Sun roof slider

[503C43 ////AMG]

Thanks for the complements on the write up guys. I want to share all of the knowledge I have on our cars that way we can keep our cars on the road and our $$$ in our pockets I'm sure I will be posting more in the future as I tackle more of the minor issues my car has (there seems to be less and less these days ), stay posted

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[importfan21]

Gotta revive this because I cannot reassemble mine.

I took out:
1) rubber accordion pieces (broke mine; will replace at some point)
2) metal rails
3) shade
4) plastic (front) rail that pries off

I have no clue how to put it back together.

I put the shade in first but am having difficult what orientation the rails the go (I'm assuming the rails are only for the accordion pieces' sake, right)?

What I thought was the proper reassembly the shade doesn't catch on the plastic front piece and go back. The felt IS good.

HELP! I'm getting really frustrated for something so simple.

[speed43]

If anyone wants to quick easy fix for this just:

Buy some velcro
Slide panel to the rear
Put a small piece of velcro in front of the edge where the panel will meet when close
Put the other piece of velcro on the inside middle of the panel.
Make sure to hand press them nice and tight
Than close panel
Your done

Please use a good brad of velcor and it will last a long time.

[vinceC]

The felt is not what keeps the sunshade (proper term) from sliding forward/backward unintentionally. The foam liner (the backing for the vinyl covering) is what provides the necessary resistance (since it is in compression when the sunshade is installed). My son's C43 had the same problem. We tried the felt idea, but it just made the sunshade very difficult to move; it also became "grabby".

We have found that the foam is a real and much larger problem. The foam deteriorates slowly over time and, eventually, the vinyl will separate and fall. The unintentional sliding is just a precursor for total failure. The rub is that it is not repairable. A new sunshade is around $500. We talked to numerous upholstery shops, including GAHH who makes replacement seat upholstery for these cars. All refused to recover it using the original vinyl; they could only recover the sunshade, just not in a matching material. We eventually spent an afternoon cleaning off all the deteriorated, gooey foam from the base material and the vinyl (with 3M Adhesive Remover). We then fitted new, fabric backed foam to the base material and followed by gluing the old vinyl onto the new foam using 3M adhesives specifically designed for the purpose. That tool several hours to accomplish because you have to work small areas. Also, the vinyl tends to expand when the glue is fresh, so it looked rather ugly at first. After curing overnight it looked absolutely perfect. When reinstalled the sunshade worked as designed.

For two months. The vinyl has started to separate. We should have bought the new sunshade to begin with.

[speed43]

I do not find the velcro difficult to use. Grabby ok but that's the purpose to keep it close. To slide it open does not take much effort at all. If I would have taken my time to look for some THIN magnets I would have used that instead.but the velcro works perfect for me.

[YNVDIZW124]

You don't need to spend $500 on a new sunshade, cover it in suede that matches the interior color and be done with it.

[m a x i m u s]

i dont have this issue, but am wondering if putting a small piece of felt material on the metal rails would help create some friction?

[vinceC]

You can apply felt in two places to attempt to achieve the same effect; on the stainless steel rails or on the metal strips bonded to the top of the sunshade. The problem is that the felt is relatively firm, whereas the foam compresses fairly easily. Getting the thickness of the felt right to produce the right amount of friction is tricky at best.

As for covering the sunshade with some other material, you still have the foam problem. Getting anything to bond permanently to the foam is the problem. Sure you can get new or different material and sure you can get new foam. I have done so. Try to get them to bond together.

I don't understand the velcro fix. On the bottom the sunshade rides on the stainless steel slides. On the top, the bonded metal strips slide against the bottom of the rubber accordion pieces.

[YNVDIZW124]

As for covering the sunshade with some other material, you still have the foam problem. Getting anything to bond permanently to the foam is the problem. Sure you can get new or different material and sure you can get new foam. I have done so. Try to get them to bond together.

