Removing that Black Sticky Stuff Inside the Doors
 

If you have ever removed your door panel, you know what I'm talking about. There is a sheet of clear plastic that is sealed against the door with some really nasty black sticky sealant. The plastic on my doors look kinda old and are starting to peel off, so I decided to just pull it off and remove all the nasty black sealant, and recover the hole with maybe a thin sheet of sound insulating material. I know some people would just leave it, but I'm a bit anal and I want that sticky stuff out!

Now that black crap is REALLY sticky and difficult to remove. I was just wondering if anyone else has removed it before and if there are any tips or tricks or products that work well for removing that stuff. I've found that windex dissolves it somewhat but not enough to make it much easier to remove (works great for cleaning it off your hands though).

So anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Michael

Scrape off as much as you can with a putty knife or whatever. Then use some fast-dry enamel reducer (tar remover should also work) to clean up whats left.

Once you get the plastic off and that nasty gunk, these guys have what you need for sound deadening and also moisture repellent that the plastic sheet is for:
http://www.secondskinaudio.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

Cool, thanks for the info.

Won't tar remover or enamel reducer eat away at the paint? I also though of using gasket remover, but that stuff dissolves paint as well...

Also, what should I use to block moisture? I didn't even think that those sound deadning sheets might not work well as a moisture repellant... in fact, I bet most of them absorb moisture. Should I just use a sheet of plastic underneath like stock? Maybe dynamat will work since it's rubber covered with foil?

WD40 should remove the sticky stuff. I don't know if it will harm your paint. I suggest that you leave the sticky stuff there, and put new plastic on top of it.

Actually...........

I need some of the black sticky stuff. I have voids in my driver's door & would like to get some.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I bought some new pre-cut plastic sheets for both my doors from Mazda (less than $10). The passenger side had enough stuff to stick on.

You can save $9 & buy some thick plastic sheet at the hardware store & cut it yourself.

Thanks,

Any auto body shop should be able to sell you some, or tell you where to get it.

What is that plastic sheet for anyway? I always just kind of assumed it was some sort of moisture barrier. My reasoning is if it didn't serve some sort of purpose they wouldn't have spent the money installing it in everyones doors. You might not notice any ill effects right away but sooner or later something bad might come of it.

I think it might be the same stuff as Gorilla Glue. I see ads for it in Grassroots Motorsports all the time.

It acts as a barrier to keep precipitation and moisture from getting the door panels wet.

yep, that's what I said :tonque:. I always figured that's what it was for. I'd recomend leaving it in place, like I said you might not see any problems at first but after awhile you might get some mold and shit on your door panels, that'd be fun :lol:.

That's why I specified fast-dry (IIRC, Dupont 3022) reducer. It might take off a little paint, but should evaporate fast enough and leave most of it while cutting through that sealant. That's not cosmetically sensitive surface, and you said you intended to cover it with sound-deadening material anyway.
Tar remover might be a little less "hard" on whatever paint is there, but it might not be quite as effective.

Nope. Gorilla glue is a glue. This sticky stuff is a non hardening removable compound.

You can buy the black gasket at most any auto parts stores like auto zone/checker/kragen/pep boys/whatever. In my experience it's in the same place as other sealants like RTV, in a little tube.

They can also come in strips backed with adhesive release paper, but I don't remember where to buy that. Many tint shops will have it on hand, you can call them and ask where they buy theirs or if you can get it from them.

On my doors I first heated it with a propane torch (heat gun or hair dryer is prob better if you not sure of yourself with a torch) heated it so the big gobs came off real easy with a putty knife (used the plastic one so I didn’t scratch everything to high hell)

I heated it till it just started to bubble then took the heat off and scraped it the putty knife. Work you way around the door in like 1 ft sections.

After I got majority of it off I gave it a quick spray with WD 40, then took a extra terry cloth rag and gave it a good wiping. Now there was still some so I re-sprayed with wd, then used one of my cleaning toothbrushes (any old toothbrush will do) scrubbed the line with wd and the toothbrush till it was broken up then wiped down with another terrycloth rag.

Took about 2 hrs to do both doors but it removed 100% of the black stuff. With no ill effects to the paint/metal on the inner door panel.

I’m in the process of a drag car buildup so this method may be overkill for everyone else

I ruined 2 pairs of shorts and 3 t-shirts while this stuff was still on the doors. God I hated that stuff

Excellent, thank you!

Actually the gasket maker at the auto stores is very different from this stuff. This stuff is WAY more unpleasant. The gasket stuff dries to a semi solid rubbery compound that isn't tacky and is pretty easy to remove. This other stuff is very sticky and pliable forever, it's like dealing with chewing gum.

I think the only thing that might be the same is that black sticky stuff they sell for gluing/sealing weatherstripping. That stuff is pretty sticky.

Right now I'm thinking of going with some of this stuff: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...002669/c-10101

Or this stuff: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...002673/c-10101

Both of which function as moisture barriers as well as providing a little bit of sound deadening and insulation, but they aren't too thick or heavy. I'm not planning on doing the whole door, just covering that hole, because I don't want to add extra weight.

And I'm thinking of sealing the edges with this tape: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...002669/c-10101

I've found that good quality clear packing tape does a really good job of holding the plastic liner on the door. Just be sure to wipe the door panel completely free of any grease or oil residue.

Dave