Dum Dum

[Richard V]

Hi all,

 

Just a quicky before I send of another parts order. I have never worked with "Dum Dum" sealant. It looks like it has been around for years, so it must be good. Can anyone tell me what is the best for fitting panels. Dum Dum or "non setting" windscreen sealant. Shelf life, ease of application, clean up, functionality etc.

 

Thanks

 

Richard.

[stuart]

Hi all,

 

Just a quicky before I send of another parts order. I have never worked with "Dum Dum" sealant. It looks like it has been around for years, so it must be good. Can anyone tell me what is the best for fitting panels. Dum Dum or "non setting" windscreen sealant. Shelf life, ease of application, clean up, functionality etc.

 

Thanks

 

Richard.

Either is perfectly good for that purpose and both are equally messy to clean up! Though Dum Dum is slightly easier to work with, the non setting stuff will get into the nooks and crannies a bit better when bolting panels together but the Dum Dum will fill up bigger gaps better without "slumping" out. Obviously the screen sealer is better for screens

Shelf life is virtually infinite in closed containers for both as "Non setting" implies.

Stuart.

[Richard V]

Either is perfectly good for that purpose and both are equally messy to clean up! Though Dum Dum is slightly easier to work with, the non setting stuff will get into the nooks and crannies a bit better when bolting panels together but the Dum Dum will fill up bigger gaps better without "slumping" out. Obviously the screen sealer is better for screens

Shelf life is virtually infinite in closed containers for both as "Non setting" implies.

Stuart.

 

Thanks Stuart,

 

I will go for the Dum Dum, as "Bigger gaps" more or less sums up my car

 

Cheers,

 

Richard.

[Don Elliott]

When I restored my 1958 TR3A from 1987 to 1990, I had the "tub" and all the panels painted separately. I then bolted it all together with no dum-dum or other sealant in the joints. Fast forward to 2007 when I took it all apart again after another 94,000 miles in between re-sprays. There was no rust on any of the panels or on any of the mating surfaces after 17 years. The panels were very easy to remove because there was no dum-dum in the joints. I never had any blisters or bubbles in any of the joints or seams. The re-spray in 2007 went very well and I expect another 20 years of "rust-free" driving for future.

 

I admit that summers in Canada are not as harsh as other parts of the world, but I don't know why dum-dum is needed when the panels are all nicely painted "face-to-face". And my car is still a 96 point concours car at US national Triumph events.

[BrianC]

I can confirm that Dum Dum does not deteriorate in storage. I have a tin which I bought over 30 years ago and the contents are still as good as new. I also have some sealant wrapped in Polythene which, if not Dum Dum, appears to be similar. This was given to me about 25 years ago and also looks and feels fine. I just hope I never have to use them!

 

I seem to be in the same position as Don. As far as I know, no sealant was put in the wing joints when my TR3A was rebuilt, so I'm relying on the paint to protect against rust. However, it is a little disconcerting when hosing out the wheelarches, to see water squirting out of the joints. At least it must mean that rain water can drain out in the opposite direction, but I think I will probably give all the seams a good squirt of Waxoyl soon as the car is by no means a DSUO TR.