CF Sunroof Delete Questions

[Nate047]

Update: My AJ Hartman roof plug clear coat ended up failing after a year or so, he replaced the entire plug. I did have to pay shipping so that sucked.

He said the ceramic coating I had put on there may have contributed to the issue in some way, so just a FYI on that. I don't know enough about how that works to have an opinion. Maybe it's my fault? What do you guys think? I will just be using regular wax on the new one.

I used the Loctite SI 5049 as recommended and had no leaks. I will be using the same thing next time around on the new plug.

Shipping the plug back to him was about $115 and the new sealant with shipping is almost $50. So yea. I guess I'm happy to have a clean plug again, but it would have been cool to not have to spend money. Now I also have to spend a bunch of time cleaning up from the old one and reinstalling the new plug. I suspect it will also fit like the old one, slightly below the roof panel line so not perfect.

[bigjae46]

Update: My AJ Hartman roof plug clear coat ended up failing after a year or so, he replaced the entire plug. I did have to pay shipping so that sucked.

He said the ceramic coating I had put on there may have contributed to the issue in some way, so just a FYI on that. I don't know enough about how that works to have an opinion. Maybe it's my fault? What do you guys think? I will just be using regular wax on the new one.

I used the Loctite SI 5049 as recommended and had no leaks. I will be using the same thing next time around on the new plug.

Shipping the plug back to him was about $115 and the new sealant with shipping is almost $50. So yea. I guess I'm happy to have a clean plug again, but it would have been cool to not have to spend money. Now I also have to spend a bunch of time cleaning up from the old one and reinstalling the new plug. I suspect it will also fit like the old one, slightly below the roof panel line so not perfect.

I’ve started making these for the spec46 crowd. Costs $15 to ship UPS through paypal. Not sure who charged you $115 but they ripped you off!

I think AJ Hartman uses Duratec sunshield which is either polyester or vinyl ester. I think those materials will gas off so if you ceramic coated it right away it would mess with the clear coat.

[Nate047]

Was UPS from Los Angeles to New Jersey, pretty big box, enough padding to make sure it didn’t break. 🤷🏻♂️

[eacmen]

I have the same panel. No ceramic coating and clearcoat has been fine for past 5 years. It is garage kept though.

[332]

Returned my BW panel...

https://youtu.be/H42p4kxFWyo

This is horrible, you could keep the sunroof and eat better. I can't understand people that are overweight and looking to spend $ saving weight. Invest in yourself, words to live by. AJ, does a decent job. RIP Chad, we miss you!

[bigjae46]

This is horrible, you could keep the sunroof and eat better. I can't understand people that are overweight and looking to spend $ saving weight. Invest in yourself, words to live by. AJ, does a decent job. RIP Chad, we miss you!

I'm pretty sure that panel is pre-preg cloth cured in an oven.

Most molds are made from polyester gel coat, resin, and fiberglass for cost. Using epoxy is about twice the cost. In an effort to make the part more affordable, polyester is the more commonly used. The downside is that polyester tends to shrink when heated. Repeated heat cycling may cause slight dimensional changes which would cause similar fitment issues over time.

Infusing and then room temp curing greatly reduces the heat cycling issue. S2R uses either an infusion or wet lay/vac bag process. I think that is why the S2R panels have never had a fitment issue.

I think pre-preg is overkill but it is much easier to work with and faster to produce. You can pretty much make a defect free part with zero post cure work.

[Nate047]

This is horrible, you could keep the sunroof and eat better. I can't understand people that are overweight and looking to spend $ saving weight. Invest in yourself, words to live by.

It’s not just the weight, it’s headroom / clearance, lower center of gravity, loads of reasons to get rid of a sunroof.

[332]

Call me sentimental, I love this panel.

[bigjae46]

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Is that a gap between the panel and the opening? Looks massive or am I looking at it wrong?

[332]

I had my lil girly inside, I'll ask her how level she was holding it. To be fair, I should have shared a picture with it fitted from the outside too.

[332]

It’s not just the weight, it’s headroom / clearance, lower center of gravity, loads of reasons to get rid of a sunroof.

My point was and is, a lot of the people saving weight. Don't seem to care about their own weight. An example of this would be, an overweight person deleting their sunroof for weight savings. While they could have kept the sunroof and went on a diet. After they lose all the weight they can, start hacking up your car sure. Never before, imho. Imagine a fat F1 driver complaining about how much his car weighed, oh weight..

[Nate047]

You must be fun at parties

[Estoril]

You must be fun at parties

..

[Ricky_Mac35]

I installed the AJ Hartman panel last month and it fits 9/10 I’d say. Level with roof in front and sags just a tad in the rear mostly in the corners.

I put a bead of clear permatex silicone (80050) around the base before installing but not close enough to the base so it isn’t water proof yet. Would anyone recommend windshield sealant around the top seam or just another bead of black silicone?

[Estoril]

I installed the AJ Hartman panel last month and it fits 9/10 I’d say. Level with roof in front and sags just a tad in the rear mostly in the corners.

I put a bead of clear permatex silicone (80050) around the base before installing but not close enough to the base so it isn’t water proof yet. Would anyone recommend windshield sealant around the top seam or just another bead of black silicone?

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/main-forum/e46-2001-2006/83678-sunroof-delete-panel%E2%80%94best-ways-to-avoid-leaks#post83714