dried sandwich spread sealer?

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Inspector71

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when I took the fenders off my 68 Barracuda, I found a dried later of what looked like tannish colored dried sandwich spread along the edges of the engine bay where the fenders bolt to this section. Was this supposed to be a cushion between the fender and the engine bay? I sanded and ground it off and found rust under it. Before I paint the engine bay and put the fenders back on, do I need to put down some sort of insulation material between the two metal surfaces and what would you all suggest? Thanks.
 
I didn't put anything on either of mine.

There was so much slop on my Arizona car. I.e. seam sealer, undercoating etc and it was just wadded on there. Ironically, modern cars don't come with a "northern prep" if sold in certain states. I'm not sure why that one did.
 
My Dart had the same thing. I read something about using truck cap tape. That sounds like it would work and allows you to align the fenders to the doors tec. without making too much of a mess. I am also thinking there should be a seal between the two because it was sealed from the factory. But I am not sure. I have heard of one guy using rope caulk. That is not too messy either.
 
I'm not sure why take put anything between these parts. Either wind noise/whistles or water and dirt from the tire finding its way through is my guess. Anything that is sticky on the top would be a pain to deal with during assembly. Cap tape is sticky on one side and has a saran wrap like film on the other. If I was going to make my own... 1/8 thick X 1 inch wide weather strip from a local store and cover the top side with shipping tape.
 
My Barracuda came from California and was undercoated. It has almost no rust, other than surface stuff, and was not to hard sanding down (by hand with hand tools in my garage). Other than the behind the brace on the inside of the rear valance panel and where the spare tire part of the trunk meets it as well, I've been able to get to almost all of it. But I noticed rust wherever this stuff was applied between the fenders and the engine bay. My worry is, if I put anything else in its place, will it lead to rust once I reassemble the car? Thanks everyone. Great ideas.
 
Same here on my 74 dart sport. I removed it all and painted both sides (engine bay lip and underside of fender) with chasis saver. I don't plan on any sealer unless there are noticeable noise issues as mentioned above.
 
I cleaned it all off on my 74 Dart Sport when I had the front clip off. When the fenders went back on, I did use a non hardening putty type sealer along both sides and re-installed the fenders.

The thought for me was to eliminate the metal to metal contact. If you have it all painted and sealed, then put it back together without it your gonna have metal to metal contact which in my though process would create bare metal spots in that seam from movement, thus encouraging rust to start.
 
You hit the nail on the head. That is exactly what I'm worried about. But I don't know what putty to use. I'm afraid some kinds of sealers might encourage moisture and then rust. Chrysler didn't appear to have painted these surfaces anyway, but I did find evidence of primer. Please tell me what putty to use. You are solving a big head ache for me and I really appreciate it. Really good replies that have helped from all of you.
 
I don't remember now exactly what I used. It was a putty type caulk (non hardening) that was in a tube that I could put in my caulking gun. I ran a nice heavy bead and then installed the fenders.

I never thought of it when I did it, but I bet you could use putty tape like used for mobile homes, RV's etc. Dang it, why didn't I think of it then, lol. :banghead:

You might find it at a home supply place or an RV center around you.


putty-tape.jpg

Putty tape in Flexible Grey

This putty tape is a heavy gray mastic and flexible. It is non-hardening and pliable. Use this putty tape under moldings, around windows, doors and vents. The flexible grey putty tape waterproofs overlapping metal seams. Priced for each roll.
 
Thanks for helping me to build this car. When I started, over a year ago, even though I'm not young, I knew nothing. If not for this Forum, and people like you, I could not be doing this restoration.
 
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