TheSamba.com :: View topic - Vapor Barrier Replacement How-To

Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:54 am

Just a quick update on the vinyl sheeting. I am in the process of doing both of my front doors and went looking for the 4 mil or thicker sheeting. I could not find any that was thicker than 4 mils and I could not find a small package of it. I didnt need 25 yards of 10 ft. wide plastic taking up space.

So I went to the shower department and found a $5.98 clear plastic shower curtain (without the seashells on it) and laid it out and cut it up. Works great and it is much thicker the the OEM stuff. Just a thought.

Something else. While replacing the felt channel in the large window, I found that the clips are 14mm wide at the base and the BD felt is nearly 17mm. Needless to say it doesnt fit and am looking for the right size felt.

Jack

Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:50 am

Jack, I found the same thing -- the BD felts did not fit. I ended up ordering another set from WW and found they were a completely different profile, and pushed in place with relative ease. I did have a bit of trouble bending the corner (on both sets).

However the BD ones were shipped as long straight sections, but WW were bent. I found it odd that they were bent backwards when shipped. Why couldn't they have been bent in the right direction, but a little long on each end? I can trim to fit a lot easier than I can undo a bend, and attempt to put in a new one at the right place without it looking terrible.

Good luck to you.

Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:59 pm

Shower curtain as often made of pretty good material, some will even hold up to UV rays for extended periods. I have used them for lots of things over the years.

Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:21 pm

What is the best adhesive to use?

Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:56 pm

Zelten wrote: What is the best adhesive to use?

Adhesive for what?

Outer felts need no adhesive.

Vapor barriers prefer re-contacting adhesive, like post-it-note glue in a can,

Inner felts (on the backside of the vent window frame) like 3M door seal adhesive or anything similar.
Colin

Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:39 pm

Thanks Colin, I should have elaborated but I only need to do the vapor barrier so that's all I was thinking about. Thanks for the outstanding write up!

Wed Mar 21, 2012 9:41 am

Just wanted to give a shout-out to Colin (Amskeptic) and thank him for posting this tutorial. My bus doors were in need of a lot of TLC: the felt channel would droop when the window was rolled down; the vent wing was loose; the lock/latch was so stiff that my key was getting torqued when I tried to unlock the door (for months now I've been opening the sliding door to let myself in); and the windows were so hard to raise that I broke (yet another) winder handle during the restoration work.

All these issues needed to be addressed, and when I pulled the panel off I discovered how much the masonite near the bottom had been damaged by moisture. Had to moisten and then press the panels to make them flat again, and then removed the worn-out sections of masonite and replaced them with matching "jigsaw" pieces cut from an old clipboard.

Everything is now fixed: new channel clips keep the felt in place; vent wing window tightened up; cleaned and lubed latch and lock -- now door locks/unlocks with a gentle turn of the wrist; and the windows can now be raised without arm wrestling the handle.

To top it all off, all that work is now nicely sealed behind vapor barriers. It was all a bit tricky, but I really enjoyed this project. One note: my bus has speakers in the front doors (PO'd), so I added an additional flap that falls behind the speakers to protect them from any rain that might find its way thru the ventilation holes in the door's front side. Oh, and those newer, slightly larger door panel clip grommets will more easily go in their holes with just a thin layer of readily available non-reactive lubricant...spit.

Couldn't have done it without the assistance of this and several other Samba threads. Kudos to Mr. Atwell for his on-line help as well. Thank you, my bus brothers!

(And to top it all off, on my way to work this morning a car pulled up alongside, rolled down his passenger window and shouted, "That's a beautiful bus!" Don'tcha just love it?)

Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:30 pm

Thanks Colin.

I've got my drivers panel off now and found 2 good size pieces of folded foam stuck in the bottom of the door, forward of the wheel.
They seemed to be wrapped in very deteriorated plastic.
Are they supposed to be there? Anyone else have them there?
Thanks

Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:38 am

VW didn't put them there, perhaps a PO attempt at insulation?

Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:43 am

Thanks BD..........they'll stay out, they were inhibiting drainage.

Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:45 pm

I've been meaning to stick this in since the first time I saw this how-to.

