What is the best way to treat door seals to prevent the doors from freezing in winter?
I noticed that the doors on both of my vehicles are a bit "sticky" this time of year, where the temperature is above freezing during the day, but drops below freezing overnight.
The seals on both vehicles are in good condition, so I don't want to use a product that's going to harm the rubber.
If you're getting enough moisture into the seal/door interface, the seals are already failing. It's time to replace them. However, if you want to hold it off for a little while, vaseline is fine. It'll slowly degrade the seals further, but well, they're already done for at this point...
Best thing to do is to use silicone lube on the seals occasionally before moisture starts getting past and freezing. That'll help extend the life of the seals.
Okay I have lived through this and replacing the seals does need to happen when this becomes a problem. However, seals going bad are not always the problem. Sometimes it is simply a matter of the seals or the metal they contact got wet while the doors are open then you close them and they freeze.
The down side here is this can also ruin the seals.
The hands down fix is one I tried on my wife's car a few years ago when we were having a colder than normal winter. After all the above trick only lasted a few weeks at a time lead me to experiment.
My best success by far was Painters Tape. You know the Green or Blue tape that peels off with ease.
When I decided to try the tape my concept was that the tape would be a better surface when moisture was an issue, and if it did freeze my hope was it would pull the tape loose allowing the door to open.
Well it never froze shut. One application of tape has been in place for going on three years. During that time or winters have been as low as -2 F and the door opens without effort. Hope this helps.
Essentially, you want to displace the potential condensation that will form after the air inside a warm car cools down. The best suggestion that I have heard is silicone based grease or sprays. Those will discourage the water from sticking around and, later, becoming ice.
Anything that might react with rubber is definitely not recommended. This includes solvent-type sprays like WD-40 or common household Vaseline. Either might seem like it's helping until you notice that your door seals are disintegrating rapidly.
Get a can of bees wax, it is a harder type wax, wipe it on the painted area where the rubber seals against the metal. A paper towel or cloth works well, apply a thin layer, in other words don't leave globs, a thin layer barely visible will work fine and should not harm the rubber seal.
i'm told nonstick cooking spray works well also, but don't know if it will affect the seals...
Silicone spray lubricant is often recommended by manufacturers for door seals, and it should work well in this scenario.
Not only will it help keep stuff from squeaking, etc, but it repels water, resists contamination from dirt, and has an effective temperature range of -100 to 500F
You can also use it in your lock tumblers to help them operate smoothly in the winter
Wax on the paint which contacts the seal is the best. Silicone spray on that paint is second best. If it's cold out, I would clean the paint, and apply silicone spray. Next summer, wax the paint on the door where it mates with the seal.
Normally, the way to go with rubber seals is talcum powder.
Don´t use other chemical on them, as lot of the other posts suggest. Most will destroy your seals for good. Wiping them down with talcum every 6 month will keep them going for decades.
Brake fluid revises rubber to its elasticity. Use sparingly on door seals so as not to get on you clothes.
