The weather stripping on my 65' coupe looks in good condition but has faded to a dark grey vs black color. Any tips on how to restore the black finish, if possible. The weather stripping in question is located on the body around the door frame.
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Re: Weather striping
Armor-all (diluted 50 percent with distilled water) can restore the patina of old rubber, but I don't advise it's use on door seals because it will probably squeak. Try cleaning them by wiping with mineral spirits. If this doesn't get them clean use acetone, but sparingly as acetone will actually attack the rubber. Then wipe them down with a silicone spray. Most rubber parts, including tires still have a lot of mold release agent on them when new, and if not thoroughly cleaned off it will eventually cause black rubber to turn an ugly shade of dirty brown. Mineral spirits will usually take off the mold release, but if you end up having to use acetone, don't get it on any paint because it will take that off too - real quick.
Duke -
Re: Weather striping
al------
The best "preservative" and "restorer" of weatherstripping that I have found is GM #12345579 Silicone Dielectric Grease. This is also what GM recommends on newer Corvettes and I have found it to work superbly. I don't know, though, that it will restore the black color of your weatherstrip, although it may darken the gray somewhat. It WILL preserve and make supple your weatherstrip, though. It's all that I use.
Apply it sparingly and rub it in well. It comes in 1 oz tubes.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Weather stripping and silicone dielectric grease
Joe, is this the same basic "silicone dialectric grease" (sold widely in parts stores) used for the base of the control module on the HEI system?
DukeComment
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Re: Weather stripping and silicone dielectric grea
Duke-----
I believe that it is the same, but I don't know that for sure.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: Weather stripping and silicone dielectric grea
Duke, I had a conversation with Gordon Killebrew about using silicone dialectric from the local parts store because it is much less expensive. He advised me that the parts store variety is a COMPOUND with petroleum to keep the price down. The GM variety that Joe mentions is pure and will not attack the rubber like petroleum will. You can also use plumbing silicone since it too is used on rubber o-rings etc. It is also expensive but does the job right. WBComment
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