Installing door weatherstrip

[John Fleming]

As an owner of a P15 coupe I have made many repairs and adjustments on my car.   The door weather strip needs to be be replaced . This will be my first time to replace weatherstrip .  I have purchased the new weatherstrip from a respected company . Instructions not included .  If you have replaced your weatherstrip please suggest does and don'ts  based on your experience . I am an old timer  wanting to learn a new skill.  How should new weatherstrip be held in place until adhesive sets ?  What did you use to remove remains of old weatherstrip and old adhesive ?  Thank you in advance for any information .

[Plymouthy Adams]

I personally prefer to tape off each side of the door where the rubber will lay...use a good brushable 3M contact cement on both the door and the weather strip...let tack up...apply carefully..remove the tape for a very clean install...this procedure is on freshly painted doors metal....as for removing the old, naptha usually does well without softening the paint, given it was good paint to start with and not rattle can bombed in the past...

[Dennis Detweiler]

I found a youtube video that showed a proven method. Apply 3m black weatherstrip adhesive to the door and brush it out with a 1/4 inch artist brush and let it tack up. Then, brush a second coat over the same area and apply the weatherstrip. It will tack onto the door with very little slipping or movement. The video suggested applying it to the weatherstripping in the same manner before applying the weatherstripping to the door. I found it to be too messy and just applied the two coats of adhesive to the door with great results. I only applied it 3 feet at a time so it wouldn't dry out before making all the way around the door. Worked great!

[Andydodge]

When I bought my 1941 Plymouth P11 Coupe I found that whilst it was a so called restoration there was no door weatherstrip at all......I obtained a weatherstrip locally here in Oz that fitted into the corner stamping around the door........this molding was in profile like an "L" shape with a longer projection from the corner at 45 degrees between the long and short arms of the "L".........the short side is 7/16th long, the long side is 9/16th and the center projection or arm is 3/4".................I also used a black 3M weatherstrip adhesive with a brush about 1/4" to 3/8"th wide and used lengths of the weatherstrip about 3 foot long also.........I didn't think to place tape either side of the area to glue which in hindsight would have been a good idea........I used this shaped weatherstrip from the bottom front up on the door up across the top and down the back to the bottom back of each door, however I did not put anything along the lower edge of the door...........I found that when closed the door this weatherstrip worked quite well, the long center arm reached about 1/4" onto the flat surface of the door opening on the body and made a huge improvement to the reduction in wind and general sound when driving the car...........and there were NO leaks any more when washing the car...unfortunately I didn't take any pics showing the open door edge however this pic does show the "edge" of the door opening in the body........the long center arm of the rubber weatherstrip closed against this opening as I mention and gave a good seal against the weather............I dunno if any of this helps............btw thats the original rear folding seat that my coupe had.......sold the car..........duh.......who's the idiot......lol................regards, andyd          

[9 foot box]

Andy, Your showing windlace. I think John is doing the rubber, door seal, weatherstrip. I don't see how you can do the hinge part of the door without removing  the door. Old timer or not, you need help getting it off and on a padded work table. Before you start, you could ensure all hinge screws can be removed. Remove  the sixteen screws one at a time and replace with anti-seize, make sure you can remove the pin in the door stop. When you have all your duck's in a row, roll the window down, open the door, take the pin out and start taking the bottom screws out first, on the hinges. With an assistant holding the latch end of the door, remove the top screws, set your screw gun down and grab the door at top to set down on a padding. Place on table, clean, glue, apply and reinstall the door back on car and shut the door. My end seam is at the middle front of door, others are at middle bottom. Clean as much of the door as possible before removal, then you only have to do the leading edge, once removed. If you do all the preliminary work, you should be able to do both doors in a day. 3M 08984 is a adhesive removal product, but I've used WD-40, where nothing else worked. But cleaning, is the key to a proper bond. I've seen what Dennis pointed out. It's a Steele Rubber install video. So, smearing and reapplication is the way to go. I have a 3M 08011 and a 08008 weather strip adhesive, the 08008 is labeled Super. Must be better? Brushes or popsicle sticks? Kinda long winded , hope it helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andydodge]

9foot.......yep I know thats the windlace, the grey material around the door opening but as this is the best pic I had of the actual door opening showing the door opening edge then its the pic I used and as for installing the rubber weatherstrip with the door on......I obviously didn't know what I was doing when I did it............as for removing the old weatherstrip then it depends on how old it is.....original or just 40 yrs old..........I'd agree with your suggestions regarding cleaning the area, although any sort of hydrocarbon based solvent will remove the rubber and glue remains, I have used mineral turpentine, turps and lacquer thinner to great effect to clean this area  and have successfully glued the new door rubber weatherstrip on.......as for a Steele Rubber video, having had VERY POOR service or lack thereof from that company I'd be extremely hesitant about taking anything they say unless I had a good dose of salt with it........anyway my long winded description and pic was because I have sold this car and this was all I could contribute..............regards, Andy Douglas  

[DrDoctor]

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Edited December 20, 2018 by DrDoctor