So today I took on a project I've been putting off for a while. I removed all of the old butyl from the front and rear window trim. This is a Mike Rowe job, very messy, thankless job. The tools needed were a can of Naptha, wooden stick ( in my case it was a shim ) some rags, paper towels and many gloves. Also a container for the Naptha and a paint brush.
One by one I would brush on some solvent and then carefully use my shin to scoop the old butyl out. I was trying to get it out little by little by creating a strand of it then pulling some out. I went through maybe 8 pr of gloves if not more. My shim proved very effective because it broke off in such a way that I had wide section and a narrow section at the same time. Think of it like a fork with mismatched tongs. The amount of goop on theses things is insane.
Small surprise on the rear trim. There is are two plastic filler strips for lack of a better description. It is barely visible when installed. This was confirmed when I checked out my other coupe. Also needed to look at the other car because I wasn't sure if it went on the top or bottom of the window. It goes on the top. I got the back side of trim pretty clean, maybe 90-95% . That is clean enough. There should now be enough space back there to accept a good amount of new butyl. Next step will be to polish all of the parts.
A word to the wise. Work outside, maybe set up some saw horses and use something you don't care about as the top. Have plenty of gloves on hand, you will be changing gloves often. Tilt your work table away from you in case you spill your container of Naptha. I did twice but had very little solvent in the container. Oh, you will also need a toothbrush to get into the creases of the trim. Go over any stubborn butyl with your wood tool then brush on more Naptha and scrub with the brush. Bounty select a size was better as you'er not using so much paper towel trying to clean the channel. When you flip your trim over it will be black. A towel with solvent will clean that up. Change gloves frequently. When wiping down the trim it helps to have a solvent wet paper towel in each gloved hand. Hold, wipe, chase, wipe, etc. Any residual butyl will get sticky very quickly when dry. Try to keep your can of solvent clean. There will come a time you will reach for the can without gloves and get butyl on you. Keep a plastic bag near by and throw all your dirty rags in there. Don't drop any butyl on the ground, you may not see it, then step in it and the rest is a mess. This didn't happen to me. Check your gloves often. I was using cheap HF gloves, 5 mil. The first few minutes I didn't realize that I had used too much solvent and it thinned the glove enough to let the black goo in. The Naptha will clean your skin but you can't really get your cuticles clean with that stuff. Can't stress enough to change gloves often. Maybe tomorrow I'l polish the reim on a buffing wheel.
This one had the least amount of goo
the fronts also had goo because I had the trim stacked when stored
here is the mess it makes
the front of the trim
channels all cleaned
here is that rubber gasket
and how it will look when installed