Title: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: P. Wyatt Sabourin on April 01, 2011, 12:06:12 pm
Post by: P. Wyatt Sabourin on April 01, 2011, 12:06:12 pm
I purchased GOOP Supermend and attempted to repair the top of a luggage door on my motorhome. The door had torn off the hinges after 15 years of service so there was quite a repair to do.
The Supermend was very slow to setup and even though I left it for a week, I could scrape out cured Supermend with my thumb nail.
I spent a day attempting this repair with Supermend and have now spent 3 hours scraping it all out. I am now attempting to do this repair with regular fiberglass gel and glass clothe. Messy and difficult to work with, but it is holding.
What have others used to repair luggage door? Three have torn off so far, so I will repair or reinforce them all and would prefer to work with a putty like compound then with messy fiberglass gel/clothe.
The GOOP Supermend color is very close to the white gel-coat on my 96 U320, which is helpful.
The Supermend was very slow to setup and even though I left it for a week, I could scrape out cured Supermend with my thumb nail.
I spent a day attempting this repair with Supermend and have now spent 3 hours scraping it all out. I am now attempting to do this repair with regular fiberglass gel and glass clothe. Messy and difficult to work with, but it is holding.
What have others used to repair luggage door? Three have torn off so far, so I will repair or reinforce them all and would prefer to work with a putty like compound then with messy fiberglass gel/clothe.
The GOOP Supermend color is very close to the white gel-coat on my 96 U320, which is helpful.
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: Rick on April 01, 2011, 12:21:54 pm
Post by: Rick on April 01, 2011, 12:21:54 pm
Wyatt,
Instead of the regular polyester resin, use a 2 part epoxy, something in the 15-30 minute working time range. Check with local auto body suppliers or maybe NAPA to see if the have something. Aircraft Spruce and Specialties has a variety of them. Mix it per the instructions. You can use the same glass cloth. You can lay the glass cloth onto plastic polyethelene sheeting, wet it with the epoxy resin (at this point you could also add more layers of glass cloth) and then pick up the whole thing and apply with the wet side toward the workpiece. You can roll it out to squeeze out excess epoxy. Allow to cure and peel the polyethelene sheet away when the epoxy is fully cured. You can experiment with some scrap before you attemp final repair. The epoxy has a more reliable way of measuring part A and part B, and is more controlled cure. It does not just all of a sudden cure off like polyester resin.
Good luck,
Poly Epoxy or West system stuff works great search for epoxy
Pilot Supplies, Avionics, and Homebuilt Aircraft Parts from Aircraft Spruce and (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php)
Instead of the regular polyester resin, use a 2 part epoxy, something in the 15-30 minute working time range. Check with local auto body suppliers or maybe NAPA to see if the have something. Aircraft Spruce and Specialties has a variety of them. Mix it per the instructions. You can use the same glass cloth. You can lay the glass cloth onto plastic polyethelene sheeting, wet it with the epoxy resin (at this point you could also add more layers of glass cloth) and then pick up the whole thing and apply with the wet side toward the workpiece. You can roll it out to squeeze out excess epoxy. Allow to cure and peel the polyethelene sheet away when the epoxy is fully cured. You can experiment with some scrap before you attemp final repair. The epoxy has a more reliable way of measuring part A and part B, and is more controlled cure. It does not just all of a sudden cure off like polyester resin.
Good luck,
Poly Epoxy or West system stuff works great search for epoxy
Pilot Supplies, Avionics, and Homebuilt Aircraft Parts from Aircraft Spruce and (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php)
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: Bob Hall on April 01, 2011, 10:11:26 pm
Post by: Bob Hall on April 01, 2011, 10:11:26 pm
I repaired mine with blind rivets that I installed between originals. Use a washer between the fiberglass and the rivet head to spread the load. You should be able to find a hand-powered blind rivet squeezer, blind rivets and washers in any hardware store for about $25. I dislike fiberglass work because I'm not very good at it.
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: P. Wyatt Sabourin on April 02, 2011, 09:59:41 am
Post by: P. Wyatt Sabourin on April 02, 2011, 09:59:41 am
I have 2 or 3 doors on which this was already done before it was my coach but they are not holding and yours may not hold for years either. I want a permanent solution which results in a hinge which is much stronger than the original by making the hinge mount area wider. I am using fiberglass resin with clothe, messy but effective after filling torn out areas with JB kwik set (2-3 minutes at 95F yesterday).
Thanks for your feedback
Thanks for your feedback
Quote
I repaired mine with blind rivets that I installed between originals. Use a washer between the fiberglass and the rivet head to spread the load. You should be able to find a hand-powered blind rivet squeezer, blind rivets and washers in any hardware store for about $25. I dislike fiberglass work because I'm not very good at it.
Bob & Nadine Hall
95 U280
trailed by a 03 Pontiac Vibe
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: P. Wyatt Sabourin on April 02, 2011, 10:11:47 am
Post by: P. Wyatt Sabourin on April 02, 2011, 10:11:47 am
Thanks for this feedback.
I have worked with fiberglass for years using the techniques you described, which is messy and I was hoping to avoid.
The GOOP Supermend is a two part epoxy like you described, but is too thick after mixing to be used with clothe. Goop claims it does not require clothe because it becomes very strong when cured, but after a week of hot weather I could gouge out pieces with my thumb nail. I am now using JB Kwik to fill the pulled out holes and it is very strong when cured. I will, now, using your techniques, and layers of clothe with resin, reinforce the hinge mounting area for a permanent repair.
I sent an complaint email to the manufacturer of GOOP Supermend but have not had a response.
