So people talk about the Shin Etsu grease for their weatherstripping, any particular tips or techniques?
Thanks.

 

Showing my age here, but "a little dab'll do ya". First step is to clean the weatherstrip with a wet rag/paper towel. I usually take a small amount of Shin-Etsu (no more than pea or bean sized) and put it on a paper towel. Lay the towel down and barely touch the grease to the rubber and wipe along the length of the weatherstrip. Spread it as evenly as you can on the initial wipe. You may see a black residue on the paper towel---this is why I mentioned to use it. You can use your finger to get the grease into crevices or around bends. It doesn't really have to be 100% coverage -- more important is to do it regularly---once or twice a year.

This was my post on Acurazine regarding Shin-Etsu from 2009:

Why Shin-Etsu is the SHIZNIT!!!We all know our TLs are prone to rattles, squeaks, buzzes and creaks. There are quite a few "Rattle Fix" threads here on AZ.

I bought my 06TL in February 09 with 29K. My salesperson let me know that as part of the CPO process, they went through the car and cleaned and lubricated all of the seals with something called Shin-Etsu. At the time, I was too excited about buying the car to think to inquire further and she only made a passing reference to it and I quickly forgot about it.

I was very impressed with how quiet the ride home from the dealer was. It didn't take long for rattles to show up, however. I had the 3rd brake light rattle (take off the cover, check all of the clips, lubricate the rubber seal and replace. Be careful handling the fabric cover), the sunglass holder rattle (remove the holder), the center console trim rattle (remove trim, check clips and holders, run thin felt strip in channel, reinstall trim). Even my Illuminated Doorsill caused a helluva rattle when the double sided tape came loose (added 2 more layers and reinstalled)!

But the one rattle that was the most insidious was the sunroof and window chatter. These start very small and keep growing over time. You kinda get used to the noise so you don't really notice it until its really bad. I identified my sunroof noises when I closed the sunshade one day and noticed how quiet things had gotten. I have seen numerous threads which suggest adding felt to the rubber seals, white lithium grease between the metal and the rubber and all kinds of voodoo sounding fixes. Admittedly, these guys have all gone the last mile to find and fix their issues and I applaud their efforts, but sometimes people can't seem to see the trees through the forest and tend to over-think things, I guess.

I have done my research on the various rattle fixes and I am very grateful to those that came before me and posted their experiences and fixes on AZ. However, in all of the threads I have read, only a very few have ever made reference to Shin-Etsu. This is a silicone based grease that comes in a tube (like toothpaste) Honda Part #08798-9013 and is used on the rubber seals around the doors, windows, trunk and sunroof. Put a small amount on a paper towel or cloth and apply a very thin coating to all rubber seals and window channels. It took me about a half hour to do the whole car and it is very quiet now. This should be a first step to any rattle trace you may undertake to eliminate the rubber as a possible source of the noise. I guess you could use any silicone grease, but make sure it is silicone-based, as that is an inert product and will not react with the rubber and vinyl to damage it.

This is good stuff!

 

I use nitrile (or similar) gloves when applying it to the seals. Works well, it is good stuff

 

I just rub it in by hand. Kinda sensual. And messy.

-- Chuck

 

Thank you so much!! I just finished and did similar. Instead of paper towels I used a small cloth rag to do it. Went around the whole car and applied the grease, opened and closed the top and the windows a couple times then went around the car again with a clean rag and re-wiped all the rubber stripping to remove any over application I might have done. We will see how it does for wind noise.

 

i use gloves and just slather it on as well. if its not old then just a thin upkeep. if it is an older car im trying to restore a bit, ill remove the seals, dawn and hot water bath. once they dry i apply an excess of shin and let it sit a few days before wiping off the excess.

 

the heat of your hand thru the rubber surgical glove will help melt the shinetzu lube and glide over the rubbers just that much more easily. oooooo, baby!

darcy

 

robot lube

 

I generally put a small dab on my index finger and then rub that with my thumb and then go to the rubbers and apply that to both sides of the rubbers back and forth until consistently spread over the length of the rubber and rubbed in. A small dab on the index finger will get you into the crevices that are built into the rubbers to ensure that all parts of the rubbers are treated. If you haven’t done it in a while some of the carbon black that is in the rubber may rub off on your fingers - if so I just take a paper towel or micro towel and rub that along the length of the rubber to remove this which is a result of the oxidation of the surface of the rubber and then reapply the shin etsu. The shin etsu keeps your rubbers plump and fresh and uncracked so they can do the job that they were originally intended for. I don’t drive my car in the winter here in Canada so as part of my winter storage program I apply a coat of shin etsu on the rubbers (ALL of them including the trunk, leading edge of the bonnet opening, doors and roof (whether soft or HT), the bellows on the steering arms and the CV joints on the drive shafts) and an application of Leatherique or some other form of Leather balm on the leathers inside the vehicle (seats, door cards, dash etc). As my lay up tends to approach 6 months before the gravel is off the roads I do the same (both on the rubbers and the leathers) in the Spring to start the season - so twice a year. I never put up the car for the winter without changing the oil regardless of when the previous oil change was done. Some might say a bit anal but it is reflected in the appraisals that I get for my Declared Value Insurance. Doesn’t take long to do these kind of steps and makes a world of difference in the condition of your car.

 

yeah this ! lol i do the same thing. working it in with my fingers. then i let it sit on there overnight then come back and wipe off any excess