Tipup canopy questions

[Greg Arehart]

I am working on the tipup on my 9A and have a couple questions:

Has anyone put some anti-chafe material between the rear window and the roll bar before screwing the window down? This seems like a good idea to me to help protect the plexiglas and I am considering using a piece of UHMW teflon tape. Pros or cons to doing this? Is there something better?

What, if anything, have you done to seal the window to the aluminum skin at the back? Silicone caulk? compressible weatherstrip?

thanks,
greg

[DGlaeser]

I glued my canopy, so I can't help with the anti-chafe question.
However I did use form-in-place sealant to seal the edge of the plexi to the roll bar (ACS 09-00277). I did this because I had a noticeable whistle coming from that area. I first put a strip of teflon tape on the roll bar, then put a bead of the sealant on the plexi, then closed the canopy. Worked great.

[noelf]

I did something very similar. I used Scotch brand Electrican's Building Tape #2000 (available at building supply centers). It is gray in color (it actually matches the gray color that I painted the roll bar), and is abt 2" wide. It has a slight texture to it also. Before using the tape, I finished all the fab work needed to mount the rear window, including tapping the holes in the roll bar. When ready for the final rear window installation, I laid down a continuous strip of tape around the top surface of the roll bar, even with the front edge of the roll bar. Because the tape is wider that the roll bar, the tape will extend beyond the aft edge of the bar. I then cut off the overhang with a sharp razor blade. Then, I used a sharp pointed scribe to poke holes in the tape at every threaded hole location. This helped ensure the screw installation process did not snag and pull on the tape which might lead to a "pulled-tape" issue.

Other posters have reported good results with 3M Strip Caulk Window Sealant (ACS p/n 08578).