Stepside Fender to Bed Seam Sealant

Ronno6 · Mar 29, 2021

I'm getting my 84 C10 Stepside ready to head to the body shop.
I have removed the rear fenders and steps.
What seam sealant should I use when re-assembling?
As this will be applied after painting, how noticeable will it be?
What is the common practice?

AuroraGirl · Mar 30, 2021

can you get a company to tint the seam sealer with a code or sample?

AuroraGirl · Mar 30, 2021

it appears not... but you can paint it. your interior bed surface wont be showroom will it? the wood to walls wont have anything to put i dont think and metal-metal with a nice self leveler, tape up the sides very carefully to the level of where it will go and remove when painted, you shouldnt have anything noticeable on your paint. if you do, uh.... do it better

Ronno6 · Mar 30, 2021

AuroraGirl said:
it appears not... but you can paint it. your interior bed surface wont be showroom will it? the wood to walls wont have anything to put i dont think and metal-metal with a nice self leveler, tape up the sides very carefully to the level of where it will go and remove when painted, you shouldnt have anything noticeable on your paint. if you do, uh.... do it better

I am referring to the joint between the fenders and the bed sides on the outside, as well as the step to fender and bed joint..............

Ken B · Mar 30, 2021

Watching this I will be in the same situation in the future

Need15 · Mar 30, 2021

Usually they use fender welting which is a vinyl type product that has a piping on it to help cover any gaps between the fender and the bedside. This is what I use

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bucket · Mar 30, 2021

If using seam sealer, it will be visible. Fender welting is a look you may or may not care for. Another option is to use stick-on foam weatherstripping, just the thin 1/4" wide stuff so it will not be visible once the fenders and steps are bolted on.

Pretty sure a lot of people just bolt it all together once the panels are painted and don't worry about it.

Grit dog · Mar 31, 2021

I'd think either no seam sealer or you have to apply it before paint.
But how are they put together initially?

DanMcG · Mar 31, 2021

Grit dog said:
But how are they put together initially?

Good question, I thought they were just metal to metal. I'll have to look at my 78 but I don't know if they are original fenders.

dhenderz · Mar 31, 2021

When I did the restoration on my daughter's 77 K10 I used window weld ribbon. It is small in diameter that it did not show, but did seal the joint.

https://www.amazon.com/08612-Window-Weld-Round-Ribbon-Sealer/dp/B000CQ4AOO

bucket · Mar 31, 2021

Grit dog said:
I'd think either no seam sealer or you have to apply it before paint.
But how are they put together initially?

It's just metal to metal. The beds were assembled, sealed and then the whole assembly was painted all at once.

Ronno6 · Apr 4, 2021

Grit dog said:
I'd think either no seam sealer or you have to apply it before paint.
But how are they put together initially?

They were all bolted together, then a seam sealer/caulk applied, then painted.
But, I'd need to verify thet there is not color paint under the caulk.
I'm fairly sure the critter has been repainted at least once....
Fenders to bed sides, and step plates to fenders and bed sides
The original stuff was pretty hard.......but effective.
No rust in any seam.

ed...no paint under the seams...just factory primer black.

peats · Apr 5, 2021

I would pre paint the contact area and then assemble it for painting. You could mask the edge of the seam sealed area before assembly and swipe it with your finger or use a tool to smooth it out. Then just pull off the tape and you should have a nice clean joint

Raider L · Apr 11, 2021

@Ronno6,

That's what I thought was they were sealed and then painted over. When I replaced the whole bed on my truck when we were rebuilding it from new pieces, was we bolted it together, seam sealed it, then painted it. And like @peats, said was the places that needed to be smooth we just wiped it with a wet finger. If you masked it and all like some have suggested I don't see how you could match it close enough where you couldn't tell, or pre-painting it, I'd be scared it would get messed up putting it together before the whole thing was painted, tough. I'm sure good paint shops know how to do all this sort of stuff though.

AuroraGirl · Apr 11, 2021

dhenderz said:
When I did the restoration on my daughter's 77 K10 I used window weld ribbon. It is small in diameter that it did not show, but did seal the joint.

https://www.amazon.com/08612-Window-Weld-Round-Ribbon-Sealer/dp/B000CQ4AOO

butyl rope can be painted over if you use the right paint, maybe something for OP to think of, but its not going to be rough it prefers to be pliable

Stepside Fender to Bed Seam Sealant

Ronno6

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