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[Dave AC]

Just found out that Dum Dum putty is no longer available. What do people now use to seal floor and transmission panels. Also glass in windscreen.

Dave

[island dormy]

  Hi Dave

  Its still available in Canada $32 for a big box enough to do a 5 door rover, windows and floor boards, but if it was not I think I would use closed cell self stick foam rubber available in 10 foot rolls.

   Victor

[Rustandoil]

I think most now use butyl windscreen sealing tape, comes in a strip on a roll and has similar properties to Dum Dum.
Funnily enough I've just found a small tin of Dum Dum during a garage clear out, but it's dried out a bit, is there a way to "thin" it slightly?

[diffwhine]

There are plenty of suppliers of butyl rubber caulking sealant on eBay, Amazon etc. It comes in rolls separated by shiny paper.
Frosts do a version which they say is close to Dum Dum - https://www.frost.co.uk/eastwood-flexible-strip-caulk-dum-dum-replacement/

Just found this on eBay

auction: #224303680574

Also as mentioned a few times before here. There is a butyl sealant delightfully called Butyrub made by Soudal, available in tubes to go in a caulking gun. Lasts for ever and very workable. I use it for flooring and general sealing.

[AlexB]

i've never sealed the floor panels as they let the water out and it's a bitch to remove

[andrewR]

Screwfix "no nonsense roof and gutter sealant". Cheap as chips, works fine on glazing.

[Wittsend]

I mourn the passing of DumDum 



But time and technology move on and the butyl strips are very good - just cut off what you need.
For more general "potting" then Sikaflex EBT+ (from Screwfix) is good (but what's left in the tube will harden off in time).

However ... as an experiment, I went out into the workshop and dug out my old tin of DumDum.

I can say that unleaded petrol is a good solvent.
Use a sheet of glass to roll out the DumDum.
Wetten with a few drops of petrol and work it in.
Wear latex gloves and don't use too much petrol and put your fag out.






 

[Rustandoil]

Thank you Wittsend ....  I will try a bit of unleaded to soften my Dum Dum

[Rob_W]

Was that E10? Or does that mess up the putty? 

[genocache]

i've never sealed the floor panels as they let the water out and it's a bitch to remove

+1 on this, I drive my 109 it's not a garage queen.

[Wittsend]

Not just to let the water out, sealant hinders the removal of the floor plates (it gets messy) if you just want to look at something underneath.

If you really must seal the floor plates, try strips of cycle inner tube


 

[jkhackney]

My previous owner used Dirko orange silicone to glue the front and rear floors in. None of the panels came out un-bent!

I replaced them with nothing in between the panels, then in time put in DumDum when I bought a big can, once, leaving holes for drainage.

The DumDum reduced the noise inside the car, for sure.  I don't find it more difficult to remove the floors than without the DumDum but I do tend to get globs of DumDum stuck on my clothes each time I do it.

I tried diesel and terpentine to soften old DumDum with diesel working better, but very slow. I'll try unleaded, thanks for the tip Wittsend!

However I've long since switched to black butyl (for sealing flat roofs, etc.) in a caulking gun.

Jeremy

[Wittsend]

You're quite right, sealing the floor plates will reduce the drumming noise, hence my suggestion of using rubber strips which won't mark your clothes.

DumDum here is not so bad, but silicon adhesives will stick the plates down quite firmly 
... not really what you want.

To further deaden the sound stick sound proofing pads to the undersides of the floor plates - from eBay, very effect for relative little £s.