stiffening up the back side should be fairly easy. get a sheet of metal (of your choosing) and cut to size. then get some epoxy and affix it to the back of the plastic panel.
epoxy should hold up to the temps in the engine bay assuming it doesnt get over 300 degrees F.

as for the door edge trim. there is a neoprene door edge trim material you can buy. (prob need to order it online) which is soft and pliable. not sure how heat resistant it is tho.

quick google search says neoprene is good up to 212 F. not sure what temps are like at the back of the engine bay.

 

not sure what the working temp of that plastic is tho. if you are so inclined and you have a bench vice. you could prob bend a panel in those dimensions and fabricate one. depends on how much of your free time you want to put into it.

 

Yep. I've got that consideration covered.

The things I'm looking at now are weatherstripping and edge trim. I'm also looking to keep hacking at this second prototype to get the fitment right before cutting a new one.

 

I work with variations of this stuff at work. Here's the closest I can find online but unfortunately it comes in rolls of 25 feet...

 

25 feet! I smell group buy!!!!!

 

Here's another companies stuff that I've used at my job. Although i deal with similar stuff in massive rolls, it looks like you might be able to purchase by the foot. Might be worth a call Rochester.

EC28-204-EM - Bulb Trim Seal | Elasto Proxy

 

That Trim-Lok kept coming up in my research over the last few days with the impression it was top-shelf trim seal.

25 feet is 5x more than is needed. Purchased and shipped to four other people... pretty big PITA for something so basic, but do-able I suppose. $14/ea plus re-shipping.

Are there actually 4 other people here who want a 5-foot section of trim seal?

 

I've no pics of this, however...

I experimented with using car door edge trim for the two sides, and the cut-out sections on the bottom. While it creates an interesting "framed" effect, it looks silly overall, and it pushes the piece too far away from the back to look flush. So I'm ditching that idea.

I also experimented with the idea of using a third OEM, S-shaped trim seal for the middle and overlapping the sides for support. It would create a 3-piece connection of trim seal peaces, all matching design, for about $25 through some Infiniti Parts store. Of course, I'd have to cut down the two existing pieces to fit. Anyway, by experimenting with just one side and the two pieces I have... well, that didn't look right, either. I didn't care for the way the pieces butt up against one another. It just looks unfinished and cheap.

I really need a 5-foot section of trim seal. I suppose if I purchase a huge section (huge like 25' long), then in addition to using it here, I could replace the 4-foot section behind it with the same material, so there would be continuity. Derp.

So while I ponder that problem, I'm going to experiment on the back-support. Because it all feels just too flimsy without something stiffening up the plastic.

 

$41 shipped for a 25 ft section of Trim-Lok trim seal, with a 3/8" bulb atop a 7/16 base for a 1/16" edge. Those are the dimensions of the OEM trim seal.



So... I guess next week I'll know whether or not I just flushed $41, or if this project continues. If it satisfies what I want to do with it, then I'll be able to replace the 4-foot section along the window, too, for continuity.

 

I'm more than likely going to copy this once you get all the hard work done! Plus it's freezing cold here in Minnesota, so I really don't want to sit in the garage and experiment on my own ways to accomplish this... : P Keep it up man, looking forward to the outcome!

 

Thanks!

It's freezing cold here, too. 15°F today, with an unheated, detached garage. So yeah... brr-r-r.

Last night I was experimenting with back-support, and I think two strips of 1/16" aluminum will work nicely. As for mounting the aluminum... double-sided indoor/outdoor mounting tape is incredibly strong.

At some point I'm hoping to get to the "hey that's not bad" point in this project, then start over with the final piece. Right now I'm still just throwing things together to see what does or doesn't work.

 

25 feet of trim seal came to my door yesterday. Not exactly a Xmas moment , but fun for me nonetheless.



First thing that's obvious and expected is that the design is very different than OEM. That said, it shouldn't matter because I plan on replacing all three OEM sections with this stuff, and both are 3/8" vertical bulbs atop a 1/16" channel.



Playing with the new trim seal, one thing that bugs me is how the channel is so-o-o much more tight, and while the overall piece is pliant enough, the channel itself is difficult to work with. So I'm going to have to figure it out.



But so far, I'm still pretty encouraged, and think this will work. First step will be to remove and replace the 4-foot section in back.

 

@Rochester, how many eye rolls did you get from the wife on this project? Asking for a friend...

 

She loves me, man... so if there are any eyerolls, it's all in good fun.

My 14 year old is always supportive of this stuff. However my 17 year old mocks me openly. It can be pretty brutal.

 

I cut a 4-foot section for the back piece, and tried it out. Don't think I care for it there. The edge in the back has a little curvature to its base that the front sections don't have, which makes the fitment less than perfect. It's not bad, but it's not perfect. That design of the edge back there explains why one side of the OEM trim seal has this wing extension design.

I still think it will work replacing the two front sections, because that edge is flat and vertical. But insofar as the back piece goes, it looks like I might have to decide between fitment and continuity. We'll see.