my first attempt at weather stripping...what a train wreck

[BTF/PTM]

So I cut my teeth on gluing weather strip in place today, I pulled off the main hatch seal (which was barely glued on at all and falling off in several places) to give reattaching it a shot. I used the Permatex black stuff, it's nasty shyte!

It was the instructions on the tube that made life most difficult, so someone please correct me if I didn't need to do it this way. It said to put a thin film on "both surfaces" and let dry. I took this to meaning laying a thin film on the body of the car and on the mating seal surface. The body was no big deal, but man laying a bead down on the seal and fighting the damned seal sticking to itself every eight inches as I went was infuriating. I let the two dry so they weren't tacky anymore and laid the final bead on the body and put the seal on a few inches at a time. Absolute nightmare, the seal would cling to the body the instant it contacted it due to all the adhesive already there and half the time the seal had stuck itself shut so I couldn't slide it into place without pulling the adhesive all over the place. I did eventually get it into place, but it's painfully obvious that a rookie did it, and I'm not even certain I got the thing to seal fully. I very well may have left gaps in the bead that could leak fumes between the seal and the body, but pulling it apart this time would likely destroy the seal.

Did I really need to do all those steps to put that seal on? Could I just have laid a nice fat bead onto the body and put the weather strip in place? What an adventure!

[Mikez73]

I'm no pro but I've had good results just using adhesive on the body. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if I can learn something.

[motorman7]

I hate putting in weatherstripping. It was easier to put in the windshield and rear hatch glass.

[Walter Moore]

I don't know how long it will hold up, but when I replaced my rear hatch weather strip last month I just pushed the new seal onto the car body, got it all lined up, and then pulled up the edges and laid a bead of the adhesive under the top side.

It seemed like it worked, but it has only been a month.

[BTF/PTM]

So I guess I won't be adding weather strip adhesive application to the list of things Motorman7 may be willing to help me with

Believe me, Walter, I'd be much less upset with leaks if I'd done it the way you did it than if it leaks after the job I did. I seriously went through half the tube of adhesive doing it the way the instructions said it and it cost a couple hours of cursing and fighting with half-stuck adhesive and pulling the strip into place over and over again.

[jmortensen]

That stupid hatch strip is the worst. Always falling off, and a little leak means you're breathing in enough exhaust to get high after 1/2 hour. I haven't tried to find a replacement strip yet, but I actually ground the lip off around the hatch so that I can run a door type strip that will slip onto the edge rather than being glued down. Getting close to needing the stripping, probably will check JC Whitney and see what they have, or see how much different the gap is from the hatch to the frame vs the door to the jamb and try to use some door w/s.

[motorman7]

So I guess I won't be adding weather strip adhesive application to the list of things Motorman7 may be willing to help me with

The frustrating thing is that my rear hatch weather stripping looked great for about 3 days...then I don't know what happened. Seems most of the edges rolled over toward the inside and now need to be glued down again. How does that happen?

[epsark]

I'll be watching this thread as well. I just my car back and my body man said he hates weather stripping, especially in my car. He actually refunded me the money I spent on the door seals because he feels he did such a bad job. I know I saw on another thread to use something like Subaru stripping? I ordered my hatch seal from Black Dragon and he didn't have any complaints over that one, just the doors. The hatch looks great! I supplied the sealent that they sold and at least for the hatch it looks good. I'll ask him how he did it if you would like. Not sure that it would help now, but maybe.

[Inf]

... I know I saw on another thread to use something like Subaru stripping? I ordered my hatch seal from Black Dragon and he didn't have any complaints over that one, just the doors. ...

I haven't seen much on Subaru stripping, maybe you're thinking about the Kia Sportage door seals. Search for Sportage, and you should find the thread.

Decided to replace the door seals later this summer, as it seems all the new Kia Sportage door seals that fit have been bought up until another boat brings some from Korea.

I'm also eagerly watching this thread, as I have to install my new hatch inner seal soon. The original one is starting to fall apart. I bought the seal Black Dragon sells, still need to get some adhesive. I've heard good things about the black 3M weatherstrip adhesive, so I'll try to track some of that down and give it a try with any tips people bring forward here.

[BTF/PTM]

The Permatex stuff I used has plenty of stick, it clings fiercely to anything it contacts whether you want it to or not. It's the stuff on the MSA site, I figured it was worth a couple bucks of over pricing to have the stuff included with the seals.

It even threatened to stick my fingers together when I tried to rub them together in order to ball some of it up and get it off my skin. I think I may try coating my tires with it, I could probably drive on the ceiling

Edited May 16, 2010 by BTF/PTM

[Diseazd]

Installing rubber seals is on the list that only professionals should attempt.....the longer I work on Z's the longer that list grows!

[BTF/PTM]

I can definitely relate to that one, Dizeazd. I don't think I'll be doing weather strip again. Just like all body work, it seems well worth it to pay someone who can do it right, and most importantly has the right tools to do the job.

That said, my girlfriend came up with a fantastic way to make weather strip on the hatch easier. That's right, I said my girlfriend. I might have to marry her now, she's turning out to be a better car guy than me We used this method on the smaller weather strip on the hatch, and I wish to tarnation I'd thought of something similar yesterday when I was dealing with the main seal.

After laying the bead of adhesive and putting the seal down, we put bic pens in the gap between the seal and body and then used plastic hangers to put force on the pens. This held the seal lip flat, since of course it wasn't anywhere near straight becuz, well, extruded rubber just can't be expected to hold a perfect shape. It worked incredibly well holding the seal down while the adhesive set. A bit tedious cuz we had to stand there with the hangers, but it worked well. Here's a picture:

Absolute genius, that girl. I imagine something bigger like a drum stick or magic marker in combination with the hanger may work for holding the main hatch seal in place.