The terms anger, frustration, and mad as a hornet (not technically a term) come to mind. I have spent the last few days doingtrying to do something I've done a million times. <Rant> In 2007 I was blessed to do the photography for the Alabama State Park system and created beautiful new postcards that were in all the welcome stations. I also had the honor of working with the Harlem Globetrotters for that same year doing photography for them while they were local to me. Now as a former kid basketball player, being in the back gym spinning basketballs around with the Globetrotters before the show was almost mind-blowing to me. They were the nicest folks. And then that same year was also the 2007 Bass Masters Lay Lake Tournament that I was also lucky enough to shoot. Back then I had a photography business and did tons of sports photography mostly. It has been a long time side hobby of mine that allowed me to do some pretty cool things. What the heck does this have to do with weatherstripping? NOTHING!! But for the life of me, I cannot get pictures of these small hollow black pieces of rubber! I'm so mad right now I can barely type this but I have to get the notes below out. I've made every kind of lightbox, darkbox, etc. My flash on my “big” camera was over $500 just for the flash. It's always served me well. I've tried light backgrounds and dark backgrounds. I even tied one in the air and tried no background. Awful. Just awful. So I'm whooped guys. <Unrant>
Here's the bottom line. Which one(s) work on the door? That was my original plan anyway. Get weatherstripping...Test weatherstripping. So I'm moving from product photography and measuring to door testing. Heck, I'm sure most of you just want to know that anyway. So I'm posting this post with a few things on it and then I will be finishing up the door installs. Those have to be on the car for a few days to give each a fair shake then a different one put on. I'm already finished with one and will have the second on tomorrow.
Thanks for hanging in there.
Here are the notes I made as I was examining each product. WS=weatherstripping
LMR has small holes along the bulb of the WS. The thickness of the rubber on the bulb is the thickest of the group. It is very bouncy feeling. This is the WS on the car presently and I can tell you that bounce is terrible. The bulb is way too thick. More on door results later.
Metro has small holes along the bulb of the WS. The thickness of the rubber on the bulb is not thick and bouncy feeling. It compresses pretty flat between your fingers. This seal feels like a well-made product that mashes flat enough to allow proper door closure.
Fairchild also has the small holes. The thickness of the rubber on the bulb is a little bit more spongy than the Metro. This seal will be going on the car tomorrow as the second one in the test.
Daniel Carpenter also has the small venting holes. The DC holes are big enough to blow thru which will aid in venting the bulb when the door is closed. The other products holes were smaller holes and when they were punched it doesn't appear that the punched out centers were cleared. The thickness of the rubber on the bulb is about the same as the Metro WS. Also noted is that the DC WS is in a spool and has not creased. I didn't observe this earlier as it was in a bag. Once pulled out though it was very pliable and maybe this kept it from getting a crease.
SoffSeal also has the small venting holes. These holes are also big enough to blow thru although I did have to clear some material out before it was possible on some of the holes. The thickness of the rubber on the bulb is comparable to DC and Metro. Of note on this product is the presence of three small raised lines running the full length of the bulb. This leads me to believe that this is a stand-alone product and not just a repackaged one. None of the other products have those lines. As far as the “feel test” goes, this seal has a great feel to it.
For bonus credit here are some pictures of a jig I made a while back for replacing door pins/bushings etc when working alone. I don't ever seem to be able to find anyone to help when I need it. My bushings were fine but I needed to replace the roller and spring that holds the door open. While I was there I went ahead and replaced all the bushings just to be sure they were all perfect for the upcoming test. And now for the jig construction. I took a single 2x6 and laid it flat. Then cut a 2x4 into 4 short pieces and made a V out of them to sit the bottom edge of the door in. After that I stood one 2x4 up vertically and screwed it in. I put a block on this piece once in place and barely rested it on the upper door frame. Once in line, it got screwed in as well. This piece had a soft cord wrapped around it and the upper door frame and that held the door straight up once it was not attached to the car. In the pic, the window is up but it was rolled down when I used it. I also placed shop towels under the door where they touched just to cushion it against the wood. I place all of this on a flat cart and secured it with a bottom "sandwich" block attached with screws. It worked perfectly. Here are a couple pics.
And now a Globetrotter pic from backstage.