Panel Adhesive

[candphall]

Any thoughts on using panel adhesive for minor rust repairs instead of welding? If so any recommendation on a brand?

 

[horse sence]

i saw an article in i think street roder mag. they cut the center out of an old door
and flanged the surrounding area,then bonded a filler panel in . then they took a hammer a beat the snot out of it. it didnt seperate, but my worry would be shrinkage
showing up later at the over lap area?

 

[rbohm]

the factories use panel adhesive in many areas, and the show trucks on the power block used a panel adhesive on one of their projects. there is no shrinkage that would show up in the paint later on because the adhesive isnt used as a body filler. to goes between the new panel and the old one much like you would do when welding a lap joint. the seam is the filled with body filler.

as for brands, i believe that loctite has a panel adhesive, and if they do i would recommend using it as loctite products are quite good.

 

[horse sence]

i think it was loctite brand they were using in the article.i know they destroyed the patch after it dried and in did not seperate ,but i would atleast recamend the joint edge be below flush atleast an 1/8 and filled over with bondo ,just to prevent a line form showing through later. beter safe than sorry.

 

[candphall]

Any thoughts on using this for floor panel installation ?

 

[horse sence]

i would not for a floor. to be safe i would weld that. draging your tail could take on a whole new meaning.

 

[pearlnotchback]

Use 3m 8115 or Fusor 108B. I work in a body shop and thats what i use. Very good stuff. In my opinion the 3m 8115 is a little better. Hope this helps.

 

[Hack]

I'd love to do this but the manufacturers do not recommend that the adhesive be used in any structural application. So the usage would be very limited in our cars. Just think how great it would be to use this - it would really limit corrosion between panels. There are so many sheet metal panels spot welded together on our cars. I would love to have all the joints filled with adhesive. I'm hoping that in the next few years they will come out with better adhesives that can be used on structural joints. That would be great!

 

['66 coupe]

I have a friend that said when he was working in a body shop a Rep from one of the manufacturers(3m? I think) came in and demonstrated their panel bond. He said they bonded a panel at one point and welded it at another. He said the welds looked good, but when they put it through a stress test right there at the shop, the weld broke before the panel bond.
Makes you wonder about the structural aspect.

 

[Hack]

I have a friend that said when he was working in a body shop a Rep from one of the manufacturers(3m? I think) came in and demonstrated their panel bond. He said they bonded a panel at one point and welded it at another. He said the welds looked good, but when they put it through a stress test right there at the shop, the weld broke before the panel bond.
Makes you wonder about the structural aspect.

I believe that. I'm sure the manufacturers would like to be able to say their product can be used for structural applications. For instance - on my convertible when I put new inner rockers in I can't imagine that a row of spot welds along the top and bottom would be stronger than if I spread 3M panel bonding adhesive on the entire surface between the two. Plus all that adhesive would keep water out. My only hesitation on adhesive would be cold and hot cycles over years. My car would never get driven on a really cold day, but I don't know whether just getting to below zero temps, up to 100+ and then back over many years would degrade the adhesive over time. Maybe that's the real reason why they say don't use for structures. If the adhesive does eventually fail and someone gets hurt they would be liable. Plus any accelerated testing isn't quite the same as actually waiting years and seeing what happens to the adhesive.

 

[BuckeyeDemon]

i've played around with the 3M 08115 on some scrap metal and was impressed.

 

[horse sence]

have you ever tried to rip apart those spotwelds? aint gonna happen with out drilling ,air chissel or cutting tourch. i personaly would feel a lot safer with welds.
just a note though, we rolled one of our race trucks and crushed the top of the cab and the back as well .we were able to cut the top and back off and replace with new parts,problem was we could not get to the bottom of the cab to weld because of the roll cage. we used a glue called E 6,000 to attach the bottom of the cab.next race they rolled the truck again,had to replace the top and back of cab again. could not get the glue to let go. had to use a torch to burn it loose and that wasnt easy. so

 

[candphall]

I have done some additional research since my original posting. The only problem I see is the ability to effectually clamp the glued pieces.

 

[CochinoFilipino]

How about using sheet metal screws? Then just grind them down after the adhesive sets.

 

[candphall]

What a splendid idea

 

[CochinoFilipino]

I was looking into this. Video on the 3M site specifically states not to use it on unibody rocker panels. I'd assume you'd want to weld to the floor supports as well.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AXrGJ_D4CWg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think I'll just weld in the whole piece.

 

[robert912005]

here it goes. i work in a body shop and have glued many panels in place. I hear the the glue will hold stronger than a weld and some insurance companies do not want me or anyone else to glue anything in. When i glue something in i will use self tapping screws to hold it in place untill it cures.

 

[pearlnotchback]

here it goes. i work in a body shop and have glued many panels in place. I hear the the glue will hold stronger than a weld and some insurance companies do not want me or anyone else to glue anything in. When i glue something in i will use self tapping screws to hold it in place untill it cures.

Yep me to. I glued a bedside on a dodge dakota this morning

 

[pearlnotchback]

If i had to put floor pans in my car I would cut them out leaving about a 1 inch lip on the old floor overlap the new panel and glue the snot out of it