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Under body seam sealer?

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C

cyaker

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I have started around another corner in the process. Have the body tub stripped bare and it is time to start covering it back up.

Was seal sealer used underneath the body? Mine had so much undercoating, I could not tell if there was seam sealer or not. It makes sense to me.

I am not going for show points. Currently I am leaning towards seam sealer, Rust Bullet and then a spray of DupliColor truck bed liner. Unsure if I will do the wheel wells that way or body color. Engine bay will be body color.

This is also the part of the project where I wished I had invested the time in building a body rotisserie. Now it seems like to much effort for what is left.
 
I believe all seams were sealed. It was applied very thinly through out the car. If you stripped off the under body I would definitely seam seal everything. If you are striped to bare metal then it would be best to use an epoxy primer sealer first. Then seam seal on top of that. Any moisture that could possibly seep in would not do any damage to the metal because of the epoxy sealer.

Get seam sealer in a caulking tube. Preferably a single stage urethane type. Urethane has the best adhesion and the most flexibility. OEM used what is now considered a cheaper acrylic chalk like 3m fast and firm. Works but harder to tool and adhesion is not as good. Squeeze out a bead and use a acid brush to spread out and force into seams, pits and holes. Paint in a recommended time. Then use a underbody sealer or rubberized undercoating. Should make a nice repair. Good luck!
 
The sidescreen TRs came from the factory with "dum-dum" sealer on the tunnel to floor joint for the gearbox cover as well as all the fender joints to the body. When I restored mine (total body off) from 1987 to 1990, all the parts were painted off the car. So all the seams were pre-painted on all faces before re-assembly. I never used any sealer in any of the joints. I've driven 97,000 miles and there is no sign of any rust in any of the joint seams.

I wouldn't go for any sealer. If you only use your car in the sunshine, why put it in ? The sealer makes it hard to remove them at some later time. I would estimate that I've driven about 4,000 miles in the rain. And that's less time than the 5 or 6 times a year that I wash the car.

I forgot to mention that I took 2nd at VTR in my concours class with 381 points out of 400 this past July.

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/1919

Don Elliott, Original Owner, 1958 TR3A
 
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