In my last blog entry I promised to talk about the rope-in gasket installations. Before I can do that, however, we need to define the different gaskets used in the automotive industry.

There are two types of gaskets used in auto glass mounting, the “H” style gasket and the “S” style gasket. The “H” style gasket is one that wraps around the pinchweld and the glass installed into it is smaller than the part opening by the measurement of “A” as shown in the diagram below.

The “H” style of gasket is one that does not allow for a rope-in method of installation because of the rather thick and inflexible interior flap. The designed installation method for this type of gasket is the lip-in method which we will address in a later post.

The other style of gasket is the “S” style. The “S” style of gasket is more versatile because it allows for all types of installation methods; rope-in, lip-in and three-sided. It also demands that the glass is greater than the body opening by the measurement of “C.”

The reason that this gasket style is more versatile is because of a hinge-like interior flap that allows for the easy pivot of the flap for rope-in installation purposes, or it can have a locking device like an insert bead or self-locking flap that tucks into itself. These locking devices allow for the lip-in style of installation.

The understanding of the two types of gaskets is important because we will be referring to these later on when we talk about glass-cutting.