Bonding in a 401/403 Rear Screen.

[Geoff Kingston]

I am not that far off needing to refit the rear screen in one of my 401, I phoned my local car painters and as luck would have it a local mobile windscreen specialist was due in and he popped round later to look at the job.
Firstly he did not think the glue they use would grab the glass, it would have to be supported by the frame and secondly he had concerns about the glass itself as it does not have the modern etched strip around its edge which helps the glue stick better to the glass. His major concern however was the lack of the black enamel strip around the edges of the glass which protect the glue from the effects of the suns ultraviolet rays which would melt the glue if it was not there.
Thinking about this afterwards however I did wonder if this might not actually be an issue as the glass is fitted from the inside and the lip of the body is going to shield the glass along the perimeter where it has been glued in place. The screen fitter thought the bonding material may fail after about a year and the screen start to leak.
He suggested as an alternative that it simply be sealed in place on a bead of high quality black silicone.
I have read in the past comments about bonding the these screens in place using modern adhesive sealer's but have seen no follow up of how effective these were after a few years use and what adhesives were used.
Any advise would be much appreciated.
Geoff.