To Glue or not to Glue, that is the question

[Mike Timoshyk]

A while back there was some discussion about new adhesives and their use in the automobile industry.

I have quite a bit of spot welding to do when I tackle the body of my 42 MB so I bought the product and have given it a test run on the doghouse of my
F15A cab 13.

I prepared the two surfaces by grinding down to clean metal and a quick whipe with alcohol (not red wine) and applied the goop. The system is similar to 5 min expoxy applicators only on a larger scale. When I discussed this with the counter salesman he indicated that there are various set times that can be purchased. From almost instantly to a few hours. I chose 50 minutes...lotsa time to fiddle with it in place. Clamp time is 90 minutes and sanding time is 3 hours. I also did a test piece and clamped it in the vise to abuse it later.

Metal worms had done a significant job on the "foot" of the dog house so I chose it. I fabricated a replacement part quite easily, if in fact there are difficulties with the product I can simply redo the area and consider drilling and "spot" welding...but that is what I am trying to avoid.

The applicator comes with several nozzles. Each nozzle is a mixing chamber for the two parts of the system. Once used just leave the nozzle on and let it dry. Next time you use the system, unscrew the nozzle and throw it away and replace with a new nozzle, voila, ready to go again. Very Very little lost.

The whole thing cost less than $100.00. This included the applicator, glue and about a dozen extra nozzles.

more to follow this evening when I unclamp it and abuse my test piece.

cheers


Mike in Windsor