No, you don't have the foam problem if you scrape the old foam off. You probably didn't realize that MB uses a type of adhesive foam, there's no piece of foam in between. I posted in this thread almost 2 years ago and I still have the same sunshade with no issues, no problems, no sagging, no bubbles.

The rub is that it is not repairable.

You're having all these problems because you're doing it wrong. I hope others reading this thread don't see your post and assume it can't be fixed because of your experience. If you used 3M Hi-Tack 76 Spray Adhesive (designed for "headliners" ) it will fail because it won't stand the temps inside the car. 3m Rubber & Vinyl 80 spray adhesive should work better but it has to be properly prepped and applied.

Do not use 3m Super 77, it will fail.

I'll post pictures of what my sunshade looks like after two years.

[vinceC]

I don't mean to start an argument. But:

The "foam" is adhered directly to the vinyl when it is manufactured. That is the way all modern headliners are made. The composite "material" is then glued to the base material, in this case the sunshade. The "foam" deteriorates over time and the vinyl, fabric, whatever falls down. The "foam" is the brown, sticky "goop" you have to laboriously clean off the vinyl and base material.

In this case the "foam" provides a resilient filler that fills the gap between the rubber accordion pieces and the stainless steel slides. That is why a new sunshade will not slide under acceleration or braking, but an old one with rotten foam will.

Yes it is possible to glue fabric, somebody's old bathroom carpet, whatever directly to the base material. Some folks have done so. There is a thread on MBWorld where a 210 owner did his headliner in Alcantara and adhered it directly to the base material. If you are lucky maybe it won't slam forward or backward.

If you want it to look like the factory built it, the foam is the key element in making it work.

We used 3M 08090, their high bond strength adhesive that a 3M rep specifically recommended to me for this application.

As for what others think, they are free to make up their own minds.

[YNVDIZW124]

I don't need to argue, here's a picture of my 2 year old sunshade. Enough said.

Yes it is possible to glue fabric, somebody's old bathroom carpet, whatever directly to the base material. Some folks have done so. There is a thread on MBWorld where a 210 owner did his headliner in Alcantara and adhered it directly to the base material. If you are lucky maybe it won't slam forward or backward.

Doesn't go anywhere, it stays where it needs to be, no luck needed.

We used 3M 08090, their high bond strength adhesive that a 3M rep specifically recommended to me for this application.

And yours obviously failed 2 months after you installed it.

[vinceC]

Other than the fact that yours looks exactly like something we did not want, you have obviously succeeded where all others have failed. Congratulations! Also, I will tell my 3M guy to consult you for all future adhesive questions.

[YNVDIZW124]

Other than the fact that yours looks exactly like something we did not want, you have obviously succeeded where all others have failed. Congratulations! Also, I will tell my 3M guy to consult you for all future adhesive questions.

It looks exactly how I wanted it to look and match other interior pieces. Anyone else can change the color or material but the installation is still the same. I did not use 3m adhesives, most upholstery shops don't even use 3m products.

We talked to numerous upholstery shops, including GAHH who makes replacement seat upholstery for these cars. All refused to recover it using the original vinyl; they could only recover the sunshade, just not in a matching material.

You seemed to dismiss the advice from experts, but I guess a 3m sales rep has more experience with auto interiors.

My problem with your posts is the misinformation that you're spreading and shutting down easy and cheap fixes from people who are just trying to help.

[JohnnyRock]

Originally Posted by YNVDIZW124

You don't need to spend $500 on a new sunshade, cover it in suede that matches the interior color and be done with it.

YNVDIZW, can you elaborate a little more about your fix? I'm having this very issue with my sunshade. The original vinyl (seriously?! In an AMG?!?!) is starting to pull away from those 2 plastic vents. I think a recover job in suede is much needed and a classy upgrade.

How did you do yours? Do I need to scrape away the old foam or no?

[YNVDIZW124]

I forgot about this thread..

Sun roof cover repair...