Door Repairs

[BruceK]

I removed the door card on my Mini's driver's door to work a broken latch mechanism, and I found the plastic membrane was not stuck to the door at all.  It was just kind of loosely sitting between the door and the door card- not doing any good at all.    I've got a new membrane on order, but what should I use to affix it to the door?

[MiniDave]

Butyl, stays sticky so you can take it off again if you need to.....in the paint dept at Home Depot. You can buy it in a tube like caulk or in a long 1/4" wide strip......

[BruceK]

Thanks!  I knew it had to remain sticky, but I didn't know what to look for or where to get it. 

For about an hour yesterday, the driver's door on my car couldn't be opened from the outside or the inside- even though I had the inner panel off it.  Just stuck in a closed position - not fun.

[BruceK]

I tried to find a tube of regular butyl caulk at Lowe's and at Home Depot, but it seems manufacturers are moving toward synthetic alternatives and the real stuff is hard to find - at least for me locally.  I bought a tube of the synthetic stuff at Home Depot because that was all that was available, but it didn't work.  Sure, it stayed pliable, but it also developed a 'skin' and lost its tackiness and ability to the door's plastic vapor barrier in place. 

Then I found butyl tape on Amazon.   At 3/4" it was wider than needed, so I split it down the middle with a razor blade and made some 3/8" strips.    This stuff seems to work great - super easy to work with, it's stretchable and can conform around objects.  It stays tacky and holds the vapor barrier plastic in place with no problems.     

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FCB4JS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[John Gervais]

I haven't had a plastic membrane on my doors in over 17 years.  I took it off when I cut new masonite door cards and refitted the original vinyl.  They've held up very well; still look like new and the doors haven't rusted - possibly because they're not hermetically sealed.

[MiniDave]

If the holes in the bottoms of the doors stay clear they will drain and not rust, the reason for the plastic is that it's a good vapor barrier for the cardboard doorcards and it makes the doors sound so much better when you close them!

That butyl strip caulk is perfect - that's what I use only a narrower strip, about 1/4"

[John Gervais]

Any improvement is a good improvement, so I'll likely order the plastic sheets I've had on the MSC wish list at some point. 

I agree that Bruce's caulking job looks great.    77.gif

[stan360]

I am glad to hear that butyl tape works well....I had been thinking about what to use on the plastic door films, and I just happen to have roll of the RV butyl tape that I was going to use to seal up some other things on the mini.