HGC

Still working with the panel bond adhesive and this is what I did this weekend. The patch was cut from a repro quarter skin and overlaps about one to two inches. I used Evercoat Panel Bond (about $40 for a tube the size of a standard caulking tube). You can see the holes where I used sheet metal screws to secure the patch during the cure. I filled those with a cold weld epoxy. The fit is good enough that when I started applying filler I was able to pretty much limit that to the seam and about two inches down, feathering to the metal on the patch. You may notice I still have a bit of work on the wheel housing to do.
The Panel Bond is incredibly strong but you have to follow the directions exactly for metal prep and clamping/securing. Saturday while I was doing this I also bonded some scrap steel together. One on test I prepared the metal as directed (sanded to clean shiny metal) and clamped it tight. On the second test I had what looked like pretty clean metal but did not sand it and I did not clamp as tightly. When I tried today to bend and pull the pieces apart I eventually did separate the second test (after a bit of working) but I ended up tearing the steel on the properly prepared test and the bond never separated.

[IMG]local://upfiles/82474/970C10F6C5384DC58B54E1F9EE926F18.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/82474/3221D782C7C5479D9F299DCB3BA93804.jpg[/IMG]

rmodel65

yeah the panel bonding stuff is normally just as strong if not stronger than a weld, plus it offers superior corrosion resistance in most case too

sixtysevenstang

looks good. we use that alot at the bodyshop where iwork.i wish i had done my 1/4 that way but didnt know it was avalible at the time.

ThanksDad

Since I have a 66 Mustang I have holes in the body andfloor. I do not have a welder.

What is this stuff, where do you get it, and how does it work. (The original post may answer most of this generally but I have never heard ofor seen it before).

Nabster

I'm curious as to why you wouldn't go with welding in the patch piece and smooth it down to basically repair the problem completely. Obviously time and work plays a part, but in my mind I see that method as being better in the long run than a bonded patch, since it's basically winding back to before the rust happened, and you would avoid having to use some body filler to smooth out the layers from the bonding process. What made you choose the bonding?

racin66coupe

looks great honeygold!

HGC

I would have to take the car someplace and pay for welding as I don't have a welder and don't know how to weld. I can use panel bond easily and as long as you follow the directions it is very solid. It can't rust and you can't burn through the steel by accident and you don't have worry about a full penetration weld. And I don't have to wonder if the place that might do the welding for me did it right. The amount of filler I have to use is very small so I am not really worried about that. It is never any thicker than the thickness of the body steel and it does not have to cover the entire patch. A lot of door skins are actually installed at the factory these days with panel bond.
Panel Bond is not for everything. I don't think I would use it to fix a frame rail or install new floors.
However, I am willing to bet that within the next 20 years or so bonding and bonding agents will improve to the point that new cars will contain little if any welding.

palerider

From what I read panel adhesive seems to be a viable alternative. Only thing I think I would have trydifferent is get a flanger and flange opening prior to putting in patch to try and limit filler needed. But to be honest I'm not much of a body guy.

HGC

I did try that on some test pieces and had a couple of problems. One was that the flanging had to be very slight...just the thickness of the body metal. The other was that in a patch like this it curved in many directions and in many places and flanging the tight curves would have been pretty difficult. On straight areas I can flange by laying the piece over another piece of metal and using a body hammer to create the flange. But really, the fit is so tight there is not much filler at all and I really only had one chance since I cut this patch out of a repro quarter skin. If I tried to flange it and screwed it up Iwould have to buy another skin. With this patch by the time I get just a couple of inches away from the long top seam I am down to metal on the patch. The filler is so thin a weak magnet will stick. Only time will tell how well this will do. I do know, however, that I can't hurt the car by using it. If it fails the car is no worse off that it was and a piece could still be welded in. Granted, that does mean painting, but that's not the end of the world. No different than getting a dented fender repaired and painted.

Nabster

Ah, ok, that makes sense then. I've got welding experience so I guess that's just why I was thinking welding.