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72 Cutlass Convertible
Removing and cleaning up around the soon to be new windshield, I'm finding this black putty similar to plumbers putty in the channels and in corners. I figure it's put on to seal up around bits that need to keep water to a minimum.
Is this stuff factory or something the previous owner installed? Anyone know where to get it? All I can find is plumbers putty and grey putty.
The picture is of the left and right "A" pilar chrome piece that holds the rubber seal for the front of the side windows. I cleaned the right one for reference.
Butyl Caulk, aka butyl, butyl tape, dum dum, strip caulk, thicker style is windshield ribbon (too thick for what you’re doing and a stiffer consistency). Home D equivalent - Mortite, Frost king, M-D caulking cord. All are suitable for the application. The auto products are tackier than the others, keep wetting your fingers with glass cleaner to make it easier handling. Plumbers putty would be the easiest to handle but I’ve never used it in this application. Don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Hopefully we’ll get more input from some others.
I believe your looking a black butyl tape. Available in various widths and thicknesses. I have a roll that I bought decades ago for this same roof rail weather strip application, but the dimensions escape me, perhaps 3/4 x 1/8 inch? I still use short lengths from that roll to seal electrical splices for the outdoor environment. The material is still like new. Amazon has a large selection.
The Inline foam tape cdrod identified above (or a variant of it as that states convertible channel w/s) goes on the backside of your weatherstrip channels, between them and the body. The butyl tape originally inquired about is used on the inside, between the channel and the weather strip. Having said that I don't recall it being used along the entire length of weatherstrip, just at a few select positions if used at all. Perhaps the photos in the original post was evidence of a fix? I'd start with little to none of it and determine where its required.
The thin butyl tape I believe was also used to attach the quarter window chrome vertical weatherstrip retainer to the quarter glass on hardtop models.
