A couple of questions

pablo · Post by **pablo** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 6:37 am

A couple of questions that I need a bit of help with.

1. Do poly windows fog up like normal car windows?

2. Can you use anti fog products on them?

3. If you remove the headlining in a car does the roof suffer from condensation that then drips onto the seats / driver?

4. Has anyone removed a sun roof then plated it and blended it in? If so what advice would you give?

5. Is it better to rivet it or weld it, with reference to question 4?

(Just keeping our options open Al)

Cheers.

Rob S · Post by **Rob S** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 6:44 am

3. Never did in my E30.
Sorry I can't answer the rest.......

pablo · Post by **pablo** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 6:51 am

Did your E30 live outside or was it garaged.

Post by **Stuart** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:12 am

pablo wrote:A couple of questions that I need a bit of help with.
1. Do poly windows fog up like normal car windows?
2. Can you use anti fog products on them?
3. If you remove the headlining in a car does the roof suffer from condensation that then drips onto the seats / driver?
4. Has anyone removed a sun roof then plated it and blended it in? If so what advice would you give?
5. Is it better to rivet it or weld it, with reference to question 4?
(Just keeping our options open Al)
Cheers.

Oh, me, me!! I've done this a few times

1) Yes
2) Yes but with limited success in honesty. They do benefit from heaters/blowers/air ducting though, so this will limit the problems.
3) Yes but you could try adding some felt or lightweight carpet and glueing this in place.
4) Blending is a pain in the arse. If you are going to do this, try to use the factory sunroof panel as it already has the curvature of the roof in it. Then you'd need to make some tabs up to tack in on from the underside. Once this is done, you're left with the choice of how you blend it in.
5) Plating is easy but less 'factory' than the above. Just make sure you allow enough material for your plate to allow for curvature of the roof and rivet in on alternating sides (eg front left corner, rear right corner, front right corner, rear left corner working your way into the middle) I would lay a wedge of something like Tiger seal down first as this will help seal the two metal surfaces, ensuring less leaking.

In my experience, welding; even those that know what they're doing, can be very tricky as the heat build up can cause warping in the roof as it is so thin.

*************

To remove moisture from the cabin BEFORE AN EVENT, you could try the little bags of silica you often find in parcels that get couriered. The other thing that I've seen used is a bowl of rice. Both absorb moisture quite well, hopefully reducing the build up of condensation in the car

Daniel · Post by **Daniel** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:13 am

I remember for a few days the mini was outside in winter with no headlining, got back in the car and there was frost all inside the roof. When it thawed it dripped like a fucked fridge. But in normal cold weather it didn't

Gerry H · Post by **Gerry H** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 7:16 am

Rob S wrote:3. Never did in my E30.
Sorry I can't answer the rest.......

My Subaru was like a rain forrest

But, it was a road car and it did let in water till I found the last couple of holes in the floor.

To answer your question, condensation will only occur when water has been evaporated and the resultant moisture stays in the car. With mine, the warm days evaporated the water, concealed in all the junk I kept in the boot, and then condensed on the roof at night, when the temperature dropped.

Mr Fletcher · Post by **Mr Fletcher** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:53 am

tack weld and blend the old panel skin if available riviting looks shit imo

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:43 am

Dunno if it works on poly but it does on glass - Fairy liquid.

pablo · Post by **pablo** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:38 pm

Wow, a wealth of information there. Thanks guys, will give me and Bart a lot to argue about this weekend.