if youre about to replace it with carbon/fibreglass you wont need to keep the glass anymore. so obscene amounts of force isnt going to be too scary. youre posting on a forum where some nutter has stuck an Audi V8 into a poor old mk1 and youre expecting anyone to show caution?! :D

[nik]

hehe..yeah true enough..

[podge]

when i took mine off i used a blow torch heatede them up quite gently and they almost fell off

[snowtigger]

Would a piano wire or guitar string or even cheese wire not have cut through the glue if you wrapped the ends with some dowel rod and tape then seesaw through the adhesive, also I think some car window firms use some thing to get the stuck on rear view mirrors of like antiadhesive liquid that makes it fall apart after a couple of minutes.

[millentubby]

Dental floss is handy for cutting through things like this as it's slightly abrasive in it's nature.

[snowtigger]

Have you seen mythbusters then dental floss cutting through steel balls.