Sill / Body seams

[mook]

my mum had rabies...

[wbute]

Hydrophobia is Rabies!!!


Actually , the correct term for the attraction or absorbtion of moisture from the atmosphere by paints etc is Hygroscopic.

Ah man this is too confusing. My wife is a medical scientist as well as a photographer. She says the following....get a life(referring to me).
according to Biology by Campbell
hydrphobic is any substance that will not dissolve in water or have an affinity for it.
according to Biology by Campbell
hydrophilic is any substance that has an affinity for water e.g. cotton which absorbs water.
But I can't be bothered going any further. The rabies thing is an association to the fact that patients can't drink water due to the pain in there throat. Hence the connection to the scientific definition.

[Grunt]

So after the hydro whatever debate, wont sean sealer that comes in a cartridge do the job?

[mook]

yeah, that will do.

[SLR_dave]

Probably dripcheck, same stuff that is in the gutters and along the firewall-cowl joint (in front of the ID plates). It is a 3M product, looks like toothpaste and sticks to everything. From memory (did it 20 years ago) you squeeze it on and then rough it on with a wet rubber or plastic appicator. My mate used sikaflex on his Monaro rather than dripcheck.

This is really useful! Very glad I saw this.

[SLR_dave]

Does anyone have more advice on seam sealant / Dripcheck application?

I’m up to this stage, pretty much tomorrow, and I’d really like some advice, (pics attached) but mostly ;

How do you neatly get that line of seam sealer in the seam that runs above the wheels leading back to the cabin?

And also, regarding using sealant in the gap between the body and the upper gutter rails, - has anyone got any more comment or experience on how to do this well? Having had an experiment yesterday with 3M dripchek I dunno if this is the best stuff to reseal it. Here is the old factory stuff (probably old dripchek) getting cleaned out - note rust.





The van is in primer now and I saw this thread a week or so back, and so got some dripcheck and had a bit of a test, but now I’m wondering about the wisdom of this as I describe below. It seems to me an easy way to create a space where you could actually seal water in, or cause it to collect and sit, unless you could fully fill in the gap;



I also wondered, If 3M Dripchek is hygroscopic, I can see how that would be helpful on pulling moisture out whilst drying, but if it remains hygroscopic after it has dried, then that’s a bit of a question, why would this be good? Wouldn't this pull water into that gap, the moisture could imagineably stay largely in the compound, but sometimes would surely sit between the compound and the steel, depending on ambient humidity…? seems to me to be exactly what you don’t want!

I have emailed 3M asking about the hygroscopic properties of Dripcheck after it has set, but at the time of this posting, I am yet to hear back.

I did a bit of checking, and found Dripcheck is an older product now, some (online) paint and panel websites, are recommending newer polyurethanes (Yep I did read the ealier posts on this thread by HK 1837 and Mook) great work guys, but how do I get it neat !!! Anyway it seems many of these newer compounds will stick both to bare metal and primer with corrosion protection, whereas Dripcheck says on the tube that it does not offer full corrosion protection against bare metal. As Mook points out, reliably getting paint in that gap is a hard task. So the desired compound should be something that sticks real hard and also protects both paint and bare steel.

I also had some issues with my test run on Dripcheck, its gel sorta sticky, I found it hard to get into that gap with any confidence I had filled it, and even using masking tape, its surface sets quite quick and I couldn’t get a neat line, I even tried using a syringe! (no good, it doesn't like even being loaded in the syringe! lol) I ended up pulling as much of what I had applied out of the gap as I could using thinners before it set.

The seam sealant in these joints obviously has to be really neat or it will detract seriously from the finish. Im wondering if anyone has any magic tips on how to get it neat, or even just close up finished photos of that lower seam? Shaping an an applicator to fit up into the gutter should get it petty neat, but the lower seam seems like finer work to me, and so far, I aint got it quite right yet, and I cant remember what it looked like beforehand. I'd really appreciate some pics of a good finished result, or advice!!

[Vombil]

The seam sealant in these joints obviously has to be really neat or it will detract seriously from the finish. Im wondering if anyone has any magic tips on how to get it neat, or even just close up finished photos of that lower seam? Shaping an an applicator to fit up into the gutter should get it petty neat, but the lower seam seems like finer work to me, and so far, I aint got it quite right yet, and I cant remember what it looked like beforehand. I'd really appreciate some pics of a good finished result, or advice!![/QUOTE]

They were pretty rough from factory. gross lead wipes etc. if you go for perfection it might loose that original look

[SLR_dave]

They were pretty rough from factory. gross lead wipes etc. if you go for perfection it might loose that original look

Hi Vombil,
Good point, great to hear your feedback. Perfection is a long way off yet I promise man, LOL. But more seriously, it's a tight gap, and if I fill it I would like to do it well. Factory rough is about as good as I'll get it anyway I reckon, maybe a fraction smoother, maybe. You wouldnt be worried about original rough if you could see the rest of the car though - lol - but its gonna get there .

[benvanman]

Most wurth stuff is really good mate and its in a big tube that goes in a caulking gun ( think that's what it's called) so you can cut the end to whatever size. The ones we use at work is kd bond and seal or spray sealer , and yep neatest way I've found is with your finger to wipe along it.have a rag with a bit of thiners on it to keep cleaning off your finger and I end up with a pretty neat job. Practice makes perfect tho and you gotta get just the right amount in to start with or it ends up everywhere

[mook]

I find if you use it in a caulking gun with a small opening you can run along with the gun at 30 degree angle laying back while pushing forward you can really get it in there. Working quickly lightly spray prepsol on it, then quickly remove as much as possible with your finger (spray prepsol on it first). You cant have gaps in the caulking before spraying the prepsol otherwise the next run of caulking wont stick. don't fiddle with it when its starts skinning over you'll just fudge it up. Practice around the house with a garden sprayer and some silicone (Kitchen etc) that'll give you the feel for it. the seems on my van were wire wheeled, rust converted, then primed before the caulking was put in.

If you are not confident with the finger then fold a piece of new clean kitchen towel (the blue stuff) for the final pass.

Be organised and work as cleanly as possible.

If you fudge it then you can practice again! LOL

I'm no expert but i hope this helps.