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Pressure washer damage to rubber

11K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  jcooper5083  
#1 ·
Hey guys

Ok - rookie mistake. I let my pressure washer lance get too close to the rubber seal around a rear window on a 2011 BMW, causing damage to the rubber.

It looks like it has melted but actually I think it's just physically pushed the rubber around.

Any suggestions as to how to repair this damage? A replacement seal involves replacing the whole glass window as it's welded to the glass.

I got a similar seal from a BMW in a scrap yard to practice on. Melting it with an iron had no effect; if anything it just made it brittle/powdery. I tried instant gasket, which was a good colour and texture match, but didn't dry after a couple of sunny days.

Photos attached.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice.

Dean
 

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Discussion starter · #4 ·
Cannot be repaired - you need new glass with the seal.
Never seen that before.

If you want to make it look better - get yourself a knife (craft knife used for cutting paper) and start shaving the raised bits off. I haven't had any luck sanding rubber, but a caramel wheel on a drill may be able to smooth off the high spots left after your knife work.

Caramel wheels are usually brown, so you'll risk staining your black rubber with caramel rubber, so that may not be the best option. Definitely try that on your test rubber before you attack the car.
Good idea on the caramel wheel - thanks for the suggestions. I can definitely give it a go on my practice rubber.

As for how did I let that happen - tell me about it...! Thankfully it was only my own car.