I am about ready to install a new header seal on the front of my convertible top, as well as the 2 pillar post seals.

Do they all get weatherstrip adhesive?

Is there a good product to remove old, dried out weatherstrip adhesive?

 

I just replaced these weatherstrips on my '67 Delta 88 convertible, and, yes, I used weatherstrip adhesive. The little clips that attach to those holes spaced every 6 or 8 inches apart hold the weatherstrip in place in a general sense, but to get it to fit snugly, put a bead of weatherstrip adhesive along the weatherstrip, spread it out with a popsicle stick or Q-tip or something, let it get slightly tacky, and then start at one end and go down the line, pressing each tab into the corresponding hole and then smoothing the weatherstrip to the metal surface between that hole and the previous one. You want to work relatively quickly, but it goes relatively quickly. None of the weatherstrips you're replacing are lengthy, and everything is easy to get at, so your job should go quickly and easily.

All I did to remove the old weatherstrip adhesive was to scrape it out with a flat-blade screwdriver, being gentle not to gouge the metal or anything. It came up pretty cleanly. Then I wiped all surfaces with a degreaser before applying the adhesive.

I used this stuff, yellow 3M weatherstrip adhesive. Works wonderfully, and 1/4 tube should easily do your job.

 

I would opt for the black version of that same 3M product - works as well but excess matches the seal.
In removing the old adhesive, scrapers made from scrap CDs (polycarb.) or popsicle sticks work well without gouging paint if you are careful.
Right after installation, freshly dried adhesive can be removed with goo-gone.

 

Properly applied, you don't see the adhesive, so it really doesn't matter what color it is.

Second, and more helpfully, the weatherstrip itself is black, so using an adhesive with a sharply contrasting color, like yellow, makes it much easier to see what areas of the weatherstrip have had adhesive applied and which haven't as you're spreading it around. In fact, I wonder if this isn't the reason that 3M makes a yellow adhesive at all.

 

I replaced the pillar weather stripping last year. Try to use a clamp at the top as you want a tight seal. It's rather easy but be careful as to avoid getting any sealer near chrome.