| Author | Message | ||
| 06 Bill Rating: N/A |
I would like to know what Sikaflex #'s do what. Somewhat confused from what have heard in the past. T I A 06 Bill 4106 2741 | ||
| R.C.Bishop
Rating: N/A |
Call SikaUSA...or check their website. Don't have their phone number here, but Steve Padgett is the man. HTH RCB | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
I've had extremely good results talking to Rich at international bus parts rich@1800intlbus.com 800-468-5287 He's a very nice guy, knows his stuff and sends things quickly. Steve at Sika is a good guy too but they have a hard time selling to an individual. I'd go with Rich... I use two types: Sikaflex 252 and primer to bond skins- the stuff is amazing... I skinned an entire trailer with aluminum using only 252 + primer (required if you don't want it to fall off years later), no screws or rivets... I put little nylon washers into the line of goo for spacing, then held the sheets to the steel frame with supermagnets while the 252 dried. It's astounding, clean, easy, holds on better than advertised!! There's another Sika product, I'll call Tuesday and get the part number, black stuff that I use for caulking, glue, etc. It comes from the building industry and is cheap, one part, also amazing... but a bitch to clean up...unless you tear up a "scrubs in a bucket" towel into little 3" pieces, then it's amazingly easy to clean up. The chemical in "scrubs" makes the Sika unable to stick to stuff, and you can clean up beads, clean it off things, smooth beads, etc with ease... | ||
| John Jewett (Jayjay)
Rating: N/A |
Hey Gary, thanks for the heads up on the skinning technique. Will you please post the number for the "black stuff" when you get it? | ||
| califbob Rating: N/A |
Hey Gary how did you get magnets to stick to aluminum? | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
Didn't. The trailer had 1x1 square steel tubing for a frame, and I skinned it with aluminum. Normally that would cause an electrolysis problem, but not here, because the aluminum never touches the steel anywhere. What I'd do is use a power sander to rough up the steel and aluminum surfaces that would be mating, then paint them with primer. Then I'd lay down a bead of sikaflex. Once the bead was down, I'd stick little 1/16" nylon washers (avaliable at electronics stores) into the bead every 4-6 inches, then lay the sheet of aluminum over it. Finally I'd place a number of 3/4" square supermagnets onthe aluminum, over where the steel was, particurlarly right over a nylon spacer. These'd hold the sheet to the steel at the correct spacing until the glue dried, then the job was done. It worked really well... | ||
| RCBishop
Rating: N/A |
Watch the expiration date on your Sika material...critical to an easy fast moving job...also use pro caulking equipment. Steve is a Corporate contact for information, not a retailer. FWIW RCB | ||
| CoryDane Rating: N/A |
shelf life is limited and once you open it, you have almost no time to use it up. cd | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
Yeah, an agreeable comment about RC's note on pro caulking equipment... Sika 252 is some of the thickest stuff I've ever seen in a caulking tube. You MUST get one of those fancy high ratio caulking guns, or you'll break your hand trying to get the stuff out with a normal cheep gun. Although the shelf life is apparently limited, and it drys fairly quickly, my experience is that I could open a tube and use it, close it with a solid piece of metal (usually a bolt) shoved down the opening, and re-use it tomorrow, the day after, the week after, and in one case two months later. It's all about how well you seal it. With a fresh tube I had no probelm with "working time"... there was nothing that made it seem like I had to rush to stay ahead of it. It could easily be moved or changed 10-15 minutes after application if necessary... So while I do agree about paying attention to expiration dates especially if you're siding your bus and relying on it not to come off, it can be used when out of date and well after it's been opened if the application is not "critical" (whatever that means  ) Photos: http://www.heartmagic.com/00bussss/trailer.JPG http://www.heartmagic.com/00bussss/trailerinterior.JPG You'll note that where the top bends down and meets the sides there are screws. These were necessry to hold the curve while the Sika dried- the aluminum was tempered and it took three guys to bend it down. After it was cured, I could take the screws out and the Sika would hold it fine, but they're in there and I didn't want holes. I'll be covering them later on with a drip rail anyway | ||
| R.C.Bishop
Rating: N/A |
Nice looking trailer, Gary..... ..."critical" means that if one is to work within the time stated by Sika 252 (about 20 minutes, as I recall), using fresh stock on large panels (mine were very large for one guy to handle...approximately 2.5 feet by 10 feet in length) the recommended tools are "very important" (how's that ) to getting a good job.....on a "timely basis". Anyway, just trying to be helpful to anyone that is going to use the stuff....And, of course, with a crew of three or four, that might not be as "critical"...then again...! There is a bunch of information in the archives about Sika. FWIW RCB '64 Crown Supercoach (HWC) |