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Published 2020

Trunk Weatherstrip Install by Solex68

How I did my trunk weather strip.

I am no expert in car restoration but I did not find a good way to install my trunk weather strip so I came up with my own method. I admit it looks a little quirky but it worked out well. I did it on a car with very new paint and I found it to be pretty much mess free. Read each step completely before attempting the step.

First, clean the weather strip that will mate to the trunk lid. I lightly sanded the one side of mine to give it a fresh surface. Light sanding meaning one pass of fine grain sand paper over that surface area.

You will need a flexible yard stick and two spring loaded clamps (Harbor Freight) with rubber feet and use good adhesive. I used: Permatex 81731 Super Weatherstrip.

Weather strip adhesive typically requires two applications, the first is applied to the two pieces being mated but do not match them up. Let both pieces tack up, about 5 minutes. Then the second coat is applied to one of the pieces, and the pieces can be mated together. Do not try to take a shortcut! All weather strip should be glued this way. I can’t explain why this works so well but it does. Never put so much adhesive that it drips. It is a mess once it does.

The weather strip is not square so make sure you know which side is which.

Notice how I will place the weather strip. See how it wraps around the back of the lid at the bottom of the photo. Install yours the same way, it will make the next step easier. I applied adhesive to the back edge of the trunk lid and the weather side that will match up to it.

Wait 5 minutes, reapply adhesive to one side and mate the two pieces. Use the yard stick and clamps to hold it in place. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

 Once the previous step is dry...

Close the lid partially. Apply adhesive to the weather strip.

 Open the lid. Apply adhesive to the bottom (bottom when the lid is up) of the trunk lid. 
 Wait 5 minutes, reapply adhesive to one side and mate the two pieces. 

It was not hard to pull the weather strip over the trunk lid to get it back on the inside. Use the yard stick or in my case the clamps alone to hold it in place. Once it sets (15 min), you can remove the clamps and close the trunk to get a good seal. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

 I then followed the same procedures for one side of the lid. 

Wait 5 minutes, reapply adhesive to one side and mate the two pieces. Use the yard stick and clamps to hold it in place. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

 I then followed the same procedures for the other side of the lid. 

Greg a.k.a SOLEX68 - http://www.datsunvents.com/ Laguna Hills, CA 68 2000 U20 Always willing to help another Datsun Roadster owner Pending installs: SS brake lines, Stan Stealth Dizzy, Denso TT plugs