Hi,
New member, just bought this 2001 Vanden Pas and love love love it. I don't see this asked elsewhere--- the black plastic/silicone trim or weather stripping on the exterior plate around the door handle is decayed. See photos. Can anyone suggest if I should do something (a squirt of clear silicon caulk )?

Thanks in advance.
David

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/14455957541...mis&media=COPY

 

Addicted2boost. Thank you! I’m embarrassed that I didnt find it via search.

I see other links about it. But if you have a general sense. For a guy of average intelligence and slightly above average tinkering ability—- can I do this ?

 

Yes to answer your question.

One thing I will say is that I prefer a set of the door handle gaskets in full form. The ones in that link just have the outer circumference gaskets. The full form ones have a sturdier build just like the oem ones but, you’d technically have to dismantle the door handle to fit them 100% like the originals. It’s difficult for me to explain just how different they are without having a picture of them. I didn’t see any for sale on eBay so…. Maybe someone else who’s better at explaining these kinds of things will chime in. The circumference gaskets are also harder to sit just right while you tighten the door handle down.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/18366496515...mis&media=COPY

These are the full form ones. Yes they are expensive, but they fit and form a lot better.

 

Seems a little odd that these pieces should deteriorate like they do.
However, (sigh) plastics never hold up in the weather.

 

A2B is correct. The best direction to go is the full formed gaskets, but if you do an extremely careful job of masking the door skin and the handle, you could smear a little black silicone in there and nobody would probably know. I replaced mine with the full form gaskets years ago and it was kind of a pain, but it's certainly do-able. .