How to Seal and Weatherproof a Van | Mercedes Sprinter Conversion #7

Sealing and weatherproofing a van is a highly important task prior to conversion. Primarily because many of the internal walls will be hidden once the interior has been fitted out, and you will be unable to fix, let alone see, any issues that arise. In this video, I show you how I'm preventing such issues from occuring.
This series has now moved to the new Matt's Van Channel!
/ @mattsvan
PRODUCTS USED:
Trim Removal Kit (Highly recommended!)
kit.co/MattsVan/essential-too...
Rust Stabiliser
kit.co/MattsVan/cleaning-seal...
Hammerite Paint
kit.co/MattsVan/cleaning-seal...
Silirub LMN
kit.co/MattsVan/cleaning-seal...
Steel Reinforced Putty
kit.co/MattsVan/cleaning-seal...
Underbody Car Spray
kit.co/MattsVan/cleaning-seal...
Waxoil Spray
kit.co/MattsVan/cleaning-seal...
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Support what I do by becoming a Patron! This will help fund new tools, equipment and cover my overheads. Meaning I can continue to bring you regular, high quality, free content. Thank you so much for your support! / mattestlea
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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See what tools I use here: kit.com/MattEstlea
My Website: www.mattestlea.com
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My name is Matt Estlea, I'm a 23 year old Woodworker from Basingstoke in England and my aim is to make your woodworking less s***.
I come from 5 years tuition at Rycotewood Furniture Centre with a further 1 year working as an Artist in Residence at the Sylva Foundation. I now teach City and Guilds Furniture Making at Rycotewood as of September 2018.
I also had 5 years of experience working at Axminster Tools and Machinery where I helped customers with purchasing tools, demonstrated in stores and events, and gained extensive knowledge about a variety of tools and brands.
During the week, I film woodworking projects, tutorials, reviews and a viewer favourite 'Tool Duel' where I compare two competitive manufacturers tools against one another to find out which is best.
I like to have a laugh and my videos are quite fast paced BUT you will learn a lot, I assure you.
Lets go make a mess.
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INSTAGRAM: / mattestleaf. .
PATREON: / mattestlea
MUSIC BY:
EPIDEMIC SOUND: www.epidemicsound.com/
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MATT ESTLEA WOODWORK 2019

[@MattEstlea2]

Due to the popularity of this Van Conversion series, I am relocating it to a dedicated Van Conversion Channel! youtube.com/@mattsvan The Matt Estlea 2 Channel was originally for shitposting and used as a proving ground for ideas we have, without the risk of damaging the main channels (Matt Estlea) ranking in KZbins search algorythms. Ideally we'd like to continue using it for this purpose, but are concious of clogging up the feeds of people who only signed up for van related content. Hence the dedicated channel. It also means I can use the dedicated channel for travel vlogs and other van related content once the conversion is complete which sounds fun. Go subscribe!

[@mariushegli]

I have nothing to say really, but I appreciate your content, and wish to help with the yt-algorithms.

[@mattydare]

See my comments 3 months ago when you 1st bought the van. I recommend spraying the van off with a powerful hose when you have finished sealing it. Better to find leaks now sooner than after you have completed the build. Have a look at older Sprinters/Crafters and you will see the problem areas where they rot from 💰💸💸💸

[@jodywade5617]

Good job young man.

[@lillihiggins6567]

Went from complete panic this morning to feeling confident I can seal my van - THANK YOU.

[@csg2745]

So glad I came across this video. Never would have thought those exterior trim pieces allowed so much water intrusion. Definitely will be taking care of that before I start my build. AND I had never heard of waxoil! Ordering that as well! Thanks for the great content!

[@user-ht9js5mh5i]

👍👌

[@deltron708]

Great video Matt! How many tubes of Soudal Silirub LMN Neutral Silicone did you need for all the clips?

[@Erik_The_Viking]

Very nice - exterior trim is a huge pain to seal properly. Many cars and vans literally rust from the inside out because of this, and goes largely unnoticed until something really bad happens.

[@mattydare]

Built in redundancy

[@ai5506]

the way I dealed with it (fiat ducato, exactly the same problem) was doing one large silicone line around the whole top of this black plastic thingy and down the sides. BTW: you probably should have bought new clips eg on ebay to save you time, they are cheap and the sealing material degrades over time

[@mattydare]

See my comments 3 months ago on the post when he bought it. Putting a bead across the top doesn't stop water ingress. When you drive along you get a pressure difference between inside and outside. This can suck the water in. +1 new clips every time. Show me a 2nd hand van that hasn't had a dink or two. In fact dya notice some of the clips Matt is removing have overspray so they've been off once before?

[@ai5506]

@@mattydare i seriously doubt that, water may get underneath a bit but i can hardly imagine it getting into these holes (holes are still plugged btw, just not 100% watertight). but to be fair, I have not yet had a look underneath the insulation but I doubt if i ever will. Water from my ceiling window is my biggest concern

[@mattydare]

​@@ai5506 Okies - sounds like you know what you are doing👍. I read one comment where someone was suggesting to seal up the inner front arches to stop mud collecting behind em. I don't think they realize that all the water, leaves and crap runs off the window down there🤭. Anyway good luck🙏 - I'm about to dip into my pocket to get an electrian to find a parasitic drain that's bugging me.

[@KristanWebb]

Woohoo first comment! Keep up the great videos Matt

[@krimke881]

Does anyone know, how many clips there are on the side panels? in total? Really need to order for this job.

[@richardstevenson2727]

👍

[@stevenridz]

Makes you wonder why van manufacturers dont seal the trim holes when applying the trim or fit a small rubber Gromit or similar to prevent the water ingrerss if this thing is very common?

[@mattydare]

Simple - I've commented on this before. They don't want the van to last forever as they want to sell you another.

[@Auxbeam]

Hi Do you need some great lighting for your car to help you better driving, off-road? We're the pro auto lighting manufacturer for nearly 20 year and we're looking for sponsorship!

[@Atherax]

Am I loosing my mind or was #6 skipped

[@mtevrest]

For sealing there is an even better product called dekasyl which will stay completely soft and not harden at all. silicone might shrink and expand with the weather and not last as long. You'll still be good for the next years though!

[@rkalle66]

IMHO, old trim clips should not be reused. It's about 50 ct per clip. Older sprinter models are equal in parts to VW crafter models as the were built at the same production site.

[@phee3D]

my bad I thought the title said "steal"

[@briancohen1967]

Not really a how to what about welding the holes up 🤔

[@douglasbrown3493]

Wouldn't have been a whole lot cheaper and less stressful to rent a new flat near the new shop?

[@FMuscleZ28]

So you seal up the van before cutting ventilation holes? 🤔😂