Does anyone have any information on bonding fibregl*** to steel. I have a fibergl*** 1932 Ford Roadster body which came without a floor. I want to make a steel floor myself and gl*** it into the body. Any help or information on products would be much appreciated.
Simson 70-03 Urethane Adhesive [ not Urethane Sealer ] I use this to bond fibregl*** fenders onto trailers without brackets, the steel needs to be bare metal at contact . Then she's on for life mate!
Best idea i can come up with in a flash is fibergl*** a wood perimeter into the body and bolt the steel floor to the wood, Wood and fibergl*** works but fibergl*** and steel does not.
A wood lip is a good way,the wood moves about the same as gl*** does and has enough grain to grab by gl***,Steel floors rust and will most likely need replacing at some point on down the years,so bolted or screwed in helps in the long run as well.
If you can get your hands on some itw plexus MA 830. This stuff is amazing. I am a certified composte technician. I used this stuff to bond steel, stainless steel, and aluminum on boats. I have done some extensive tests with it. I had one of he reps come and watch some of the testing and he was amazed. I glued a piece of stainless steel to a piece of fibergl*** and lifted 2 Eco blocks with it. If you get your hands on some it's pretty nasty stuff so you might want to wear a respirator. If you have any questions I would be more than willing to help.
We used to use what we called "bear ****" to bond structure into gl*** vehicles. A mix of resin, gel coat and kittyhair bondo.
Have you considered perforated steel? It would then be encapsulated inside the fibergl***. You could grind areas and still weld to it. Or maybe perf steel around the perimeter only to be able to tie the floor into the gl***.
collision industry has been using products such as panel bond for years. I have bonded many gl*** corvette parts to its steel frame without issues just as the factory does.
I once had a fibergl*** body Manx on a VW ch***is. It had a metal floor that was part of the frame (like a VW does). The body was just sitting on the floor and bolted down.
3M 8115 Panel Bonding Adhesive. Bonds steel, aluminum, smc, fibergl***, in any order. www.3mcollision.com
some bolts along with 3M 5200 adhesive is bulletproof as well. Probably the same stuff as the 3M 8115 just in marine form. TP
S**t I hope you're wrong. I urethane bonded the fibregl*** body to steel on my race car and drove it up to 176mph. I've also been urethane bonding fibregl*** to steel on trailers that I've sold to customers The biggest complaint I get is when they damage a fender , it is difficult to cut off without destroying it. Get with modern times. modern adhesives aint like they were years ago. They even use adhesives in surgery and dentistry these days
two part panel bonder works great the applicator gun is not cheap or is the 2 part material talk to someone in the autobody profession for info on this stuff
To elaborate further......you can epoxy prime the sheet of perforated steel BEFORE you gl*** over it - corrosion won't be a problem. Still allowing area grinding and welding if needed later. I'm sure the adhesives are awesome these days- but how much do they cost? Where do you get them? My method is old school, but it works good and doesn't require any materials that you most likely don't have laying around. Not saying anybody is wrong, I'm just a cheap ***, bare bones mo-fo.
The tube of sikaflex to stick steel to fibergl*** is around 60 bucks here, it provides a waterproof and damn near impossible join. I used less than a tube to glue the steel floor into my A roadster.
Do not know why all the guys are against gl*** and steel together. Owned a custom body shop for 20 years and bonded gl*** flares and accessories to steel all the time with no problems. Live in Louisiana, moisture is a major problem buy if prepared correctly will work for a very, very long time with no problems. Surface prep is 16 grit disc to bare metal then build up the gl*** SLOWLY using roving and cloth for the initial contact area. They you can use gl*** mat. The key is not mixing you resin with too much hardener. A good mixture will not change the color of the resin and it should set up clear with a slight green tint to it.(depends on the brand) If it sets up too fast the heat will cause the resin to pull away from the metal. I agree with one guy use epoxy and not poly resin. They came out with the panel adhesive after I change jobs. But I can tell you if you take every bolt out of the front end of a Mercedes I think you could lift the car off the ground and the fenders not come off. Really wicked stuff. After reading most of the comments I believe gl***ing in a wood bar to the body then using the panel adhesive along with screws thru steel into wood bar would be the easiest and least amount of h***le to get a good fit and one that is strong. Gl*** is tricky and if you are not familiar with using it I would advise going the aforementioned plan. Remember cleanliness is next to Godliness, sweat from you forehead and hands can effect the bonding using gl***. Stay very clean.
Evercoat makes two part adhesives that work in a standard caulking gun no need for the special guns that 3M, Fusor and everyone else uses. The products all meet up to the same specs as the others as well it is probably half the cost. http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=270
I think fusor or a similar adhesive is probably your best option. I'd talk to the guys at your paint shot about it and look at the spec sheets to find the best option. I haven't done this enough to speak authoritatively (last time was probably 8 years ago for the body effect on an OT rice burner during the fast and furious craze--they're still there with no problems under the STUPID expensive paint the guy insisted on using)
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