Hatch area seam sealer/mastic?

[wman24]

On any 79 to 93 hatch I've ever seen there is a sealer that looks like was applied in tape form where the roof skin meets the inner quarter and hinge mount pannel all come together. Does any body know what this material is and how too replicate how the factory installed it?

[K PONY]

On any 79 to 93 hatch I've ever seen there is a sealer that looks like was applied in tape form where the roof skin meets the inner quarter and hinge mount pannel all come together. Does any body know what this material is and how too replicate how the factory installed it?

Without seeing pics as I have a coupe what you are talking about is most likely a peel and stick die cut patch... these were put in place on the sealer line and before the car went through paint... easy to install, simply position and press into place and once through the ovens it gets melted into place... I doubt anyone reproduces these.

[SoundsGood]

Without seeing pics as I have a coupe what you are talking about is most likely a peel and stick die cut patch... these were put in place on the sealer line and before the car went through paint... easy to install, simply position and press into place and once through the ovens it gets melted into place... I doubt anyone reproduces these.

+1 maybe try the dealers body shop,or if you know anyone who works at a car plant

[gr79]

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...beD01Z2897V1gl

[wman24]

That tape looks like it will work, thanks guys.

[wman24]

Of corse, its on ebay per roll.

[etc1006]

Someone else brought this up not long ago. I think the general consensus was to apply enough and use a putty knife to cover the required area. I'd imagine some duct tape to outline the old stuffs area would make a good dam for it. I need to redo this on my SVO, as its all cracked to hell from living in the AZ desert for 25 years.

[83 V8 RS T's]

I spent awhile playing around with this on my Capri.
Mask the area with GOOD quality "3M" masking tape.I even went as far as to cut a circle and place it on the factory location.
Go to a body shop supply store and buy a paintable type seam sealer(most are paintable)
Use protective gloves like latex,I like the blue nitrile ones.
Apply seam sealer but just alittle at a time.
Just like seeing someone smoothing caulking using your spit smooth out the seam sealer with spit and your finger to a factory like apperance.
I didn't get first shot. Several attempts made perfect.Pull the tape off as soon as possible and carfully trim imperfections with a sharp knife. Once cured for several days I scuffed it with a 3M scotchbrite pad.Primed and painted it really looks like a original part of my 83 Capri.
Just a suggestion.
Good luck.

[ddx77]

Figured I would revive a thread opposed to starting a new one.

Has anyone come up with anything new on repairing these ?

Or are the recommendations the same.

Thanks.





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[84StangSVT]

Figured I would revive a thread opposed to starting a new one.

Has anyone come up with anything new on repairing these ?

Or are the recommendations the same.

Thanks.

I did mine by removing all of the old sealer, creating new boundaries via tape and smeared 3M seam sealer across the area. Pretty much what the post above yours says. I think I documented it in my build thread.

The hardest part of the job was removing all of the old sealer. It took awhile.

[ddx77]

I did mine by removing all of the old sealer, creating new boundaries via tape and smeared 3M seam sealer across the area. Pretty much what the post above yours says. I think I documented it in my build thread.

The hardest part of the job was removing all of the old sealer. It took awhile.

I will check it out. Thank you


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[84StangSVT]

I will check it out. Thank you


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It starts on this page. Not the world's greatest documentation, but it covers what I did when going back with the sealer.
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...-Thread/page13

[ddx77]

Thank you again, your thread is great! Your seam sealer job looks great, gave me some ideas also. I may try the tape 3m sells and see how that comes out. Where my car is black it may help hide whatever I use.

It starts on this page. Not the world's greatest documentation, but it covers what I did when going back with the sealer.
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...-Thread/page13

[protraxduner]

Is it necessary to have this HUGE area all gobbled up with tape or seam sealer? Or can it be welded/body filled/finished off nicely? My 86 is not bad could look better, i cant remember but i don't think my 87 has this huge covering. I understand for the authenticity buffs it may be the way to go but i would like it to look better. thanks

[ddx77]

I agree with you, it'd be nice to eliminate.

