Last fall I was looking around for some side and rear windows for my '05 Wrangler Rubicon. I ended up finding some which required new plastic windows, as well as zippers, and have some observations on how it went.
My original intent was to remove the old plastic windows by carefully heating the plastic weld between the fabric and window. Unfortunately, I was unable to get them off this way. The weld bead was just too secure and I didn't want to burn the coated fabric. I tried to cut under the weld bead but this also was a no-go. So I got a razor blade and cut out the old windows just inside the weld bead. I considered cutting out the weld bead and sewing the new windows into the canvas. This would work on the side windows, but there is very little canvas on the rear cat flap and I wanted them all to be the same. I used the old windows as a template for the new ones, and added an inch to the diameter to account for the weld bead overlap.
The original plastic windows measured about 1 mm thick, which is a 40 gauge plastic. I had a bunch of left over 30 gauge plastic from CJ2a my top project so I used that instead. I like the 30 gauge since it can be rolled up more easily than the 40 gauge. I got it at Rochford Supply but you could get it from any automotive or marine canvas supplier. The material is rated to -13°, but I plan on removing the top for the winter.
I sewed the new windows on the inside of the canvas with Aquatop T-90 Fusion Extreme outdoor thread. Any robust UV stable outdoor thread would work. I sewed two seams on the windows about 1/2" apart, and used basting tape to hold everything in place during sewing. Removing and sewing the windows took about two hours, but a lot of this was fooling around with the weld bead. This wasn't very difficult and is straight sewing. I'm not thrilled about having the old weld bead on the windows, but could find no other option.
I was a little concerned about how the 30 gauge windows would hold up under highway driving. The windows passed the 65 mph test, but they flap a bit more than the old 40 gauge windows. I don't do a lot of highway driving so this is not an issue, but if you do you may want the 40 gauge windows. And no rain has forced its way through the seams.
Zippers are another matter. The zippers on the donor windows were chewed up beyond recognition, and the start and end points were torn out. Since postioning the zippers requires a precision this was a problem. I planned on using heavy duty YKK nylon zippers instead of the original coil zippers. I used brass YKK zippers on the CJ2a top and like the look. Once the zippers arrived I discovered a problem: the zipper tape was way to narrow. Not a problem, I just fabricated some supplemental zipper tape and sewed it on with my Singer Slant-O-Matic.
After a lot of measuring and adjusting I sewed the new zippers on the windows. This took a few tries as the start end end points need to be perfect, and I am not. Thankfully I have a really good seam ripper. Finally got it sewed up and ran into another problem: the teeth on the YKK zippers won't allow them to zip through the tight radius of the rear window. I deployed the seam ripper again. I looked online and Zipper Shipper carries the original coil zipper, and the zipper tape is the correct width, too. There are other OEM zipper sources but I've bought from them in the past. Sewed it all back together and the zipper worked perfectly. It was a little too long but shortening it was wasy: just cut it to length and put in a zipper stop. I left the YKK zippers in the sides since they don't have to deal with such a tight radius. They can turn the corner but require a little effort. If I did it again I'd put the OEM coil zippers on all of the windows. Sewing zippers is not for the faint of heart and these were pretty difficult, especially without a proper template to start with.
While I had the top off I had one other issue I wanted to experiment with. No matter what water comes in the back between the cat flap and tailgate. This is partly of necessity since an overhanging flap would interfere with closing of the gate. I was willing to deal with the inconvenience to solve the water problem. I sewed a 1" flap to cover the gap, and so far it has worked great. When closing the gate I just zip the flap half way down, hold it up out of the way and slam the gate. Then zip the flap the rest of the way. It has kept the back end dry during a rainstorm with 40 mph winds and 2" of rain.
There seem to be a lot of questions onhow this goes, so I hope this helps.
My original intent was to remove the old plastic windows by carefully heating the plastic weld between the fabric and window. Unfortunately, I was unable to get them off this way. The weld bead was just too secure and I didn't want to burn the coated fabric. I tried to cut under the weld bead but this also was a no-go. So I got a razor blade and cut out the old windows just inside the weld bead. I considered cutting out the weld bead and sewing the new windows into the canvas. This would work on the side windows, but there is very little canvas on the rear cat flap and I wanted them all to be the same. I used the old windows as a template for the new ones, and added an inch to the diameter to account for the weld bead overlap.
The original plastic windows measured about 1 mm thick, which is a 40 gauge plastic. I had a bunch of left over 30 gauge plastic from CJ2a my top project so I used that instead. I like the 30 gauge since it can be rolled up more easily than the 40 gauge. I got it at Rochford Supply but you could get it from any automotive or marine canvas supplier. The material is rated to -13°, but I plan on removing the top for the winter.
I sewed the new windows on the inside of the canvas with Aquatop T-90 Fusion Extreme outdoor thread. Any robust UV stable outdoor thread would work. I sewed two seams on the windows about 1/2" apart, and used basting tape to hold everything in place during sewing. Removing and sewing the windows took about two hours, but a lot of this was fooling around with the weld bead. This wasn't very difficult and is straight sewing. I'm not thrilled about having the old weld bead on the windows, but could find no other option.
I was a little concerned about how the 30 gauge windows would hold up under highway driving. The windows passed the 65 mph test, but they flap a bit more than the old 40 gauge windows. I don't do a lot of highway driving so this is not an issue, but if you do you may want the 40 gauge windows. And no rain has forced its way through the seams.
Zippers are another matter. The zippers on the donor windows were chewed up beyond recognition, and the start and end points were torn out. Since postioning the zippers requires a precision this was a problem. I planned on using heavy duty YKK nylon zippers instead of the original coil zippers. I used brass YKK zippers on the CJ2a top and like the look. Once the zippers arrived I discovered a problem: the zipper tape was way to narrow. Not a problem, I just fabricated some supplemental zipper tape and sewed it on with my Singer Slant-O-Matic.
After a lot of measuring and adjusting I sewed the new zippers on the windows. This took a few tries as the start end end points need to be perfect, and I am not. Thankfully I have a really good seam ripper. Finally got it sewed up and ran into another problem: the teeth on the YKK zippers won't allow them to zip through the tight radius of the rear window. I deployed the seam ripper again. I looked online and Zipper Shipper carries the original coil zipper, and the zipper tape is the correct width, too. There are other OEM zipper sources but I've bought from them in the past. Sewed it all back together and the zipper worked perfectly. It was a little too long but shortening it was wasy: just cut it to length and put in a zipper stop. I left the YKK zippers in the sides since they don't have to deal with such a tight radius. They can turn the corner but require a little effort. If I did it again I'd put the OEM coil zippers on all of the windows. Sewing zippers is not for the faint of heart and these were pretty difficult, especially without a proper template to start with.
While I had the top off I had one other issue I wanted to experiment with. No matter what water comes in the back between the cat flap and tailgate. This is partly of necessity since an overhanging flap would interfere with closing of the gate. I was willing to deal with the inconvenience to solve the water problem. I sewed a 1" flap to cover the gap, and so far it has worked great. When closing the gate I just zip the flap half way down, hold it up out of the way and slam the gate. Then zip the flap the rest of the way. It has kept the back end dry during a rainstorm with 40 mph winds and 2" of rain.
There seem to be a lot of questions onhow this goes, so I hope this helps.
Last edited by a moderator:
