Silicone Spray for Car Door Seals – Does It Really Help?

Door seals in cars are extremely important. They prevent water from coming into the vehicles and actually seal the interior when the door is properly closed. It means that you will travel with comfort, won't feel any air breathing through the doors, and will not get raindrops bothering you much when you are driving.

But should you take care of door seals? Should you use some lubricants or other products to prolong their lifespan?

In short, silicone spray will help you protect the door seals and make them more efficient, but in the long run, it can have a negative effect on the rubber condition. Also, the silicone spray can help in wintertime when the seal may freeze to the metal parts of the car body.

It's always up to you to use or refuse to use different chemical products on your vehicle. But I should say that I suggest using the minimum of them and only in situations when it is inevitable.

Let's see what I think about the silicone spray for car door seals!

What do manufacturers say about silicone sprays?

First of all, I want to see what manufacturers say about the products that they develop and sell for car door seals. If you just read the description on some websites or on Amazon, you will most likely want to buy this magical product right away. But read this article first - your enthusiasm will shrink a bit.

So, manufacturers mostly say the following:

• you can use silicone spray all year round on the car seals;
• it protects the rubber part from spoiling;
• it helps to seal the vehicle's interior properly;
• in winter, it helps you avoid door freezing;
• door seals remain elastic and flexible for a longer time.

I've read some magical things, too like some brands said that their silicone spray can make the old and hard car door seal soft and good to use again. This is nonsense and, of course, you shouldn't believe this and spend your money on this.

So, the bullets above basically show why people buy silicone sprays and what they expect from these products. But are they really efficient in doing what they are said they can do? Let's see!

What are the real good effects of silicone spray on door seals?

I can think of two good effects that high-quality products can provide you with:

1) Anti-freezing effect

It won't last long, but once you lubricate the car door seals with good silicone spray, the rubber seal will not freeze to the metal parts of the car body. It's a good effect that is often needed in areas where winters are cold.

When you drive, some ice and snow melt near the seal. But when you go out of the car, the vehicle cools down and the water freezes. This makes the seal stick to the door firmly. Sometimes, you cannot open the door without damaging the seal.

So, in this case, using silicone spray is actually a good idea.

2) It makes the seal look better

If it's important to you, you can make the car door seal look a little better if you use silicone spray. Well, you will not achieve marvelous results, but for several days your seal will look like new.

I personally don't think it has some practical purpose, so I won't tell you a lot about the effect.

What won't your silicone spray do to car door seals?

Now you know what good things you may get if you use silicone spray on car door seals. But you may buy this product and expect something more from it, right? Here's what you may expect but will not get:

1) It won't prolong the life of the seal

Unfortunately, silicone spray can't protect the car door seal from all the dangers that it has to cope with. You can still tear it and the seal will have some wear and tear naturally. The only thing that can save the seal is that it won't freeze to the metal. But in all other cases, silicone spray won't prolong the life of the car door seal.

2) The spray won't make the seal more flexible

It's a myth that you can use silicone spray to make the old car door seal softer or something. It doesn't work that way and the old seal will always remain the old and hard seal with very little efficiency.

Whatever lubricant you use on it, the seal will not become more efficient in keeping water or sounds out of the car.

3) It doesn't help you seal the car better

Silicone spray won't help you seal the car door better than it is sealed without the spray. What seals the car door is the pressure that is applied to the door seal when it's squeezed between two metal parts. It doesn't matter if the seal is lubricated with silicone or not, the efficiency of its work won't be affected at all.

I've read some magical things in descriptions like this certain silicone spray can soundproof your car or guarantee that no air will be leaking through the doors when you drive. This is complete nonsense.

When and how to apply silicone spray on car door seals?

Well, you can apply silicone spray in winter because the only practical thing it does is to save the door seal from freezing to the metal.

Of course, manufacturers will tell you that you need to lubricate the seal every day, in summer, in winter, on weekends, in the evenings, and even on Christmas day. They will also tell you to ask your neighbor to spray the silicone lubricant on the seals when you are on holiday and can't do this on your own. The joke, of course, but they would use that if they knew how to prove it.

But here's what I think you should do with a silicone spray for your car door seals:

• use it one day before the freezing temperatures come to your area;
• don't forget that you just need a little spray on the entire length of the seal;
• clean the door seal before you apply the spray;
• don't close your door right after you apply the spray - let it sit for a while;
• after about two weeks (depending on the quality of the lubricant), repeat this procedure.

Don't forget thoroughly cleaning the seal whenever you apply the new layer of silicone. Also, if you wash your car and notice that the seals are covered in water, you will need to reapply the silicone spray once again.

In about a week, the effect of the silicone lubricant will vanish and you will need to repeat the procedure. It's easy and fast. All you need to do is to choose the right silicone spray for this.

How to buy a good silicone lubricant for door seals?

Well, it's hard to find a good product. I can tell you what you shouldn't do. Never buy a product just because the website of its manufacturer says so many good things about it. You shouldn't expect the manufacturer to publish all the negative feedbacks and reviews customers may be sending to them.

Here's how you should choose a good product:

• look for the most popular silicone spray lubricants in big online stores like Amazon;
• choose 5 or 10 products that you will want to compare;
• pay attention to the overall rating of the products and choose several lubricants with the highest rating;
• read several positive and negative reviews of the real buyers;
• read instructions on the picture or in the description of the product;
• read more about the contents and find out if it contains something extremely dangerous for rubber or paint.

After doing this quick research, you will be able to understand which spray is worth your money. As a rule, out of ten products with really high customer ratings, one or two appear to be OK when you come through all of the bullets in the list above.

Also, you may talk to your friends who may be using these silicone lubricants. They may recommend you a certain brand and even give it to try on your vehicle. But anyway, find the spray lubricant you are recommended to buy in a good online store and read reviews first. As a rule, bad products will have up to 3 stars out of five.

Can you damage the seals or the car with bad door seal lubricants?

Of course, bad products can actually damage your vehicle and even be bad for your health. You should always check the contents of anything you apply to your vehicle and make sure that there is nothing in the contents that will interfere with the paint layer.

If the product contains some thinner or spirit, you should check if the car paint may react to this component. Usually, you can learn it by just googling the name of this component. If it affects the paint, your car body may be damaged. After some months, you may notice that the paint layer is damaged and, in several months, you will see the first signs of corrosion there.

Always choose wisely and never apply silicone lubricants when they aren't needed!