Seam Sealer

[Dodge Ball]

What's a good seam sealer and how is it supposed to be applied?

[jimynick]

There are various types for various situations from various manufacturers. Not trying to be a smart a$$, just truth. 3M and Lord Fusor are players, but I'd go by the local body shop supplier and have a discussion with them as to what, where and why for your usage and they should be able to steer you in the right direction. Good luck. 

[Topcat]

the original seam sealer inside the interior was a gooey tar sprayed out on the seam by an assembly worker.

I used a 3M product. It came in a caulking tube.
White in color. 

[Dodge Ball]

the original seam sealer inside the interior was a gooey tar sprayed out on the seam by an assembly worker.

I used a 3M product. It came in a caulking tube.
White in color.

Did you spread it with a putty knife? They used a ton of this stuff! I'm wondering if a brush on type will work and can I layer it up to close all the gaps.

[Topcat]

I used a spray bottle and spritzed with water it to lay it down while smoothing it with a rubber glove on my hand.

I have a picture of it on my resto.

It's white and not black but after, it had paint over it

[hemiken]

Their is no need to lay it on thick unless you are simulating for a concorse finish. A simple way is to caulk it in to the seam and use your finger with a water and detergent mix in a spray bottle to help your finger to glide on the seam sealer and then afterwards you can lightly go over each seam with a brush to give a little more of an authentic look to each area.

[Topcat]

Also, let it dry for quite a while as it takes longer to cure than what Tar did.

[hemiken]

  It will depend on brand too. You could use a construction type adhessive as a sealer that cures fast also. But comes in.

[Dodge Ball]

The seam sealer I'm seeing on the back half of the car in the trunk area is white. This can't be the same stuff as in the passenger area.

[hemiken]

You will also find one that is like a tan colour too, it is a bit like an expandafoam, has lots of air bubbles in it, not sure what they used their either, but if you just want to do the job and make it look tidy, use one product and paint over everything.
Are you after a concorse finish ?

[Dodge Ball]

Just looking for a product that will apply easily and fill in all the gaps. After removing all the old sealer it becomes obvious why they used so much in the first place. Get all the pieces close enough, spot weld, and fill all the gaps with sealer. That's my goal.

[hemiken]

Thank goodness we do not build things like in the old days the gaps were atrocious

[torredcuda]

Use a good urethane type, the old type is more prone to dry and crack.

[jimynick]

I used an actual bonding kit from 3M to seal the joints where I put in the new inner rear wheel wells and trunk floor. It's 2 part and comes with it's own mixing tubes. It does take a special caulking gun applicator, but you can buy cheap versions or I'd see about borrowing/renting one for the weekend from a local shop. Take your time and lay the bead in the groove carefully and you can take a small flux brush and draw it out nearly perfectly, quite easily. The bonus is that since it's a bonding agent, it actually improves the strength of the joint, seals it AND looks better than the gobs of goo the factory used. It's not cheap, but for myself, I'm going to do every GD seam on the car before it's painted! Don't forget to remove the paint where you use it.