How To: C15a Wire-3 restoration

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Jordan...
.....Hi Phil

I am at the same place as Jordan.....removed the rear skin.... replaced the bottom angle and now getting ready to do the new skin.

I am using satin coat steel in 20 gauge and will use Norton metal glue used in body shops. The angle iron frame and back braces have been sandblasted, phosphated and painted with POR 15 but left the contact area for the skin bare.

Plans are to use the Norton 90 minutes set and clamp everyting in place. The reason for using the Norton glue is that it will seal forever any gaps between the skin and the angle iron...... which we all know tends to rust after 75 years.....

We have limited but positive experience with the glue having done patches on Grant's cab 13 rusted top portion. seems to hold very well and seals very well. It has cycled in 2 Ontario Winters not sure how it will look after 75 years parked behind the barn.

We are working on top of a large steel table with a very stiff ( 5/8 SS) top. We will precurve the sheet metal with rollers and try to get as good a physical fit as possible before glueing. everything will be clamped mildly to the table top with small sand bags pressig down on the wall reinforcement brackets.

No spot welds will be used.

If that works well the door skins are next with the same process except the edges will be double glued and folded back on themselves as if spot welded. The inside of the door will be painted with POR and proper drain holes cleared up.

Body shops that I have talked to swear by it strength and ease of use. I was told that in certain designed body crush areas they regrain from overlapping the glued panels by more than 1 inch as it increses the strength too much and defeats the crush zones.

Only time will tell. will try to document with photos to be posted on the Hammond Barn site.

Now back to the POR 15 combination with spot or rosette welding...... should work if you allow sufficient room for heat travel or cool off quickly with wet rags. POR as very limited endurance to heat.

Jordan once you have done your welding consider dripping POR in whatever gap might exist....... it has a great tendency to inflitrate and move by capillary action.

For example after welding a bolt hole shut anddoing the final grind everything looked very good. I painted one side with POR and flipped the part over to paint the other side and a tiny small speck of POR actually penetrated a pin hole and totally sealed the patch.

Good luck to both of us...

...and more to come on this back wall issue.

Cheers