Hood Sealing - Adding Seal & Sikaflex

[Ekapol]

Hi all,

I added the rubber seal to the "A" pillar per Scott's instruction on LEC. I just happened to find 3M rubber seal at my favorite autostore, comes with the self adhesive tape, so it's pretty easy to work with, just peel it and stick it there. I use 7/8" width.

The top was then very hard to close at first reminding me that Scott mentioned in the write-up "It was really hard to close...but really really tight." My experience is more like Very Very Very Very darn hard to close at first, a little better on the 2nd day. Today is the 3rd day and I'm waiting for its 90 day anniversary coming up.

At the same time I managed to fix the roof seals with Sikaflex. As you might also see that the factory seals weren't perfectly injected and have a lot of bubble holes along the side. Overtime these holes start to break out along the edge of the seals, showing the sponge like material inside, etc. I cover the parts that are breaking with Sikaflex, also try to smooth them out as much as I could. Did pretty neat job to cover the smaller broken bubbles and the rear lower edge where the window meets the body. One regret though, I should have put the rubber gloves on.

Anybody out there with Sikaflex experiences:

- I still have quite a gap on the rear edge of the side windows to cover. Is it possible to go crazy with Sikaflex and make the wing out from the original rubber seal, like the one in newer Elan.

- Also I plan to paint the whole rubber thing flat black, so they will have the same color. What kind of paint I should use? I spent many years in my childhood airbrushing 1/24 plastic model and don't want to make goofy mistake on my 1/1 scale

Thanks guys,

[theelanman]

from the sikaflex point of view...Ive heard that a smooth finish can be achieved by using cling film rather than your finger......
something along the lines of place your sikaflex then cover with clingfilm and create you desired shape.....I think its more for doing straight edges (ie a pillar) rather than say b post top.....
this is all hear say as Ive not tried it myself yet but it all sounds completely credible to me
cheers
g

[johnbenk]

signed off

[Ekapol]

Thanks John and G for the useful information. Yes, reading Sikaflex's materials sound really promising, really doing it is quite a challenging job .. for me

Will post the pictures once they are done.

I couldn't find cling film from the famous home improvement store, neither at the autostore. Do you know where I can get them?

[Doug]

try wax paper or saran=wrap/plastic cling snadwich wrap -- the goal is having something to blot it with that it won't stick to.

[Ekapol]

Doug, Wax paper sounds good to me. Will give it a go now.

[Michael]

I've been experimenting with black Poly Max MS-Polymer by Bison for local repair on the A-seal.
This stuff glues and seals, stays elastic and once dry it is very strong.
It was very easy to apply and it seals perfectly.
I put it on at the end of last summer and up to now I am very satisfied with the results. No leaking rain anymore

The only negative side is that the black color does not completely match with the original seal color. It is a bit more grey so one can see it being applied. The stuff can be painted but I choose not to do that.

One other negative side is that it packaged in a large container with 420 grams with is far to much for local repair work. I found out that once opened after some time the remains in the container can not be used anymore. This makes it a bit expensive unless you use a lot of it.

M

[Ekapol]

Michael,

It was nice hearing some success stories, so I know there is a way..

How is your B pillar seal? Do you have the gap between the top rear of the window and the seal? I have half an inch gap or so.

[Michael]

I do not have such a big gap at the B-pillar. However, from time to time we suffer from a little bit of water when it is raining.
Strangest thing is that this does not happen at all times....
I don't bother enough to get into a fix for that.
A towel will do nicely

[Ekapol]

Just an update on reporting that my hood was really hard to close once I fit the new rubber seal on the top of "A" pillar. I used Sikaflex itself to "glue" the end of the new seal.

As I was waiting for it to cure and form a permanent bond, I managed to sqeezed all the air out from middle of the seal to flatten it out. Then closed the hood for few hours. The end result was a nice new "A" pillar seal that will do the sealing job and the hood that is not too hard to close.

Very happy so far that I don't have to wait 87 more days ...

[johnbenk]

signed off

[Ekapol]

I have "before" shot with me. The "A" pillar is done. The other parts are still work-in-progress. Will post the picture soon

[Ekapol]

[Ekapol]

Another angle:

[Doug]

Hey Costas, that's your sun visor in the bottom right of the above picture -- thanks!

[johnbenk]

signed off

[Ekapol]

Looks good but which part did you repair?

Thank you

It's the middle seal right in the middle of the picture. The one that looks a little lighter, with lighter shade of blue somehow, with no dust on it.

[Ekapol]

That is just new A pillar seal. B pillar is not done yet. Been working on the other parts

[brubaker]

I've just bought some rubber paint from frosts and will be attacking my seals...which do leave a little to be desired. I will post before and after pictures and some detail as to process.

All the best

PJ

[Ekapol]

Go for it PJ. Can't wait to see your pictures

I'm going Sikaflex route. Still a lot of work to do. I want to close all the gap first to make it all water tight then I will move on to sanding/smoothing job. Sikaflex will leave shiny surface once cured but it will turn flat after a while or if you rub your finger on it. Starting to get a hang of it now.

Finished molding 2 small rubber pieces over the weekend using wax paper. Will attach them to my trim soon. Finger crossing all the way