Found some soft wood at the bottom of the left A pillar. Now that chunk of oak runs all the way to the top of the windshield and I don't need to replace all of that. if I clean out the nasty corner, is there a epoxy wood filler replacement compound of some sort I can use that will hold up pretty well? It must be able to handle screws and nails jusst like oak. Have you done this operation? I don't want to reinvent the wheel, just give it a good repair. Thanks Guys.
use Tiger Hair auto body filler... carpenters use it all the time to repair wood trim, etc. in old houses.
I don't know for sure, But back when I messed around with old wood boats,... (yes I was insane for that short period of time) you would find Pith in hulls a lot, they had some stuff called "Got Rot" that hardened the wood right up. I also have seen guys use Tiger hair and Bondo to repair sections of Carousel Horses because it held a great shape, and it carved like bass wood,...they painted right over it,...
Go to the marine store, they have a 2 part epoxy that is like water thin and will solidify the wood, used on boats all the time and I've used it just for that application that you need to use it for...
Carpenters/contractors use a product to repair & salvage rotten window sills. It soaks into the wood to strengthen and harden. Seems to be like a thin resin that will cure hard and can be sanded and painted. Do a search online and something should come up. Once repaired perhaps another piece of wood can be fastened alongside to reinforce it too.
http://www.rotdoctor.com/epoxy/woodrestoration.html http://www.epoxyproducts.com/rot.html Hope those help.
I do a lot of restoration work on coach built cars that are full of wood structure. I have used Kwik Poly for years. It works great and it's reasonably priced. Here's an article about it. http://autorestoration101.com/2009/01/15/kwik-poly-wood-repair-for-auto-restoration/
I can't remember what the stuff is called but grapp is correct. Kitty hair sounds like a good fix but it has no structural value and the wood you have that is soft is the framework for your body. This resin stuff works like a champ and and is the same principle as Fiberglass except it uses the wood fibers in place of the cloth. Go to a marine supply and they'll put you on the right track.
There are plenty of modern epoxies and resins that can be used to repair the wood you have. Check one of the many boating forums and do a search for something like 'rotten transom' and you will find all of the pros and cons for the modern materials that are available. There are at least two approaches. One is to drain out any moisture in there and use one of the wicking liquids that adhere to the remaining wood fibers and harden. The other is to dig out the rotten wood and replace with a filler. Pros and cons to each, and your individual preferences and requirements factor in, too.
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