Hi all
Its the season in doing alot of work on my 86 xj
During my adventures i realized the driver side footwell was getting quite wet.
I sort of knew immediatly this was due to some small rust formation around my windshield
Sadly on further inspection the leak is happening both driver side and passenger side and on both sides in the rearview.
I was already planning on replacing the seals and repainting the car this summer so that has just pushed that project along.
Ive gone ahead and ordered the seals from moss motors so they should be here soon but i have a few questions reguarding it all.

Firstly how different is replacing these seals on a series 3 as opposed to a series 2 i ask because “living with a classic” on youtube has a great in depth video on the process but he does it on a series 2.

Secondly how much rust warrants a welding repair. I have never welded and with a delicate area such as this i dont feel inclined to let this be where i start trying to (although i am interested) i know i will not know the extent of the damage until i remove the screen but from what i can tell from the outside it seems to be mostly surface rust there are a few small rust bubbles on the back and front so i know there will be at the very least minor divots in the metal. Is this something i can simply sand as flush as possible repaint and reseal? Or does any amount of rust require a welding repair.

Im fairly confident in my ability to replace the seals on my own (hell if i can drop and repair the IRS at home how hard could this be…right?) although ive read a few threads that strongly reccomend having a shop do it to ensure proper seating. I am weary of this option though as nearly every shop ive taken this car to (even for minor issues) has misdiagnosed, further damaged, and over charged for anything they do in reguards to this car (hence why ive taken on nearly all of the repairs for the duration ive owned this car)

Lastly ive read that water behind these seals is inevitable due to their design, on a few threads people reccomend regularly using “rust check” to flush out and displace any water behind the seals and protect the metal. Is there any kind of sealant i could use whilst installing the seals to prevent this from occuring in the future or is that a fools errand. On the note of sealants is there any sealant required whilst installing these seals? and if so what kind?

Thanks all
Best wishes