I have worked with fiberglass for years using the techniques you described, which is messy and I was hoping to avoid.
The GOOP Supermend is a two part epoxy like you described, but is too thick after mixing to be used with clothe. Goop claims it does not require clothe because it becomes very strong when cured, but after a week of hot weather I could gouge out pieces with my thumb nail. I am now using JB Kwik to fill the pulled out holes and it is very strong when cured. I will, now, using your techniques, and layers of clothe with resin, reinforce the hinge mounting area for a permanent repair.
I sent an complaint email to the manufacturer of GOOP Supermend but have not had a response.
Quote
Wyatt,
Instead of the regular polyester resin, use a 2 part epoxy, something in the 15-30 minute working time range. Check with local auto body suppliers or maybe NAPA to see if the have something. Aircraft Spruce and Specialties has a variety of them. Mix it per the instructions. You can use the same glass cloth. You can lay the glass cloth onto plastic polyethelene sheeting, wet it with the epoxy resin (at this point you could also add more layers of glass cloth) and then pick up the whole thing and apply with the wet side toward the workpiece. You can roll it out to squeeze out excess epoxy. Allow to cure and peel the polyethelene sheet away when the epoxy is fully cured. You can experiment with some scrap before you attemp final repair. The epoxy has a more reliable way of measuring part A and part B, and is more controlled cure. It does not just all of a sudden cure off like polyester resin. Good luck,
Poly Epoxy or West system stuff works great Pilot Supplies, Avionics, and Homebuilt Aircraft Parts from Aircraft Spruce and (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php)
Rick
1995 U-300SE 40'
CAT 3176B
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: Carol Savournin on April 02, 2011, 11:42:30 am
Post by: Carol Savournin on April 02, 2011, 11:42:30 am
what a timely post! We are about to effect this exact repair on our bay door. There are 3 areas that have been repaired previously, one with the rivets, and 2 with 3/4" 10/24 stainless bolts. The repairs both involve short pieces of right angle metal, either aluminum or steel, and some JB Weld. I had a tutorial from Rance, at Xtreme, and he said that the bolts were "a better and easier option" for the repair, after having used the rivets previously. It is not necessary to drill all new holes into the fiberglass and the hinge. One or two may be warranted, but the epoxy will be stronger than the fiberglass it is patching. I am posting a few photos for illustration ... but give me a minute, please. I'm not very good at that.
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: Rick on April 02, 2011, 11:54:41 am
Post by: Rick on April 02, 2011, 11:54:41 am
Thanks for this feedback.
I have worked with fiberglass for years using the techniques you described, which is messy and I was hoping to avoid.
The GOOP Supermend is a two part epoxy like you described, but is too thick after mixing to be used with clothe. Goop claims it does not require clothe because it becomes very strong when cured, but after a week of hot weather I could gouge out pieces with my thumb nail. I am now using JB Kwik to fill the pulled out holes and it is very strong when cured. I will, now, using your techniques, and layers of clothe with resin, reinforce the hinge mounting area for a permanent repair.
I sent an complaint email to the manufacturer of GOOP Supermend but have not had a response.
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: Carol Savournin on April 02, 2011, 12:09:13 pm
Post by: Carol Savournin on April 02, 2011, 12:09:13 pm
I hope I am better at effecting this repair than I am at posting photos. Hopefully I will get it right later.
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: Carol Savournin on April 02, 2011, 01:32:17 pm
Post by: Carol Savournin on April 02, 2011, 01:32:17 pm
Repair complete!! The photos I posted were of a previous repair using the 3/4" bolts and JB Weld. The biggest difficulty with this repair is getting the holes lined up on the "L" bracket to drill them properly. We got the most important 4 and the lremaining 2 were just an outlet for the "goo" to ooze through. If I have to do it again, I will mix up a greater quantity of the JB Weld. I was careful applying it, and did not get a lot of oozing. It is rather warm here, and the stuff has a tendency to drip for the first few minutes. There were no major glitches, and I can see spots on other doors where the original rivets were beginning to get loose, additional holes were drilled and Weld was buttered in between the fiberglass lip of the door and the hinge and a bolt was used to pull the two together. This would be a proactive approach to having your rivets tear completely through the edge of the bay door.
Title: Re: Repair Cargo Door hinge rivet holes
Post by: Kent Speers on April 02, 2011, 01:53:47 pm
Post by: Kent Speers on April 02, 2011, 01:53:47 pm
Way to go Carol. If the surface to be bonded was prepped properly, that fix should do the trick. JB Weld properly cured is a very strong product. Combining the adhesive with the mechanical strength of the bolted L bracket should provide the strongest fix possible.
By the way, I fully agree with Rick about using epoxy over polyester. However, there are many variations of epoxy available. Be sure to get an epoxy with some flexibility. Fast cures are generally more brittle than slower cures. The easiest to use is a one to one mix ratio like JB Weld. The greater the difference in the ratio the more critical the right mix is used. A 10/1 mix must be nearly perfect. My former company has a division in Detroit called Adtech Plastics that has all different kinds of of resin compounds. We used to sell direct to end users. Give them a call. Also Locktite and Permatex have always had great technical assistance.
By the way, I fully agree with Rick about using epoxy over polyester. However, there are many variations of epoxy available. Be sure to get an epoxy with some flexibility. Fast cures are generally more brittle than slower cures. The easiest to use is a one to one mix ratio like JB Weld. The greater the difference in the ratio the more critical the right mix is used. A 10/1 mix must be nearly perfect. My former company has a division in Detroit called Adtech Plastics that has all different kinds of of resin compounds. We used to sell direct to end users. Give them a call. Also Locktite and Permatex have always had great technical assistance.