The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Many years ago I used Tiger seal all the time, it was the goto for any sort of bonding panels. I never had any problems with it so decided to use it for fitting the grp front end on the Toledo.
I fitted one wing and the front panel a couple of months back. A day or two after releasing the clamps that held it in place I gave it a good test (pulling as hard as I could to see if it moved) all was ok.
Then today I noticed the top edge of the wing looked as though there was a gap between it and the top of the inner wing. So I gave it a gentle tug (no funny comments please) and the whole wing came away!
Gutted to say the least. The sealant has stayed attached to the grp but not taken to the mating surfaces on the car. All were clean and had recently beens painted and then keyed up again prior to bonding. I could understand it if the paint had pulled off from the car but only a thumbnail or so has come off.
I cannot find anything on Google of anyone experiencing the same ...

From your description it didn't adhere to the paint surface. Either it isn't compatible with the paint or it was contaminated in some way.

To be honest I wouldn't trust glue by itself, I would want some kind of mechanical fixing as well.

My laziness has saved me then! I used those self drilling tapping bolts to hold the seams closed whilst the Tigerseal set. Then didn't bother removing them!

Belt and braces as Cleverusername suggests. My wings and front panel have been on and driving around nearly 9 years now. I think using just the bolts or just the sealant would have been equally risky but the combination of the 2 is just about perfick. Like the chippy's old standby, "screwed and glued"

Steve

Belt and braces it shall be !
I'm just curious as to why it failed this time. Possibly I over clamped it, meaning that the bead was too thin and the tension of the grp against it made it fail?

How recent was the paint job? Is there any chance it was still releasing something?

I've always used tiger seal directly to the bare metal then painted after if I'm attaching panels.

I think I had painted it a week prior.
I was afraid of corrosion getting in so had painted it first but maybe in hindsight ...

We used a two part product from Wurth.

Used it for bonding repair panels as per the manufacturers repair specifications.

Can’t comment on Tiger Seal as I’ve never used it.

The one spot I didn't also screw, cos I couldnt reach it, where the upper front panel meets the front top corner of the wing, has cracked and sprung apart a mm or so on the passenger side. But it had help, from an impact with a large dog (the dog refused treatment and left the scene) I also now have a short crack in the outer front panel below the grille and just inboard of the N/S headlamp and some crazing in the gellcoat of the wing around where the bumper mount would be if it had a bumper. The N/S indicator lens also got broken in the impact. The drivers side seam is still intact. As is the screwed and sealed seam where the bottom of the N/S wing meets the valance.

Steve