| Author | Message | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
I finally got my Buebird home three weeks ago. Took a week cleaning up hoses, oil leaks, removing seats, etc. then the fun begins. First I rasied the roof a foot and then began skinning the sides. Also I moved the front door and widened the wheelchair mechanism and door to turn it into a 4' wide liftgate I thought I'd share this with anyone who wonders about skinning a bus using Sikaflex. Look ma, no screws!! Here's some photos. http://www.heartmagic.com/bluebirdphotos/Sikaflex.html (Message edited by boogiethecat on June 15, 2006) | ||
| Marc Bourget Rating: N/A |
Gary, [For those that heard about but never experienced Sikaflex construction] I expect that you placed the clamps (or the magnets with sheets, instead of honeycomb) "over" the spacers or did you use a straight edge of some sort (out of sight below the sheet in your pictures)? The point of the spacers is Sikaflex "specs" a certain bead thickness - which the spacers maintain - until the adhesive sets up. Co-locating the clamps with the spacers or using a straight edge to "bridge" between maintains the bead thickness. | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
Hi Marc, yes you're absolutely correct- good catch. It was late last night  Even on the honeycomb, clamps over spacers is required. On sheets, absolutely. | ||
| R.C.Bishop
Rating: N/A |
Uh.....can't agree with your last statement,Gary. I used no clamps, did use spacers (the kind that are used in setting tile) and used pressure of a piece of lumber, wedged between a wall on one side.... and on the driver side, I used my old Jeep and lumber Four years later (+-) things are holding very well. Sheets, by the way...very difficult (impossible?) to use clamps on a long sheet. Pics available for anyone who wants to email me off line. FWIW. RCB '64 Crown Supercoach (HWC) | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
You're right RC, I gotta quit trying to convey ideas too late at night or too early in the mornings!! Basically as long as you hold the stuff to the spacers somehow, that's all that's needed. What I was thinking I said was that the clamps were really required with the honeycomb, because it's really straight stuff and takes a lot of force to hold it to my not-as-straight frame. When I did my sheets, if I couldn't use supermagnets, I used a few clamps over a stiff rail of some sort to spread the pressure out over a larger area. BTW, your Jeep/lumber method is great!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzz | ||
| Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A |
Gary - thanks for taking the time to document and post, I found it interesting. What is the setting or curing time for the 252 (roughly)? When the weather clears here (IF it ever does) I am going to do some skinning of my own and could use the info to help plan. Thanks! Craig - MC7 Oregon | ||
| R.C. Bishop
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AIRC, about 20 minutes work time...cure time, see above post, different thread, from Steve Padgett. He da man!. FWIW RCB | ||
| Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat)
Rating: N/A |
Craig, Ive found that just leaving it alone overnight is a good rule of thumb, and though it cures more for a week or two, an overnight is plenty to allow you to move on to the next part. I'd feel comfortable driving it after an overnight cure as well. And as RC says, about 30 minutes is all you have to 'work" it. What happens is, it dries skin first. So if you leave it unbonded for too long, when you finally do squish it together there'll be a partially cured skin between your parts and what should be a bond will be quite a bit less agressive at sticking. Since every minute makes it cure a bit more, I like to assemble as quickly as possible so the "squish" happens on very wet, fresh sika. In reality it's the primer that is sticking to the metals, and the sika is just sticking the two primer layers together. Once the primer is painted on, you can leave it "indefinitely" prior to applying the Sika, as long as it doesn't get dirty. So that part of the "working time" is as long as you want it to be... days even... | ||
| Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A |
Thanks! That info will help me plan out my project. Craig - MC7 Oregon |