EMWHYR0HEN Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 There's too many seam sealers out there to choose from. I just asked John Hines and he said his 3M sealer cracked in 2 weeks, I was going to buy some too! Anyone have any good experiences with some seam sealer? I'd hate to go back and wirebrush off some crappy sealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I've used 3M Bushable Seam Sealer 051135-08656 on probably a dozen different cars over the last 5 years without a problem. Maybe it has trouble with colder climates but its worked great for me here in SoCal. EDIT: its important to clean the seams after welding with Acetone and then use air to blow out and dry the seams after cleaning. Just putting seam sealer over welded seams invites cracking and peeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedNeckZ Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 You can use Fusor 800EZ to seal and then use a brush on sealer for extra protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 It cost $16-17 per tube on reccomendation from the paint store. I put it on top of several day old 2 part urethane primer, after applying OSPHO properly, and after sandblasting FRESH before OSPHO. It got worse after I reprimed 2 weeks later. Here are some choice cracks. They are EVERYWHERE. I am going to LOWES to reseal with a real naptha solvent caulk. I have not had the time to go through all the possible problems with application and suitability for the job. I took it on the sales rep's word that it would be suitable in the manner I intended to use it. It obviously was NOT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 By the way, temps were in the mid 70s and higher in the daytime, and mid 60s at night for the entire 2 week period. Humidity has been relatively low. I don't mess with the paint supplies when it is raining out(which is rarely this year. Here is the data sheet The only thing I can see is possible is that the sealer was WAYYYY out of date or something. I have to go look at the tube again. ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Here are some choice cracks. They are EVERYWHERE. I am going to LOWES to reseal with a real naptha solvent caulk. Ummm.. whats wrong with Home Depot? *cough* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 It really is a 5hitty situation. I trusted 3M to provide a useful product. A seam sealer that cracks is NOT a useful product. I am very dissapointed that their prices are premium and their performance is poor. It also requires that I seal AGAIN! with a different product in hopes that the 3M product does not continue to shrink and crack. It advertises "excellent shrink resistance" WTF are they trying to pull? There is a mention on the data sheet that says "acid etching primer is not recommended". It would have been nice for them to say that "Any acid primer at all(no matter how well covered up), will cause complete/miserable failure of this product". The funny thing is... I wiped some on the edge of the trash can and some cardboard, as well as numerous rags. It all has the same cracking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 There is a mention on the data sheet that says "acid etching primer is not recommended". It would have been nice for them to say that "Any acid primer at all(no matter how well covered up), will cause complete/miserable failure of this product". The funny thing is... I wiped some on the edge of the trash can and some cardboard, as well as numerous rags. It all has the same cracking. I think this sounds like the problem. Ospho is ph-ospho-ric acid. I was going to ask you about that. Did you hose off the whole car after you applied the Ospho? I think that's the recommended procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 The funny thing is... I wiped some on the edge of the trash can and some cardboard, as well as numerous rags. It all has the same cracking. Baaaaa... Humbug... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Hawk Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Ummm.. whats wrong with Home Depot? *cough* The Home Depot NASCAR driver is slower than the Lowes NASCAR driver, so it goes to follow that if you apply a Home Depot product to your Z, then it will be slower than if you had utilized the Lowes product. Clear as mud! - David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgts1 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Hi, the car looks great. I am about to replace my engine frame rails also, but have a question. When you cut the old frame rail out, do you brace the front end at all so it doesn't get out of alignment? Or is the front end strong enought to support itself? I was going to replace one side at a time to try to keep it true. Any advise? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted November 12, 2007 Author Share Posted November 12, 2007 John I wouldn't take the hose to any part of the car with bare metal. If your refering to the phospheric acid cleaner stuff, I'd just wipe it down w/o water. Hi, the car looks great. I am about to replace my engine frame rails also, but have a question. When you cut the old frame rail out, do you brace the front end at all so it doesn't get out of alignment? Or is the front end strong enought to support itself? I was going to replace one side at a time to try to keep it true. Any advise? Thanks Thanks. As most people do it here, I would do one side at a time. Only cut out where your going to be working. If you do it like that you wont have to worry about the front end flexing . Before you start cutting, make plenty of measurments of crossmember location, t/c bracket, swaybar, etc. Another thing is, If I were to do it again, I would have taken all of the paint, undercoating seam sealers, etc. all at once ( on both sides of the metal). Its such a PITA to go back and remove the crap before you work each time. Lastly, where a respirator when welding. I can't stress enough how bad all the crap on the old metal is for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgts1 Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 Thanks for the advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted December 16, 2007 Author Share Posted December 16, 2007 It's been a while since my last update, and now that I see my previous pictures it's been a productive month to say the least. Engine bay: I used round tube to connect back of strut towers to the cowl where the gussets are, and used 16 ga sheet on both ends to spread the load. The front core support area was messed up from previous accidents so I chopped it off and used 1'' x .085 round tube to connect the top frame rail to the bottom frame rail in the shape of an X. Next I fabbed up some new engine mounts that placed the engine 1/2'' lower and 3'' back. With the engine in place I made a latteral STB using the same 1'' round tube. Floor: I fabbed up some seat mounts using 2'' x 16 ga square tube cutting one side of the tube and welded nuts on th inside for my seat brackets to bolt onto. I also used the same materials to connect the seat mounts from side to side inside the trans tunnel. Then again I used the square tube to connect from rocker to rocker for the transmission mount. I seam sealed all my work using the sealer John sugested. Hard as hell to brush on smooth, but worked great. Finally, painted all the exposed metal with Rust Bullet with a small 1/4 nap roller and brush. I'm still concerned about the core support replaced with the X bars. I was thinking of running another bar on top of the X laterally. Is what I have now enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 That looks plenty stout, although I would box the clevis' on the strut towers up to where the bar bolts in. BJ, the seam sealer you posted in the picture is not the same stuff I used. I use the brushable seam sealer part number 08656 that is grey and comes in a quart can. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MAutomotive/Aftermarket/Products/Product-Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECFTDQCEK3_nid=GSNKJYXPHDbe6DTWTJQPBBgl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buZy Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Myron, Great job on the dash. Simple, plain and very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMWHYR0HEN Posted December 16, 2007 Author Share Posted December 16, 2007 That looks plenty stout, although I would box the clevis' on the strut towers up to where the bar bolts in. Not exactly sure what you mean, I'm thinking something like this? Sorry for the crappy pic. If the loads of this peice are laterally, would boxing it really help much? Brian, Thanks. I'll have more pictures of the dash in the interior section soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Looking really really good Myron. I boxed my strut tower brackets, but I think in retrospect with all of the other stiffening I did on the strut towers the strut tower bar probably won't be doing much of anything other than the straight across lateral loading that you mentioned, so maybe it wasn't worth it in retrospect, even if it didn't take much time or add much weight. Without all of the extra bracing the bracket would tend to move fore/aft with with strut tower and that's where the boxing would come in handy I think. Since it appears you've already painted everything and it's already braced all over the place I would think that it's probably not worth the effort. I like the no BS dash too. Very racey, unlike the dashes you see with 35 gauges and switches all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 very impressive! Looks amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 pics not working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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