My son decided to remove the roof basket and deflector off my 2004 because he wanted to see what it looks like without. After doing so we discovered that the gasket under the deflector has shrunk and there is some scratching of the paint underneath. We cleaned up the roof, used a clay bar and polished the scratched areas then used Black on Black on the deflector and roof basket to restore them to like new. I discovered I can't buy that gasket any more so... I created a replacement gasket using two layers of neoprene (the material used to make scuba diving suits). This material is about 1/8th of an inch thick, water proof, heat and cold resistant, soft and squishy. It's black so it's not immediately noticeable when looking at the vehicle.
My question is, is there something different or better I could have done? Was it a clever hack or a bad idea for some reason? Thanks in advance for your input!
Nice! That "clear film" is a clear Vinyl strip protecting the paint. My X has it, and it rubbed through over the years, allowing the deflector to scratch away the paint and there is now the beginning of rust .
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