Kick Panel Sealer

[TUFF68]

Has anyone replaced/removed their kick panels on a 1st Gen Camaro? If so, what product did you use to seal up the vent holes to stop water leaking in. Im replacing mine at the moment and want to seal it properly.

[blackoutsteve]

I don't know where you buy it locally, but I use a caulk from www.amkproducts.com . (#B-11608) It's the same stuff that the plastic splash sheilds are stuck to doors with under the trim.
It's like Play-doh to be honest (but it's not Play-doh!).
I'm sure 3M sell the stuff that you could buy from a panel beating suppliers or even GMH.

Something like this perhaps..
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MAutomotive/Aftermarket/Products/Product-Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECFTDQCEK3_nid=GSCW9QZGQKbe6 DTWTJQPBBgl

http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?66666UuZjcFSLXTtMxMVL8&XEV76EbHSHVs6EVs6E666666--

[RSZ28]

Has anyone replaced/removed their kick panels on a 1st Gen Camaro? If so, what product did you use to seal up the vent holes to stop water leaking in. Im replacing mine at the moment and want to seal it properly.

Mate which holes are you talking about? Color me thick today :eek:

[TUFF68]

Thanks for the link Steve. Sent an enquiry to 3M Australia and their reply was that they no longer have Strip Caulk available.

RSZ28 - on the back of the kick panels you are supposed to seal around the edge of the section where the vent goes through the sheet metal. The bit that is an absolute PITA to get in and out. If you dont seal it good every time you wash your car or heaven forbid, drive it in the rain water leaks in and goes under the carpet and rusts the floors

[blackoutsteve]

Thanks for the link Steve. Sent an enquiry to 3M Australia and their reply was that they no longer have Strip Caulk available

Bummer.
Do they offer it in a tin?
How about Wurth? They have loads of products.

[TUFF68]

Had a look on the Wurth website, they have a similar product

http://www.wurth.com.au/catalogueview.asp?pdf=A03_0023.pdf

Not having much luck at the moment though, rang the Wurth WA office and they have no stock in WA of the above product. Left a message with the sales rep so will wait for him to return my call.

[blackoutsteve]

Another brand to try would be Sika.

[RSZ28]

Thanks for the link Steve. Sent an enquiry to 3M Australia and their reply was that they no longer have Strip Caulk available.

RSZ28 - on the back of the kick panels you are supposed to seal around the edge of the section where the vent goes through the sheet metal. The bit that is an absolute PITA to get in and out. If you dont seal it good every time you wash your car or heaven forbid, drive it in the rain water leaks in and goes under the carpet and rusts the floors

OK. I got it now. :p

I used some thick stick on sealer tape from Clark Rubber. I did not want the caulky stuff sticking my kick panels back so they could not be removed, or maybe broken when removing. They are tough enough to get in and out as is.

Would not have used that even except to cater for remote chance of getting stuck in the rain on the off chance, and the fact they have some clearance designed in.

I never hose the top half of the car anyway. Two reasons, dont want ANY water left anywhere in the car, especially the rockers and the bottom recesses of the windscreen, or leaking in on the floor from somwhere & I only ever hose off (actually blast off with the pressure squirter) thick dirt, which on the Camaro, has never been a problem (yet).

The rest of the car (any car), I suds off, re-wipe with thin suds, and then dry with micro fibre cloths. This keeps the paint glowing and new.

cheers.

[james68ss]

You could try sikaflex, that will seal for sure, but you may never be able to remove the panel again without damaging it. If you live in Melbourne, try Wurth in Braeside, a car restorers utopia, they have sealers in cans and tubes (not sure if the tubes are standard size though) Bought a 1 litre can of sealer for about $40. I used it to seal between my dashboard and inner cowl after some rust repairs, bit messy though, I would go for the caulk. cheers

[Nev68]

Has anyone replaced/removed their kick panels on a 1st Gen Camaro? If so, what product did you use to seal up the vent holes to stop water leaking in. Im replacing mine at the moment and want to seal it properly.

I've used Bostik Mastic sealer 5614.
It comes in a tube like silastic but is non hardening.
You have to be careful with it though as it can get in some places you don't want.
It can be cleaned off with thinners though

Rgds,
Nev

[TUFF68]

I used Wurth's non hardening Glass Sealant (Dab Off). It comes out a little wet, is very sticky and messy if you get it on your fingers. But after about 15mins it sort of dries and is soft so you can move it around with your fingers a bit like the factory stuff. The rep said it was the closest thing they had to what i was after and he even delivered it to my house. Seems to have worked ok as i washed the car on the weekend and could'nt see any water inside when i pulled back the carpet. Will keep an eye on it though after a few more washes.

I've now got the hang of pulling out and installing those kick panels. I practised a few times putting them in and taking them out with the old ones to find out the best and easiest way to do it without damaging the new ones

[J.J.]

sorry to dig up an old thread

i am wanting to change my kick panels, what is the best way to remove them? what did you replace yours with?

[TUFF68]

I bought my kick panels from Dave at PontiWorld, they are the OER brand ones, and i did'nt have a problem installing them. I found the easiest way to get them out was to grab hold of the bottom and pull very hard towards the trans tunnel, and i mean very hard. The drivers side you will have to remove the high beam switch and the park brake assembly, unbolt it from the firewall and push it across as far as you can towards the brake pedal. I cable tied it to the brake pedal to keep it out of the way. To install them, start on about a 45 deg angle, like the pic below, and get the top part in first and then the bottom up and in. Practice a few times putting them in and taking them out with your old ones until you get the hang of it so that you don't damage the new ones. Do a search on Team Camaro as well, they probably explain it better than me

1041

[J.J.]

thanks for that. i am wanting to install speakers into the kick panels. like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/67-68-69-CAMARO-FIREBIRD-KICK-PANELS-DO-IT-YOURSELF_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1205Q7c6 6Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp32 86Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem310099559575QQitemZ3100995 59575QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessori es