Tips on recreating OEM seam sealer

[Diesel42]

My bodies completely redone and now in epoxy primer, The vertical area just behind the driver/passenger doors(where rockers meet/join) the rear quarter panel and where the cowl meets the upper cowl(just below the windshield frame has factory seam seal which almost looks like it squeezed out durong the attaching of the panels. I left these areas open rather than cover over them with body work so that it remains factiry look. My question is how have the resto guys recreated this look with a tube of seam sealer without it looking poor? I need to recreat a perfect bead across all the areas. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Project60]

I haven't tried it myself, but I read about it in Buck's restore threads. He puts tape on either side of the seam, lays down the seam sealer, then uses his finger to smooth it out. When he is done, he pulls the tape up and gets two perfect edges with a smooth center.

Hope it helps...

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Buck's got it. That sounds like it'd do great for a DIY trick.
I wish I'd done that for my seam sealing adventure. It took a few tries to look acceptable, and it never looked as good as factory.

 

[Diesel42]

Yea that's what i,m worried about. The factory look has a rounded seam. The tape is excellent for creating the outside lines but i don't want a square seam but rather a round bead. I was thinking of using the tape, then creating a half round shape by using a small chainsaw file and filing a half round from a wooden paint stirring stick. Rather than using my finger, hopefully this would give a nice consistant bead then pull off the tape. What do you guys think?

 

[cruiserbrett]

i found the seam sealer shrinks a bunch so a bottom coat filled the gap, but dried and shrank into the gap. a second layer with a steady hand and small tip opening filled the first layer and shrunk down to a nice bead.

 

[Diesel42]

Good point, i'll keep that in mind.Thanks guys

 

[webelk6]

If you can assimilate applying seam sealer like laying a bead of caulk, it may help. Cut the tip(if using a caulk gun) at a perfect angle. Carry a rag at all times, and after every run, wipe the tip to keep it clean. Also keep a steady pressure on the trigger and moving the gun at exactly the same speed while laying the bead.
Good Luck
Scott