one of the more common VW questions we get on eBay is regarding window rubber, what to buy? how to install it? and what is the quality?

I can tell you from experience, not all rubber is the same, some seals I have seen last for many years, some can crack in days, it really comes down to the quality of the seal, and conditions the rubber is exposed to, also depending on the origin of manufacture, manufacture process and rubber compounds used

now in no way am I a VW rubber material OR VW manufacturing expert, so any technical information has been learned over the years or provided by suppliers & manufactures we deal with 

this guide has the ability to be edited and it will be updated with more information as time permits

Anthony / ISP WEST

• what is a Deluxe or American Style vs. Cal Look ?

to the best of my knowledge, back in the day the first vw's ( pre WWII ) came with your basic window seal, black rubber, plain and simple to do the job and seal the window to the car

later in 1952 VW started offering a deluxe package or deluxe trim on the window rubber and other areas of the car, this was to update or an upgrade to dress up the car, ultimately becoming the factory standard on 95% of most of the vw models for the years to come

so what was the origional rubber? well that really is going to depend on your model, year, and options

remember what we're talking about before? the very early bugs had original rubber with no molding on them... and all type 2 buses to 1967 have no molding on them... so while that has to be considered original rubber it does not fall in to the category were talking about here today

all original rubber has molded corners where necessary, to make a uniform seal to the body, 

when someone uses the term " deluxe or original style rubber " they are talking about rubber with an extra groove in it for the molding trim that accents the window glass,

this trim is usually made from soft aluminum, stainless steel or chromed plastic ( depending on the year & model ) and it is fragile, very easy to bend out of shape, harder to work with then if you were installing cal look rubber...

the simple exlpliantion of the correct way to install a peice of vw glass onto the car with orgional rubber is, rubber onto the glass, molding trim onto the rubber, install the glass w/rubber & trim onto the car, clip on final tension clips onto the molding, clean the car...

also more hands are helpfull, especially with windshileds, a pro can do most jobs by himself, but curved glass like on a Type 3 or Late Bus will require some helpers

• photo - view of deluxe rubber with alloy molding insert installed

 

so what is cal look rubber? in the 70's & 80's as cars were getting repainted or restored, the vw aftermarket seen the need for a cheaper cost & easy to install replacement window seals, a single profile, rubber that fits the glass, then the glass with rubber goes into the car, clean and simple

cal look rubber is also known as " Show Smooth " and " Euro Style " rubber to some 

cal look rubber is easyer to install then origonal rubber, as you do not have the fragile molding on the rubber to worry about bending or dealing with it altogether 

the correct way to install a peice of vw glass onto the car with cal look rubber is, rubber onto the glass, install the glass w/rubber onto the car, clean the car...

allot quicker and simple when compared to the original style...

• photo - view of cal look window rubber installed

 

• Manufactures ~ rubber manufactures and quality ect...

experience tells us what the best rubber or seal is for the job, as we've seen and used them all because were not just selling parts here on eBay, we do full restorations, in house year round, thus we know what fits, what doesn't, what's good and what's bad...

with the various countrys of manufacture & suppler over the years its too hard to go in to specify details for each seal, a good stating point is to forget about the country of manufacture & origin and consider the characteristics of good window rubber vs. the bad

the good - manufactured from EPDM compounds, the newest in window rubber materials, to promote long life, weather and fade resistant, these seals are usually found manufactured in the USA

even better - molded corners, like factory rubber, when the glass comes to an edge and makes a corner turn, the corner of the rubber should be molded, this prevents premature cracking of the rubber, as all the tension of the corner bend is relived and accounted for during manufacture, so molded corners is a plus, and usually you'll pay more for those seals as they are more correct and ultimately should last longer

the bad - complete seal kits that claim to cover the whole car for a low price, if your buying rubber for $50 or less, its guaranteed to be made from the cheapest quality rubber, a seal made to just get things on the car, not necessary manufactured or made to fit correct, these seals are usually manufactured in China, Taiwan

• Aloha? ~ White window rubber

also offered during the 80's for most part there were window seals available in white called " hawaiian style " or just plain " hawaiian " rubber

hawaiian style rubber was more so thought as a new cool surfer look, modern a kind of trend, like popular " Patrick Nagel " style of paintings during the 80's ect...

currently hawaiian rubber is unavailable from any of our suppliers, however we still get requests for it from time to time,