Has anyone had success in glueing rear quaters on instead of the traditional welding?. If so, what is the proceedure?.

I have put both quarters on my elky(see below).I tack welded the top edges across the bed,the sail piece,then down the door jam area.Then I glued the bottom edges from front to rear. :cool: Works real well.I'd like to glue everything if I could.Less warpage,burnthru,ect.

graemlins/waving.gif
Rick

Heres a good thread about glue vs weld:

http://www.chevelles.com/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=008198

As a line tech for many years i can tell you that glue works! but you gotta weld those sail panels or any other exposed outer paint surfaces....just my experience.

There are a few good posts on glueing panels.

In my experiences when glueing a partial quarter is that the seem will later down the road show itself because of the different expansion rates of the glue and metal.

The last time I tried glueing an entire seem on a quarter like that was a few years ago, am sure adhesives have come a ways since then.

Also something that Ive learned and have tried now a few times when doing a glue job is use a backing strip.

You first glue a backing strip to the existing metal,clamp it allow to cure. Once cure glue the patch panel onto the backing strip leaving a small gap of like 1/16 to 1/8 between the existing panel and patch panel. Also before you glue anything its best to grind the edges to a 20-30 degree taper.

Also depending on glue maker some like their glue to be on bare metal were others like it on epoxy primer. So be sure to KNOW the product you are using...Eric

It seems the general opinion is that glueing is exceptable, but in time you will see a seam or line under the paint. Has most experienced this?. sevt_chevelle you mentioned a gap of 1/16 of an inch, do you glue and weld? and if you do, I would think it would affect the glue.

Go to Fusor.com ,under tech info clic on tech tips they have pictures of panel installation, of course they are pushing their product.

I have done the complete glue installation on half quarters and full quarters in the past without any problems or evidence of seams showing up. The key to making this work is to fit the panel well before installation and grind the edges of exposed outer body joints to a paper thin edge before installation. You will want the seams to be below final surface countour by about .100 of an inch. Do not overheat the glue areas with a grinder or sander when cleaning up after the adhesive cures. I predrill the panel for screws to hold in place while curing then remove the screws and lightly hit the holes with a larger bit to chamfer them. Clean off all the excess adhesive with abrasives and apply 2 good coats of epoxy primer prior to finish work with everglass, then rage body filler. This is time consuming work but it does work. Ideally you want about .100 of an inch of everglass over the outer body seams. 1 inch of overlap. Traditional welding is still best in my opinion but the adhesive route is an alternative.

I would stick with the traditional way of welding, holds up in the long run better in my opinion.

Bob am just curious but what brand of glue are you using?

Ive been using 3M's 8115 ever since it came out, but of recent have started using Fusor for my own personal usage at home, which I believe is a superior product then 3M...Eric

Tagman, in the past Ive just done a simple lap joint when doing a glue repair, sometimes I flanged it, depended on the area. I got the idea of using that insert when glueing from the 3M rep. He came to the shop this summer to hook up our new fresh air unit and this happened to be one of the few questions i asked him.

Now as for lasting effects as if a seem will show I have no idea. Ive yet to see a seem show on a repair, mostly cab corners on chevy trucks is where I use glue on a non factory joint or seem.

As for welding, NO you DO NOT want to weld near the glue. I believe it states right on the label of 3M's dont weld within 2in of adhesive.
If you do need to weld near the glue weld it during its curing stage NOT when its finally set up and cured.

I've been using fusor products, I've also used 3M, Kent, Sem. I prefer the fusor line. Most of the techs I've worked with and others I've spoken to prefer the 3M because the fusor leaves that nasty sticky surface that needs to be cleaned off after cure. I think the the fusor line provides a stronger bond. And I believe most of the auto manufacturers out there use fusor- probably after much product testing. Living here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula we see major struggles with corrosion due to the amount of salt poured on the roads and although I prefer collision and restoration/custom work I still do quite a bit of corrosion repair for freinds and relatives. I monitor the repairs on these vehicles and mentally document what materials and proceedures I used. Fusor backs up their product with a lifetime guarantee. And also a plus to doing patchwork with the adhesives in say a non accessable area is that I can completely rust proof the inner panel and outer replacement panel before installation-I just protect the lap area where the adhesive will be while priming and rustproofing. No fire worries with a non weld installation. I haven't had any adhesive failures yet although I've seen a few from other shops I think were a result of uncleanliness, product shelf life, and poor mixing. I seen a roof skin come completely off an 85 dodge pickup because the guy used a clean and stip disk for flange preparation-(it leaves a transparent plastic like film when spun too fast) Is adhesive the best for full and partial panel installations? In some situations I would have to answer yes. Will I use it on my 71 Chevelle or my son's 70 Nova? No, because I see no repairs that will warrant it's use-nothing that I can't weld and feel comfortable about. I'm rambling-time to go to work. graemlins/thumbsup.gif