SMC Discussion Areas

Restorations => General => Topic started by: Witchboard on October 28, 2007, 05:58:30 pm



Title: Putty in bottom of tub?
Post by: Witchboard on October 28, 2007, 05:58:30 pm
Just finished cleaning, treating and repainting the bottom of the cooling area on my machine.  I noticed there's some putty that's used on all the screws and where the electrical cord goes into the evaporator housing.  What is this putty?  I'm needing to replace it and wanted to make sure I wasn't going to buy something that was going to dry out.  Is it just plumbers putty or something?


Title: Re: Putty in bottom of tub?
Post by: johnieG on October 28, 2007, 08:08:54 pm
it's chassis putty, also known as plugging, dum-dum. etc. it's supposed to help seal the seams on the inner liner & the corners on the liner of the bottom tray area that the evaporator sits on to help seal out any air seeping into the inside of the machine, and to help keep condensation water out of the insulation below the liner, but what's it doing on the evaporator itself is anyones guess..

you can use plumbers putty, or electrical/HVAC putty to seal the corners & seams, early machines used a tar-based sealer, but it's not needed on the evaporators fan-motor wiring regardless. it also used under the metal cover that the copper refigeration lines & electrical wiring passes up into the inside of the machines tank/liner & lower compressor area to help seal out warm air from leaking into the "cold" area.


Title: Re: Putty in bottom of tub?
Post by: Witchboard on October 28, 2007, 10:03:31 pm
Thanks johnieG.  I'll see what I can get my hands on.  I have 48 hours to wait for the hammer finish to completely dry, so I have some time.  Thanks again.


Title: Re: Putty in bottom of tub?
Post by: johnieG on October 29, 2007, 08:29:00 am
You could also use modern RTV/Silicone sealer/chaulk, they even have a silver color used for rain-gutter repairs, it would match the silver hammertone paint & in my opinion provide better sealing in the liner area, but I'd stick with he putty for the line cover area (as it's easily removable)


Title: Re: Putty in bottom of tub?
Post by: Witchboard on October 29, 2007, 06:59:43 pm
I think that's what I'll be doing.  I dropped by the local auto parts store and the dum-dum putty only comes in a big block and costs about $40.  Considering I only needed a few pinches, I guess I'll use the silicone on the screws and re-use the putty for the lines.  Thanks again johnieG.


Title: Re: Putty in bottom of tub?
Post by: Witchboard on November 05, 2007, 12:13:12 am
Lucky for me, my father so happened to have some of the tape left over from a previous project.  Got everything back in and sealed up.  Thanks.