Alternatives to expensive seam sealer

So, i priced some seam sealer at the flaps. Holy E36 M3.

Im going to need a lot for the new challenge car due to extensive seam welding and chassis work. 

What options do i have? Obviously this car is going to be a long term car, so doing it right is the way i want to go, but the extreme budget drives the purchase. 

I had thought about a sandable and paintable caulking from lowesdepot, but wanted to ask the hive first. Y'al knowEVERYTHING. 

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

Liquid Nails?

A 1qt can of 3M brush on seam sealer was like $50 on Amazon. Should do the whole thing. 

Just use a small bristle brush. It doesn't need to be very thick to work. 

For Challenge purposes, Eastwood's brushable sealer looks like it's around $30+ shipping. 

I haven't used the Eastwood stuff, but most of their body supplies seems to have been well received overall, and since shipping doesn't count for budget it's $17.13 cheaper. (I looked it up, obviously.)

I would be hesitant to cheap out too much on seam sealer. 

Other products might have a tendency to not stick properly, or to retain moisture and cause rust. Shop around, and try not to waste too much of it.  If you use the caulking tubes, put on just enough to smear into the area with a (gloved) finger.

In reply to Crackers :

Shipping on parts does count toward the challenge budget. Shipping on the car itself does not. 

Oh, well I stand corrected. I just read through the rules last week too. 

Judt found a quart for 21 on Amazon of real brushable  seam sealer.  Guess  I fpund my answer. 

I used construction adhesive on the Saab. Maybe it was not the right idea?

Brushable sealer and a few of those little acid brushes are the way to go.  A quart should be plenty.

OR wait until after the Challenge. You are going to Paint it anyway so use a good Paint primer as the sealer, How long will you keep it, 5 years or longer, Not likely , People like you me and your Dad need Projects to keep the Brain Pumped up

Is that the Dominion stuff? 

I saw a bunch of really cheap stuff on Amazon.

I get worried about long term pliability, but I suppose since you seam welded that's not much of an issue. 

How about Sika caulk?   

The sika (i think) sandable and paintable latex caulking was what prompted the thread.

Dominion is what we ordered.

Gtx: im hoping for a multiple year development cycle on this one. More of a "build the same car different ways" project. Hopefully stalling the aadd.

I know that on most other car forums this is sacrilegious - but maybe here on GRM I won't get flamed excessively for writing this:

I am using urethane construction adhesive on my current project. Like right off the shelf at Home Depot. Cheap. Goes on nice and smooth - easy to apply. Doesn't smell too bad. Cures quickly and shrinks slightly to give a nice, tight, crisp appearance.

But... no long term data yet on how it will perform in an automotive environment over time. Objects in the mirror not as close as they appear. Use at your own risk. YRMV.

My friendly local bondo-slingers swear by the metal formulation of Liquid Nails.  Maybe not the best thing for bonding fenders back on your Ferrarri, but for patching in rusty floors on an already rusty Dodge Ram, thats what they suggested.  We laid it down pretty thick, 4 pop rivets to secure it, then paint the underside with chassis black nice n heavy.  Laid down a few sheets of newspaper on top of the glue so we could continue working without getting all the squished out Liquid Nails all over us.