Shown is the door of the 1972 Super Beetle I did a restoration on. The plastic is 'Temporary Carpet Protection Film' available at your local home improvement store. It already has a layer of adhesive on one side that is kind enough to paint to let you stick it on and know it will stay, and then come off again when you simply MUST get into the door. It is about the thickness of the original.

Shown is the driver's door in progress. Two sheets were laid down with overlap so they stuck to each other, then a section across the top was added pressing the sticky sides together so that the moving portions (window winder, door pull, pull rod) didn't have sticky back to contend with. It went on like a dream, I trimmed the outer edges to just outside the clip holes, punctured each clip hole and drove the seals through, then mounted the clips on the door panel and snapped everything in. Sealed up tight.

If you wish to try this, it is quite inexpensive and makes a great seal.

Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:36 pm

webwalker wrote: I've been meaning to stick this in since the first time I saw this how-to.

Shown is the door of the 1972 Super Beetle I did a restoration on. The plastic is 'Temporary Carpet Protection Film' available at your local home improvement store. It already has a layer of adhesive on one side that is kind enough to paint to let you stick it on and know it will stay, and then come off again when you simply MUST get into the door. It is about the thickness of the original.

Shown is the driver's door in progress. Two sheets were laid down with overlap so they stuck to each other, then a section across the top was added pressing the sticky sides together so that the moving portions (window winder, door pull, pull rod) didn't have sticky back to contend with. It went on like a dream, I trimmed the outer edges to just outside the clip holes, punctured each clip hole and drove the seals through, then mounted the clips on the door panel and snapped everything in. Sealed up tight.

If you wish to try this, it is quite inexpensive and makes a great seal.

Nice tip! I don't see the extra rain flap that Colin describes in this thread?

Tue Jan 29, 2013 10:14 pm

curtis4085 wrote:
I don't see the extra rain flap that Colin describes in this thread?

I don't think bugs of any year had the "flow through ventilation" system that needs the flap.

Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:26 am

Certainly not a 'flow through the door' flap. I offer the solution as a worked example. I'll leave the particulars of the flap to the creative engineering types among us. When I finally get around to the doors (down the road a-ways from where I am now) I'll be running this procedure 'Colin style' using the protection film to assemble the sheets and flaps necessary for the job. I might even document that.

Do note that if you own a 68-71 model, there is no flow-through in the doors, so you can use the complete encapsulation method I used on the Super Beetle.

M

Thu Feb 14, 2013 4:45 pm

I have at least 1 full car's worth in the classified right now. 4mil, wide enough to do a door without flap if you don't need it.

Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:20 pm

I just did mine.
Thanks again Colin.
And thanks webwalker, the 'Temporary Carpet Protection Film' worked well.
The grommets from Wolfsburg West were nice and rubbery, went in firmly, but easily by hand, unlike Colin's experience.
Lubing the inside of the grommets to ease clip removal seems a good idea, but not with a petroleum based product like vaseline, I've had it do weird stuff to other rubber. Perhaps a dab of silicone grease.

Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:52 pm

I vote for this to be put in the Tech Tips as a sticky!

Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:46 pm

djspn wrote: I just did mine.
Thanks again Colin.
And thanks webwalker, the 'Temporary Carpet Protection Film' worked well.
The grommets from Wolfsburg West were nice and rubbery, went in easily by hand, unlike Colin's experience.
Lubing the inside of the grommets to ease clip removal seems a good idea, but not with a petroleum based product like vaseline, I've had it do weird stuff to other rubber.

Glad my simple contributions can make the work a little easier.

M

Sun Nov 03, 2013 4:51 pm

Amskeptic wrote: ...
Vapor barriers prefer re-contacting adhesive, like post-it-note glue in a can,
...
Are there any particular brands of this that people like?

Sun Nov 03, 2013 4:55 pm

jtauxe wrote: Amskeptic wrote: ...
Vapor barriers prefer re-contacting adhesive, like post-it-note glue in a can,
...
Are there any particular brands of this that people like?

I'm still on the first 100 ft roll of the stuff that I bought 10 years ago. Just re sealed the door on my father's Toyota van last week. It does not seem to matter concerning the brand.