Progress on #782

tboneheller · #1 (**permalink**) 02-25-2010, 05:43 AM

Why did you not use the type of panel bonding adhesive that "mixes" in the nozzle as it is applied? It would have been a lot easier.

DanEC · #2 (**permalink**) 02-25-2010, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tboneheller

Why did you not use the type of panel bonding adhesive that "mixes" in the nozzle as it is applied? It would have been a lot easier.

I considered it but I needed something with a lot of body or thickness to it, to fill the bond gaps. It had to be something that wouldn't sag or run out of the joint. I haven't used any of the 2-tube panel adhesives but from what my impression was they are fairly thin. With this epoxy I could also add cut fiberglass hairs to bulk it up if I needed to. The other reason was the long set time for this particular resin. In my 60 deg garage I had nearly 2-1/2 hours working time with this product. Again, although I've heard a lot of the panel adhesives have longer work times, I didn't have the impression it was this long.

I'm pretty happy with this product although it did end up having a little more sag to it than the first test batch I mixed up which I could whip up into a ball and it just sat there and cured. But, it filled the gaps well.

There probably are some panel adhesives that would work just as well. Another consideration was that some of them require a special gun to use the cartridge in.

DanEC · #3 (**permalink**) 03-03-2010, 04:25 PM

Finished drilling out the last of the several hundred (or so it seems) rivet holes in all the panels and frame today. There is no denying that part of doing-it-yourself build lacks in the thrill-a-minute factor. Surprisingly my old Harbor Freight 18V drill held up through all of it.

If anyone has ever wrecked one of these and had to separate the body from the frame for repairs - they have all of my sympathy.

DanEC · #4 (**permalink**) 03-09-2010, 05:35 AM

A little more progress.

Because I'm running undercar exhaust I applied a thermal ceramic heat coating (from Second Skin) to the underside of the floor boards, trans tunnel and differential area floor panels. I rolled it on with a foam roller. It' a heavy paste but I guess an undercoat gun would spray it. I doubt it would come out much smoother or uniform from an undercoat gun however. I've decided to leave the aluminum panels out for the body prep work. I may even wait to install after paint. I'm not sure of when ERA does this in their shop - before paint or after?

I ground down the mold seams with a dremel tool and sanding drums after wiping the body down with Acetone and 3M scuff pads.

Initial pass with sanding boards and blocks on the body to show high and low areas. Many of the low areas are very shallow and may come out with more boarding. I think I'll leave the low areas alone for now and work it a panel at a time - scuffing up the low areas just prior to skimming with a thin coat of lightweight filler to help me avoid losing track of where they are and where I am. Some of the deeper areas around the panel openings, I'll probably use a fiberglass reinforced filler initially to flush them out.