Cab drip rail seam sealer

[71elect]

My cab drip rail seam putty or sealer is shot. It's curling up and breaking off in chunks. Anyone know of a good quality sealer I can use to fix this? Any good ideas on how to remove the existing sealer that has not broken free? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Josh

[1972ChevyGuy]

I put a 90 angled wire brush on a drill. It ripped it right off, as far as what to put back, I'm at that point too

[jose]

One of our senior members posted a while back on a product called fast n firm made by 3 M . It is very close to original stuff .

[hobby67stepside]

3M makes a product called Fast n' Firm that is what you need. I don't know the part number but any parts store should have it.

[nosto]

My $0.02:

First of all, I have NFI in 3M

Second, I made the mistake of using Fast N' Firm on fender to body seams. Then I painted (Gla$urit BC/CC, pricy stuff). Two weeks later, I had cracks in the seams, base and clear. Now, two years later, I do an annual paint touchup to this area; not fun.

My Adult NiteSchool autobody teacher's comments: "If you use a seam sealer that HARDENS like a rock (like Fn'F), and the panels flex, even just a little, you can expect the paint to crack." Of course, he said this AFTER I had already used it.....

Since the drip rail is a bit different than a fender to body seam, it might even work, and likely has worked for many.

I went with a 2 part epoxy (available from 3M, Duramix, SEM and others/~$15-25 a tube) on my drip rail. Went on easy, flowed to a smooth, level surface automatically. The vertical part (at the back of the window) was a b!tch because this stuff is almost a liquid when you first put it on, then it sets up to a 'semi-flexable' but very solid material.

Have fun!

[71elect]

Thanks guys, I'll see if I can find some of that Fast n Firm by 3M. I've got a 90 deg wire brush for a drill, so it looks like I'm in luck to remove the old sealer.

Thanks again,
Josh

[SLS]

This stuff is made just for the purpose of sealing drip rails.

[Slammed67]

I wasn't too impressed with that Drip-Chek stuff. It was hard to work with (too tacky). Also, after 5 years it cracked in a couple places. I recently used some 3M UltraPro sealant on mine..... came in a caulking tube.

[minibike]

I used a brushable seam sealer and masked off the areas around it.

[73stepside]

i used to hammer and screwdiver to chip out my seam sealer. most of it came off in long strips. i want to put seam sealer back on to keep it from rusting but it hasn't so far. it's been like that for a month in my garage. i don't know if i wanna shave the driprails or reshape them

[72MARIO]

GM still sells the original stuff they use in the cars they build today. I would recomend it. I used it in my Burban Havent had any problems yet I thought it was a bit Pricey $11.00 per tube CDN.

Good Luck.

[GMC69]

I hope to start stripping my cab soon and see what was done to it. I did get some of the paint off that was in the drip rail and seen that the PO used a white silicone or something over the balck sealer, the black stuff is cracked, I am guessing that the balck stuff is the seam sealer.

Hey 72Mario, I just realized that you were from ONTARIO, cool.

[71elect]

Thanks for all the info guys! I've got most of the old sealer out of the drip rail. I noticed that the old sealer was still slightly pliable. I should be able to finish it up tomorrow. I've got a few rusty areas, but it's only surface rust. I've been told that naval jelly can take care of that.

Hey 72MARIO, I didn't realize that GM still sold the stuff. At $11 thats about what the 3M Fast'n Firm costs. I wonder which is better?

Josh

[Woody]

Which is better? I have used the 'Fast & Firm' on my 69. it has been in the basement garage setting for a couple years and I resealed the drip rail about 2 years ago. I let it set for a week or so, then repainted the roof of the cab. The fast & firm stayed soft for a long time (several months) and has just now gotten to the point that it doesn't feel soft (like you could push a dip into it with your finger). I have noticed a few small cracks that have formed, I was going to try the fill them with touch up paint.

It looks fine otherwise. I wasn't happy with my first attemp to reseal it with F&F, so I cleaned it out and did it again. The second time I didn't use as much. I put it on thinner and it looked better and hardened faster.

Oh!, I also used POR-15 to rustproof the drip rail before resealing it.

[minibike]

I didn't care for the fast and firm. It shrank and cracked. The brushable seam sealer did not shrink or crack but it is not as smooth (not sandable). I have heard a lot of professionals say they use the SEM product, but it is more expensive and requires a special gun. It's a two part sealer that gets mixed in the gun, I believe. Maybe it was SEM 7 or SEM 8...working from a bad memory here.

[72MARIO]

I think that the stuff GM sells should be the best cause they are still using it today in every production Car and Truck. Just my opnion though.

GMC69

Are you planning on blasting your cab ? If you do be careful that you dont warp the roof.

Good Luck

[GMC69]

I'm not planning on blasting it, I was probably gonna use a wire wheel ( that was mentioned in another post) and do it that way. I know it will take alot longer but I can see what the cab really looks like then decided to keep the cab or get a new one.