Engine compartment seam sealer

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Gus Loza

Gus Loza

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im currently sanding down and prepping my engine compartment for paint and i noticed in several areas there is some kind of caulking. maybe this is seam sealer? there was some on that ridge on the firewall that runs from the left to right in an arch, i peeled it off to make it look cleaner and not messy because it had drips. and some other areas that were covering some kind of holes or dips. should i just bondo over these or should re-apply new sealer, or just go ahead and paint over them?
 
Bondo would probably crack. I would reapply the seam sealer but you might get by with painting over it as is.
Dallas
 
what about the little dimples on the inner fenders towards the firewall and firewall itself, can i use bondo there to make it look smooth or should i just leave it so it looks factory?
 
Gus Loza said:
im currently sanding down and prepping my engine compartment for paint and i noticed in several areas there is some kind of caulking. maybe this is seam sealer? there was some on that ridge on the firewall that runs from the left to right in an arch, i peeled it off to make it look cleaner and not messy because it had drips. and some other areas that were covering some kind of holes or dips. should i just bondo over these or should re-apply new sealer, or just go ahead and paint over them?
Click to expand...

I did my engine compartment and slicked everything with body filler. Filled the dimples and smoothed out the places where the caulking was. Cleaned it really good down to metal, epoxy primed it and painted it the same as the color of the car. It has been over two years and no cracks..... yet. I thought about this long and hard and did what I thought would look good. This was my first engine compartment so I don't know if it was a wise choice or not but I have not had any problems. I've had the car torqued up a few times and did some burn outs etc...:-D When I started block sanding the inner fenders I found out that they aren't the smoothest things in the world. They have wrinkles in them so they will bend and fit the car. I filled those also.... try to make it smooth as it was on the exterior of the car.
 
ok so my buddy just gave me two differnt tubes of sealant. both are 3M brand. first one is called 'fast and firm' seam sealer (beige), second is 'All purpose autobody sealant'. which one should i use for the engine compartment?
 
Gus Loza said:
ok so my buddy just gave me two differnt tubes of sealant. both are 3M brand. first one is called 'fast and firm' seam sealer (beige), second is 'All purpose autobody sealant'. which one should i use for the engine compartment?
Click to expand...

I've always used 'fast and firm'. I'm not familiar with the 'all purpose'. Maybe someone else here has used it.
Dallas
 
I wouldn't apply plastic filler over the seam simply because moisture could penetrate from the back side and bubble later. If you can, once the old sealer is removed, epoxy prime the seam and then apply your new sealer. Even brushable seam sealer will work and look good if applied right.
 
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