What kind of compound to use as wing2body sealing

[jobster]

TR6 1973, rear-wing seams start to crack a little bit. Start to worry that it will trap water, and result in rust over time. What should I do and use to fix it. Don't want to take the wing of, that would be overkill. Afraid to use silicone, if I could get it in black in the 1st place at all, which I doubt.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

Depending on how long the rear wing has been attached, if it has been a long time, then the cracking could be from rust forming in the seam. This rust could be coming from above, or from the under side of the wing, but may also be coming from rust forming from the inside of the tub. Moisture likes to condense on the upper underside of the rear deck then run down into the unsealed joint connecting the rear deck to the inner wheel well. As the rust expands it forces the joint apart which will allow water to enter from above.

These thumbnails show where damage has occurred all along this area from inside. (click to enlarge)



You can easily check for this condition by removing the trunk lining and with a flash light take a look around under the rear deck area.

Depending on what you see, will determine if just top sealing will fix the problem. But IMHO, probably not a long term fix. Silicon is not a good solution. The best would be to carefully remove the wing, fix the rust problems, then use a non-harding seam sealer.

Good luck

 

[Guest]

Re: What kind of compound to use as wing2body seal

How about Waxoyl?

 

[vettedog72]

Re: What kind of compound to use as wing2body seal

Bill
Several of the body parts have a material that seals them from water. The sealer is used in new cars too. Usually it is painted over when the car is made. Does Waxyol repalce this OEM sealer?

 

[jobster]

Re: What kind of compound to use as wing2body seal

Ray,tx for the info and pix. Will have a look as advised. Car was completely body off by VMPO (very meticulous previous owner)restored 6yrs ago, and as vettedog72 points out, yes for mine OEM sealer was used and painted over. Shame you used the dreadful word r*st, don't want that used around my car ..... Any particular brand I need to look for, or what/where should I order?

 

[TR6oldtimer]

Re: What kind of compound to use as wing2body seal

Sorry about the R word. It's just that I have a lot of it. At my stage of refurbishing my car, I am not ready to seal the wings. But when I get there, I will look into using Dum Dum, a nonharding joint sealer, or 3M Strip-Caulk which claims:
*Soft, Non-hardening, black caulking material in one-foot lengths for use in all types of seams, joins and openings.
*Easily thumbed into place and smoothed with finger.
*May be painted immediately.
*Has non-sag consistency for vertical and overhead applications.
*No shrinkage
*Adheres to metal, paint, glass and rubber.
*Waterproof
*Will not crack or dry out.

I have also read where restorers have used windshield sealant with good results. Your local auto paint store should have products with the same characteristics.

The downside to Dum Dum and the 3M product is they are black and require removing the wings to apply.

Let us know how it goes.

This is a link that carries the 3M product. There are others.

 

[jobster]

Re: What kind of compound to use as wing2body seal

Sorry about the R word. It's just that I have a lot of it. At my stage of refurbishing my car, I am not ready to seal the wings. But when I get there, I will look into using Dum Dum, a nonharding joint sealer, or 3M Strip-Caulk which claims:
*Soft, Non-hardening, black caulking material in one-foot lengths for use in all types of seams, joins and openings.
*Easily thumbed into place and smoothed with finger.
*May be painted immediately.
*Has non-sag consistency for vertical and overhead applications.
*No shrinkage
*Adheres to metal, paint, glass and rubber.
*Waterproof
*Will not crack or dry out.

I have also read where restorers have used windshield sealant with good results. Your local auto paint store should have products with the same characteristics.

The downside to Dum Dum and the 3M product is they are black and require removing the wings to apply.

Let us know how it goes.

This is a link that carries the 3M product. There are others.

Will start this weekend with my search. Both products can be found around here (tx Google!) and the 3M sounds like the way to go. Will briefly use the hairdryer just to make sure everything is dry and simply push it in from the outside. Will post a pic before and after for anyone to comment on this weekend.