How do I fix this rubber trim?

[cobradvm]

Hi - I have a 1990 Mustang that has fairly pitted rubber around the quarter glass. I have been doing some research and have come up empty handed on how to refinish these. I figure they will need some sort of filler to fill in the pits, then sand, prime and paint with trim paint. What products would you recommend for this?

Here are some photos of what it looks like. I will be removing the quarter glass before working on it. Also the rubber is bonded to the glass otherwise I would probably just replace. Also these parts are no longer available from Ford.

Thanks for any help and advice!

[Len]

Wow, that's pretty nasty. Filling the pits would be quite difficult and you would probably be better off purchasing new rubber but you can color it so that it doesn't look so bad. I've been using Forever Black for years and it makes discolored rubber and plastic look great and the color holds up real well.

Link

[oldtimer]

You may be able to use some really fine sandpaper to lightly sand the rubber, 800 to 1200 grit, then re- black it. I know that I have had to fix rubber parts when I accidentally hit them with my airfile with 80 grit paper. you bodymen know what I'm talking about, you don't think you're going to need to tape off the rubber or plastic moldings, then you do.....after ya whack it.

[cobradvm]

So probably not possible not fill these and have them look half way decent?

A couple of the things I had come across was to spray a few coats of an aerosol filler material. I also came across a suggestion to use some sort of epoxy filler for rubber (perhaps with a flex additive?).

I would really like to get the pitting out, but if that's not really feasible, I may look around for some used pieces that don't look too bad.

Thanks for all your help

Howard.

[Len]

You could try sanding, cleaning and applying adhesion promoter and flexed priimer and guide coat then block sanding and coloring but that's a lot of work. I would probably look for new or used rubber before I tried to repair the pits in those. However making them black is simple and the pits may not be so noticable once the rubber is all the same color.

[TimG]

Latemodel Restoration supply lists qtr glass in their catalog for 350 a pair,they just don't have the Mustang logo.
$350 seems a bit pricey,I'd try calling a couple local glass shops,there are enough of these cars around that aftermarket glass should be availible locally.

[Phil V]

My son went through this same thing with his street rod mustangs. The moldings aren't available separately, they are an integral part of the glass, all one piece so the whole window would have to be replaced. Another problem is that they are moderately shiny from the factory which is difficult to reproduce with wetsanding and buffing (been there- done that). I just checked my back room and there are three similar glasses in there. 2 lefts and one right, one decent left with a couple scuffs and a right that was a "work in progress".(not much good at this point). The other right is sunburned but not as bad as yours, just enough to make it not shiny.

[houlis]

Try doing a search at sspmustang.org or corral.net I think I've seen forum threads on this topic. Good luck. Brian