The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Having run out of welding gas and needing to repair a hole in the scuttle, I thought I would give structural adhesives ago. It seemed like an attractive option. No heat distortion, no risk of fires, no need for a welding helmet and other safety equipment. The only downsides appeared to be the need to put the patch on using a large overlap and joggle it in.

All seemed to go well, secured the patch and seamed sealed round the edges. Till today. when I found a leak. Now I had to remove the dash to weld up the windscreen surround on the other side, so I had good access. The water was seeping round the patch. It took very little effort to remove it with a screw driver and I was able to peel it off.

Now I know there are demonstrations of structural panel glue in which it shows a great deal of strength. I am also sure with correct curing temperatures, pressure and joint design, it can be just as strong as welding. However as an alternative to welding for classic car repair? Sorry not convinced, I will be breaking out the mig tomorrow to repair the scuttle properly and based on my experience I wouldn't trust structural glue for DIY repairs just yet. It seems too easy to make a repair which looks strong but in reality isn't.

What where you using.

Use a Wurth product in the past and you couldn’t break the joint.

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2009 Mini Clubman Cooper S Daily Driver.
1980 Dolomite Sprint with a touch of BLTS
Balanced Lightened and Tweaked 13B Rotary and SuperCharged.
Back in my possession 22 September 2019.
Rebuilding the Sprint time taken so far, 111Hrs@15/12/2020
212Hrs @31/12/2021
352 @ 28/11/2022
455Hrs @ 20/10/2023
480Hrs @ 14/03/2024
This is time taken at the Sprint not necessary time worked.

Working on a ratio of just 7Hrs a day not including driving to the Sprint.
That equals to 68 days that doesn’t include weekends.
Member TDC no 0471

Project 13B Sprint now back on.

Tiger seal is another good one.

Tony.

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NOW A CLUB MEMBER 2017057

Tiger seal isn't a structural adhesive and using it to a attach a panel is not a good idea.

So long as it's non load bearing and you prepare both surfaces, it's fine.

Tony.

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NOW A CLUB MEMBER 2017057

The stuff I used was bondloc metal to metal, which is two part. The product seems to have been discontinued, which could explain the poor results.

The Panel bond ive used in the past was made by 3m Panel bond its about £40

I have got a bit interested in this and one thing I've discovered is panel bond is not the same as structural adhesive. Structural adhesives are impact resistant, panel adhesive is not. A bodyshop could actually get in serious trouble if they used the incorrect one for repair of a modern car.

Of course when it comes to the Dolomite, I have no idea if such systems would be allowable for body repair.