15 replies to this topic

[horsepowerhowie]

Hey just wondering if there are any non absorborant film, rubbers ect. i could use to place between door hinges and body that would reducing scratching while adjusting. I was thinking of cutting to shape  hinge pads film rubber and then sika 227 on before adjusting however dont know any product of such espcially to avoid long term absorption and rusting. Any ideas would be great. Howie.

[TerrA LX]

I thought they used mastic behind the hinges, just a thin smear, could be wrong.

Couldn't hurt.

Take into consideration anything with any thickness to it will act as a spacer.

 

FWIW are you hanging the doors before or after hanging the front guards?

[horsepowerhowie]

Thanks, never heard of mastic before but will check it out and before the guards (hatchback). 

[EunUCh]

could try mylar film,pretty thin and probably strong enough?

[TerrA LX]

Hanging the doors first is preferable.

Fit the door rubbers and hinges to the door and have an assistant help you offer the door up IN THE CLOSED (shut) position) and tighten the hinge bolts to the body.

Mastic is also used to hang the guards also.

There should be minimal adjustment needed if you done all the prep work correctly BEFORE painting.
I was under the impression that mastic was used OEM and the area was actually bare metal as the car was painted with the doors hung?

Are they the original doors from the car?

Were there any spacers present if they were?
If not, did you trial fit them before paint?

 

Use masking tape (that can be removed later) anywhere you think you might scratch or graze.

Edited by TerrA LX, 26 February 2015 - 05:01 PM.

[TerrA LX]

Mastic is more commonly known as windscreen sealant and is also used to seal sinks and stove tops to bench tops.

[horsepowerhowie]

All great advice and will check out myler film. I have trialled on and off for gaps about a dozen times before painting and seems good even though not orginal doors. In theory now painted should come together well but just wanna take my time finding out extra tricks to minimise damage.

[EunUCh]

Come to think of it,i do believe they did use mastic around the bolt hole areas to stop a bit of water getting in.

Was not much,just enough to form a seal in that area?

[TerrA LX]

I've removed a fair amount when removing guards.

Not sure if it was in a roll (like they use for sinks and stove tops) or tube but it had some thickness to it under the guards.
 

[TerrA LX]

Come to think of it,i do believe they did use mastic around the bolt hole areas to stop a bit of water getting in.

Was not much,just enough to form a seal in that area?

The area around the bolts behind the hinge HAS to be sealed or it will lead to water ingestion into the foot wells, bulkhead, sills etc.

Same goes for the rear doors on the taxi model, the B pillar hinge bolts must be watertight as the door rubbers do not seal this area.

Edited by TerrA LX, 26 February 2015 - 05:55 PM.

[TerrA LX]

And the same applies to the hinge where it mates the door.

[EunUCh]

That sounds right,i think it was a type of Butyl mastic (tube type stuff,not the tape),when you took the bolts out of a guard/door hinge you would find the guard/hinge needed a bump in some cases to get it off depending how much they used.Then it needed to be scraped off.

 

Now that the original question was about a thin gasket to avoid scratches with very thin gasket...you should be able to get away with a very thin gasket and some sealant around the bolt holes...or,you might even get away with just mastic to act as the "film" to avoid scratches and allow the mastic to act as the gasket/anti scratch and then once all the bolts are pulled up it will oooz out a bit and need a clean up with turps or kero around the joint ?messy job depending on how much is used.

[TerrA LX]

Me personally, I would not be stuffing around with any gaskets if not needed.

[slar]

The area around the bolts behind the hinge HAS to be sealed or it will lead to water ingestion into the foot wells, bulkhead, sills etc.

Same goes for the rear doors on the taxi model, the B pillar hinge bolts must be watertight as the door rubbers do not seal this area.

Agree......I took pics of the removal my original doors and pics of the hinge area and sure enough it was loaded with mastic which was still sticky after 37 years.

The mastic was only in the square holes where the bolts go........so when I reassembled my car after paint I used butyl mastic and filled up each square hole before placing the hinge over the top........this way when you place the bolt in the hole it seals the threads and seals the backing plate at the same time......you may get some squashing out around the hinge edges but it cleans up easily with prep wash and because it never sets you can comfortably adjust your doors without losing the seal.

 

Also when I positioned my doors in the apertures ready to bolt up I folded old towels to about the thickness of a door rubber and tapped them around the apertures in 4 places ..... 2 on the sill panel so you can sit the door on them and 1 each side of the window frame.....fold them to about 6 inches wide.

 

I never chipped the paint once doing it this way and I positioned the doors by my self....no help......just have your bolts and sockets within easy reach as well.

 

Another tip.... but it may be to late for you.......the last time I had the doors on the car before painting them...I made some measurements of the hinge positions ie from the hinge to edge of the B pillar for instance....just use a natural crease or fold in the car to measure from......I recorded the measurements and after the car was painted I remeasured and marked the measurements on the car and used a bit of tape as a line to line the hinge up too.....worked well and got the doors very close first go.

 

Hope this helps

Cheers

al

[horsepowerhowie]

Awesome advice guys will take note.