Russell Barnes (Neoruss)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 11:03 am: | |
I'm a believer in bonding panels after peeling apart the ones on my Neoplan that were 23 years old and still stuck. But I did notice many areas where the adhesive had hardened and lost its grip. I don't know what they used in Germany in 1981, but I know a great deal of improvements have gone on in the adhesive world. Mind you this was bonding galvanized sheets to tubes that appeared to be painted, much like a typical Eagle. FYI, the panels were spot welded along the top, bottom and around windows or openings, but the rest entirely bonded.
I've use Sika, 3M, Plexus and others during my 30+ year career designing boats and when I left that field we were bonding in stringers and other major structural components with great success. Researching todays materials I find similar companies that use modified formulas of urethane or methacrylate, as well as other products and formulas. And if you doubt they hold, try removing a one-piece windshield that has been bonded in with urethane, IT'S TOUGH!
I did a search for Vanguard and didn't find anything listing them as a producer, perhaps they are just a product supplier. If they are a producer, I personally would want to know a lot more about their products and the users before using them on my own conversion. I'd be a little skeptical that a van body experiences the same dynamic loads as a bus because of our suspensions, powertrain and structure (and that depends on what brand and design bus we each own).
The attributes to look for are; what formula, what cure time, what elongation and peel strength. But as these new families of products are out there, lower cost companies knock off the big guys that charge for experimental R&D and we can save dollars as a result.
The most interesting product I found was that after a great deal of testing GM recommends that repairs on the 2004 Caddy XLR?(fancy new model) use their labeled product or the only equivalent (Lord Fusor) IN PLACE OF MIG WELDING. Now that's a pretty strong statement and this product deserves much further investigation. I'm sure it's not cheap, but if it is the best, that's what counts. |