Seam Sealer - Opinions Sought

[cobolman]

Hi All

I had a few questions about seam sealer:

1. Should it be applied to the interior, exterior, or both?

2. Should it be applied on top of primer, or on top of bare metal?

3. What's your particular favourite of seam sealer? - Bonus points if you tell us why

[minibitz]

1. Apply to both sides. You want to prevent water ingress to all lapped seams.

2. Apply on top of epoxy primer. The primer seals the metal, sealer provides a barrier to water ingress where there are gaps.

3. I use SikaSeal. I'm sure there are many other options depending on which territory you live in.

I also run a bead of this sealer between the door frame and skin when fitting door skins. This forms a barrier seal between the two panels preventing the typical mini lower door rust that forms and then bursts out through the door skin.

[MiNiKiN]

Hi All

I had a few questions about seam sealer:

1. Should it be applied to the interior, exterior, or both?
Apply to outside only, fill the lap from inside with a lanolin product like Fluidfilm after painting.You don't want any more closed cavities, where rust will inevitably thrive undetected, do you. Though I made some exceptions to this rule where I found remains of original seam sealer on the inside and where I had to cover-up not 100% perfect welds.
2. Should it be applied on top of primer, or on top of bare metal?
Apply on top of primer
3. What's your particular favourite of seam sealer? - Bonus points if you tell us why
SIKA, Sikaflex 529 - if you buy the set it comes with different style nozzles and a nylon brush, which enable you to reproduce original application methods and patterns. It is a bit on the low viscosity side, so make sure to put some cardboard on your stone paved drive or you will have dripplings everywhere. Ask me how I know

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