There have been several threads about our 51 fleetline radical custom over the last 4 years. Yeah, I know......wrong tail lights.......that being said, we embarked on something new to us. we have re-skinned the passenger door over our home brewed door structure. We used a skin from a driver's side door and turned it over and the damn thing fit. It left us with no structure at the bottom of the door. The idea of welding a new piece at the bottom turned our stomach. The welding, grinding and warp-age actually just about brought the build to a dead stop. Then we found glue ! We ordered a tube of the 3M panel adhesive and the required handle to use it a week ago. We cut a 1/8 X 1 X 34 inch piece of metal and fitted it to the bottom of the door. We applied the glue, placed the piece and clamped it on with a shitload of visegrips ( note to self: don't get the oozing glue on the vise grips.......Additional note : vise grips can be chiseled from door bottom ). Well the whole process worked out great (except the chiseling part ) so we moved on a little bit. We used the glue to do spot welds to hold the skin against the structure. That worked well so this is what we have done. We have glued the skins at every joint possible as shown in the pictures. Has anyone done anything like this to their car ? I know they glue new cars together but nothing like this. After we had done some grinding and shaping on the door bottom, we found that the dried glue sands and shapes much like any other kind of filler........so we used some 22 gauge metal patches and some glue to fill the trim holes........more on that after we go to the garage on this coming Wednesday. Our garage is now known as SAC it stands for Spousal Avoidance Center
An interesting use of modern adhesive technology. Can't wait to hear how it holds up in service when you get it on the road.
I used the 2 part panel bond on a 67 mini cooper. The door structure was cheesecloth and couldnt take a weld. I ended up restructuring the door with fiberglass then "glued" the new skin on. The only downside was, it seemed that wherever there was an airgap the adhesive turned brittle and chipped out. You really need a uniform clamp across the bond (if that makes sense) All in all, for what I started with it came out great and that product was wxzctly what I needed.
Whats the part number on the 3m panel bonding adhesive? Some of the adhesives say not to use body filler over top. Also, i would be a little worried that when the metal expands and contracts from hot and cold (temps) that the outside skin will do the hokey pokey because it is glued to the inner braces. Just my thoughts.
I used the 3M adhesive to bond the metal floorpan to my 'glass bodied T-bucket, a few large head rivits to secure it while the glue set-up..and it's a done deal. It's been on the road 6 years with a glued-up floorpan with no signs of any crackage AT ALL. good stuff by a good company.
On the product page: http://3mcollision.com/products/adhesive-products/adhesives/3m-panel-bonding-adhesive-38315.html "For use on outer body panels only. Not for use on structural components such as pillars, frame rails, core supports, or rocker panels (on unibody vehicles)." It looks like you welded in the support to the rest of the door frame, but only the skin is attached with the adhesive. You should be good. The reason they give the warning is because bonding between the substrate and adhesive is due to Van der Waals forces. In order to get a good bond, the adhesive and substrate surfaces have to be less than 5 angstroms apart. Any voids larger than that mean no adhesion.
I am using a similar product, but mine is from SEM. It is reported to have a shear strength of 3000 pounds. It does seem to enhance the structure, and it does not warp the sheetmetal. I am using the adhesive with 90 minute work time, but they have stuff with a lot shorter times. Plus it is epoxy, so it sticks a little better than filler. I works good as a gap filler, as long as you do not have any movement in the gap you are filling. I am anxious to see how it holds up on the shake down run, and subsequent abuses it will see.
We saw the part about structure but didn't know if that was an arm rest or a crossmember. My buddy read the instructions so I am trusting him to do the right thing. ehrawn, thanks for all that. I now wonder if we might have a problem. We made sure to smooth the glue line but some of the gaps might have been 1/8 inch in some places. and based on what I read : The angstrom, also known as the angstrom unit, is a measure of displacement equal to 0.0000000001 meter (10 -10 m). It is sometimes used to express wavelength s of visible light, ultraviolet (UV) light, X rays, and gamma rays. We be screwed to the max on tolerances I have Van der Waals forces I & II for my PS3 One thing for sure, even before it was dry, it changed the feel and sound of the door. Once all the glue was in place, there was NO ring in the door metal when tapped. It was a solid thud
interesting to read a real life experience/use as I was planning on doing this to the large peice of sheet metal that will be sitting on top on my tonnoe(sp) cover frame...
used dura mix for years even on my truck great for door skins,roofs,side panels,etc. not for structural panels belive me this stuff works gm used a urathane on their cars(firebird,transport van,vettes) just be careful because you cant put body filler over it my truck had panels on for 10 plus years and not a sign of coming loose it works
it's used all the time in the collision industry... have used many times in NON S TRUCTURAL areas also repaired wrecked cars where it used and it worked properly and like anything read the instructions GREAZY HUBCAPZ CC EAST TN
I have the 3M 5 minute version holding my fuse panel to the inside of the firewall, no bolts. Also use it to attach Radio Shack wire tie holders to the inside of the firewall again no bolts. I like it.
Used this glue on a 70 c10 i built. Holds up well, not supposed to be used on main structure (cab corners, etc) but good for doors, quarters, etc. My truck got drivin through a telephone pole and none of the glued Joints came apart! I recommend it highly! -LUKEY-
I used panel bonding adhesive to install door bottoms on a 38' Willys over 10 years ago. Never had an issue, an excellent product with excellent results. It's been over 10 yrs. since I've used it so I'm not sure which manufacturer it was.
Used the 3M to glue the side panels to framework for the bed on my truck. Once everything had cured you can grab'em and shake the truck around pretty good. Solid bond and only 2 mechanical fasteners per side.
sem, fusor, and 3m all now make adhesive for structural repairs... a lot of panels are being "glued" on in the OE now. the sem products work great and are less $ than 3m and fusor
Is it really that hard to find a door for one of those? I threw one away last year, except for the top part enough to have to convert a Styline door if need be.
Weld shear strength is somewhere between 40% and 60% of yield strength. For cold rolled CS Type B, that would be 12,000 to 18,000 psi.
I still weld my car stuff. But this sounds like a liberation from strict torchwork, perhaps some place where I would have prepped for silver soldering, or brazing. I hate brazing, for the acid and overall dirty operation... Torn between, modern 'glue' just reeks of China and Kias and other awful stuff designed for liberal airheads
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