Can't tell you how many people see that, not knowing what it is and say "man you got a ton of bondo here!"


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[SuperDuty455]

They make thin but very strong butyl tape for roofs, this should work well for that and look clean if cut properly. I had used it on the floor of my Trans Am to seal the factory plugs.

[protraxduner]

Since mine is not in bad shape and i don't plan to repaint it anytime soon, does someone have a picture of what this looks like uncovered? I don't want to remove mine only to make it look worse, since again mine looks pretty good compared to pics on this thread. However its the first thing i notice on my 86 that just looked like .......well crap....looks like painted duct tape.....

[ddx77]

I will as soon as I remove mine. But I'm a week out.


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[84StangSVT]

Since mine is not in bad shape and i don't plan to repaint it anytime soon, does someone have a picture of what this looks like uncovered?

Here ya go......

http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...=1#post1818637

[protraxduner]

i would say after looking at those pictures that it could be finished off WAY nicer than the huge tape stuff. So for me (when the time comes) i will probably weld up and body work as best you can in that area. OR at the very least just put a nice bead of seam sealer at the appropriate locations.

[wraithracing]

The reason for the large area of sealant in that area is that you have multiple pieces of the uni-body coming together. The roof, the quarter panels, the hatch inner sheet metal, etc. all merge together in that area of the car. Obviously for Ford it is much cheaper and easier to place a large section of sealant on it to help hide all the seams and to prevent rust.

You can go thru the trouble to weld up all the seams and grind everything down nice and smooth if you like. You can also use some self leveling seam sealer to hide all the seams and seal them up well. It all depends on your personal choices. If your car will be stored indoors the rest of it's life then the welding and finishing should be just fine. Otherwise, if stored out doors, I would recommend still using a quality seam sealer to help protect that area of the car. Unfortunately that area can hold water, leaves, debris, etc. when stored outside and subject to the elements. All of that can lead to premature rusting in that area without proper sealing and protection. Best of Luck!

[ddx77]

Okay so I've got my seam sealer set. Now my question is how long before I can paint it and will it need to be primed.

I used the 3m heavy bodied seam sealer. 3M 08308 Heavy-Bodied Seam Sealer Cartridge - 200 ml

Not as smooth as I would have liked but considering it was my first time I'm okay with it. I now want to paint and clear those areas and the top part where the hinges are. As mentioned this stuff dries fast, you've got about 2 minutes or less to do what you want with it.

Thanks to everyone's input on this thread, it was useful!










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[wraithracing]

I would double check the packaging, but normally 8 hours should be plenty of cure time assuming you are around 70 degrees or more. I assume Florida is at least that warm.

Primer isn't necessary, but if you are spraying the surrounding areas with primer, then I would spray the sealer with primer too. Good Luck!

[84StangSVT]

Drew, I responded to your PM so hopefully you got it.

I will post a slightly condensed version here for everyone.

I used 3M's Fast and Firm 08505.
Since I had some rust in that area, I cleaned it up and put down a couple coats of Rustoleum's Rust Reformer. I followed that with primer/sealer and then applied the seam sealer. 3M states that with this particular seam sealer, it is paintable as soon as 45 minutes after application since it skins and cures so fast, but I waited a full 24 hours to paint over it. When I did the final coat, since I was painting the whole hatch channel, I scuffed it up, shot primer and then paint.

One thing I did notice, and it might be the brand/type of paint I used was the areas above the seam sealer did not "flash off" near as quick as it did on the rest of the channel. It took a couple days for the paint on top of it to fully cure out and not feel tacky. It's possible that that might have been partially to do with the weather since I did it in winter with a garage that was not really climate controlled. It might have been different had I of done it now, where it is warmer.

BTW, your attempt looks pretty good from this side of the computer.
Mine was pretty rough the first time so I redid it. While much smoother now, it's still not "perfect".

[gr79]

After curing, should be able to smooth it by sanding.