Topic: Advice regarding door weatherstrip

[Angela]

I've given up on NOS weather strip because of cracking. I have a pair of Daniel Carpenter 67-68 door weatherstrips which are made in the USA. As far as concours correct reproductions are concerned, are Carpenter's weatherstrips the best I'm going to be able to get my hands on? Or, is there another source someone would recommend? The set from Carpenter looks OK, but appears a little narrower than the originals. I found the same to be true with the trunk weatherstrip from Carpenter.... it works but seems a little bit more narrow than the original and after a year or so installed it doesn't seem to be holding up that well.

Last but not least, are the door weatherstrips supposed to be glued on with the yellow adhesive, same as with the trunk seal?

[ruppstang]

I have had good results with the Carpenter weather stripping. Often the NOS stuff is hard. Yes yellow adhesive on door seals.
Marty

[Angela]

OK, thanks Marty. I was hoping there was an alternative door weatherstrip that appeared a little closer to the width and thickness of the original seals.

How long have you had the Carpenter weatherstrip installed and are they holding up well? The Carpenter weatherstrip I used for the deck lid isn't holding up so well. This wouldn't be of any concern to me if it weren't for the fact that they're glued on and a pain in the rear to replace! :-(

[midlife]

I had problems with the Carpenter weatherstrip on my 66 (YMMV), but I found an excellent replacement as a slightly cheaper repro version.  I forgot where I got it or who made it...sorry...

[ruppstang]

My cars are trailer cars, so they do not get hard use. I have heard of another seal manufacturer I think called Steel. Not sure on the name. 

[carlite65]

i think marty is referring to steele rubber products. they have ads in hemmings and most major mustang magazines.

[Angela]

I checked with Steele Rubber products (I called them). The Steele PN for this door weatherstrip application is 20-2827-72. However, The person I spoke with at Steele says they acquire this particular part from Daniel Carpenter (PN C7ZZ-6520530).

In short, for me there's no sense in ordering the Steele product to compare to Carpenter's product, since in this case Steele gets it directly from Carpenter. Bummer.

[TLea]

The NOS weatherstrips are hit or miss. Some are hard as a rock, other soft as the day they were made. Try buying at swap meets where you can put your hand on them rather than internet

[Angela]

Is anyone willing to comment on their experience and/or tips found during installation of these door weatherstrips? I found an interesting article @ Mustang Monthly (see link below) that walks through the process they used. One specific thing they suggested, which concerns me, is to use brake cleaner to clean the weatherstrip before applying the 3M adhesive. Seems to me that brake cleaner eats rubber. What do other folks use to clean the weatherstrip prior to adhering it to the door?



http://www.mustangmonthly.com/howto/mump_0911_how_to_restore_weatherstrip/photo_03.html

[drummingrocks]

What do other folks use to clean the weatherstrip prior to adhering it to the door?

I've used wax & grease remover for years.  It should be available anywhere that sells auto paint/body supplies, as it's intended to clean panels prior to painting them.

[J_Speegle]

Like wax and silicon remover (if you can find the real stuff in your area still (its a 3 hour drive today for me   and the Hector adhesive rather than the 3M junk as mentioned in a post or two 

[carlite65]

i think jeff meant 'herco'. do a search here for that brand.

[CharlesTurner]

Search ebay for:

"neoprene contact adhesive"

[Angela]

Thanks guys for the the tip on the glue. I was about to use the 3M yellow weatherstrip adhesive. What's the advantage of using this "Herco" stuff? I've used the 3M stuff
previously and it seemed to work OK. What makes the Herco stuff better? I don't mind ordering some, but will then have to wait another week to install
the seals and am therefore somewhat curious as to whether or not the Herco glue is "worth the wait" :-)

[CharlesTurner]

The 3M stuff is bright yellow and just doesn't have the correct consistency.  Makes a big mess that looks amateur.  The Herco stuff is amber color and has a brush that helps re-create the original look perfectly.