Seam sealer: how many cartridges?

[Philippe-J.]

Hi everyone,

After stripping the entire shell of my 67' OTS to bare metal and coating it with 2K epoxy primer, I intend to seal the seams between all the panels.
Do you confirm it is the right time to do so, as some say it should be done after high built primer?
What quantity of seam sealer is needed for the whole shell, including the bonnet and doors? How many cartridges?
Thanks for your answers.

[politeperson]

I buy 10 tubes at a time Phillipe. Black, grey of white depending of the colour of the car.

I apply them between parallel lines of masking tape, separated by 10mm, remove the tape and then feather the edges.

It is absolutely essential prior to the next coat.

Another way of doing it is to apply a very thin line to the seam, then wipe off the excess with slow thinner on a rag (panel wipe).

This way also gives a good result.



Of course the most important thing is to hot wax inject all the box sections and bulkheads after the top coat has fully cured. 25l should do it at 100 psi.

[Philippe-J.]

Thank you for this useful answer. I would not have said so many, I did well to ask.
I'll do the second method you suggest. Anyway it will be better than the original application I found on my car prior to stripping!


I'll take it gray as my best candidate for future paint color is OSG, same as your avatar.

[politeperson]

Yes Phillippe.
That sealer looks like it is there to hide something.
I am just about to seal a bare body tub. I reckon it will take me most of a day.
You will use much less if you just try and fill in the gaps.

[Philippe-J.]

That's what I feared at the first instance. Thankfully I discovered no disaster when I stripped the paint. Actually the panels are quite sound, apart from the floors.
Filing only the gaps would need how many tubes then? Five?
For the time required, it might be lot more than a day to me as I haven't done that before (except for the tub in my bathroom, but I guess it is not applicable).

[Philippe-J.]

Hi!

I am now in the process of sealing all the seams of the shell. In particular I am wondering whether I should seal the seams between the heel wells to the floors?
I purchased completed floors from MR, they are originally equipped with the wells, but maybe the more (seams) the better?
Thanks for your comments.

[Gfhug]

Philippe, it is something you must look at and see if the seams look vulnerable.
Two topics may help you:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20309
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20308

And searching on here for seam or seams may give you some other thoughts.

Bonne chance

Geoff

[Philippe-J.]

Thank you Geoff for your answer.
I conclude that I will seal those seams too, all around the heel well flanges.
As for the rear wheel arch seams, I was aware of them, but I must admit it was quite a mystery to me when I discovered mine under the stone chip. Chuck from Monocoque Metalworks kindly explained to me the what and the how of them. Only afterwards did I found the topics you indicate, and they confirmed Chuck's information. Apart from those it seems to me that this doesn't show in the workshop manuals, does it?

[Philippe-J.]

To those who are interested in this issue, I will conclude this thread answering my own question.
After my experience on a roadster I finally used only 2 tubes of seam sealer. I used the method explained in

that is the DIY method, with thin seams, not the industrial one.

As for the time needed, that's another story. When you think you're done, you always discover one hidden seam, it seemed to be endless. At least now I know how many seams it takes to fill an E Type...