Deadpan thread

Wingedwheel

If it wasn’t broke before, let me try it…
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Got a new issue on one of the projects and before I take it on with my solution(shot in the dark) to resolve the problem I thought I'd throw it into the Forum wisdom pool and see what other options may be out there for me. I am down to a few details on my 750A project and I ordered a new cover for my seat. I knew the pan had some rust but I didn't realize how much until I pulled the old cover and foam off..
pan1.JPG pan3.JPG pan4.JPG
It's pretty crusty and and my thoughts were to rebuild that lower edge and fiberglass the back and new edges. This pan and or seat can be found but they ain't cheap! I really want to stay with an OEM type seat pan. Am I being too stubborn or is this a doable endeavor?
 
I'd media blast it.. that would determine how much " seat " you have left.... is there enough left to support the f/glass w/o cracking…. My weld'd guru trims the rusty edges and welds in new metal..and if need'd cuts our and welds in new metal in heavy rust'd areas.... then I have it p/coated.
 
I'm definitely gonna have to add metal around the edges. The nice thing is the duct tape wrap that someone put around the edges when they put the last cover on. I've got a shape to make a pattern with.
 
I think you can save it, even if much of it is lost. As long as you have enough to maintain the shape, clean the rust off , as the others have said. Media blast would be best, you want clean bare metal. I used to repair crushed truck hoods, like the one on this truck.
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Fiberglass is amazingly strong. Sometimes I would have to bridge a hole, some the size of a dinner plate, I’ll tell you a little trick I used. I would get a roll of screen door replacement screen, the METAL kind , it can be bent and pushed into shapes it can be used to create a base to layer glass on, and the resin goes right into the holes in the screen mesh and bonds to it. It can be held in place with some small sheet metal screws, and then after the resin sets up, remove the screws and layer more glass in over it.
As MotorMike said, if you know a good welder, metal patches can be gas welded in, I’ve done that too.
Anyways, what have you got to lose? Give it a try.
 
Got a new issue on one of the projects and before I take it on with my solution(shot in the dark) to resolve the problem I thought I'd throw it into the Forum wisdom pool and see what other options may be out there for me. I am down to a few details on my 750A project and I ordered a new cover for my seat. I knew the pan had some rust but I didn't realize how much until I pulled the old cover and foam off..
View attachment 130570 View attachment 130571 View attachment 130572
It's pretty crusty and and my thoughts were to rebuild that lower edge and fiberglass the back and new edges. This pan and or seat can be found but they ain't cheap! I really want to stay with an OEM type seat pan. Am I being too stubborn or is this a doable endeavor?

Hi Wingedwheel,
nah, it's rusted way beyond saving with a mere FRP patch job.
What you can do is blast it to near white metal clean and coat it both sides with one layer of glass random mat and one layer of glass woven roving
all soaked in polyester resin. This gives you a fiberglass seat pan with the remnant of the steel pan inside it to make sure it's the right shape.
 
I don't know if I want to have it blasted, might not be enough left! I may just have to wire brush it and use the oxide primer to prep the surface.
 
You'll get very poor fiberglass adhesion to primer... or any paint for that matter. Good clean metal is your best bet.
 
If it were mine, I'd bead or sand blast it and see what I got. If it's past hope, blasting it will will start making holes pretty quick.

Yup - that’d be my plan too.

To get something stronger, drop by your local airport or just go on the www and see if you can get some carbon fibre mat instead of glass. It is expensive, but you don’t need very much and it is STRONG like bull (and smart like fire hydrant) plus it is lighter than glass mat.

Pete
 
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Yup - that’d be my plan too.
To get something stronger, drop by your local airport or just go on the www and see if you can get some carbon fibre mat instead of glass. It is expensive, but you don’t need very much and it is STRONG like bull (and smart like fire hydrant) plus it is lighter than glass mat.
Pete

Hi Pete,
agreed carbon fibre/epoxy is WAY lighter & stronger than glass fibre/polyethylene and would do a better job of seat pan salvage.
But old-fashioned FRP is good enough to work OK.
The minimum material amount one could buy (A square yard of cloth plus a pint can of epoxy+hardener?) could cost as much
or more than buying a used seat pan.
Best that WW check the materials cost first, eh?
 
From direct experience of attempting a fiberglass repair on seat pan;
It will work, for a while, but the FG lifts from the metal that's already compromised, even though you've cleaned and blasted the bejasus out of it. That steel is cheap and nasty stuff that's determined to find its way back to the ore mountain to rejoin its ancestors.
On the other hand, using the old pan to make a mould and in turn, a brand new FG seat base, will work perfectly well - given a modicum of easily acquired skills. The idea of using the old pan as the heart of a FG/pan/FG sandwich might work, too.
I have a total FG seat pan on one of mine and it's still perfect after 30 years. I'd be surprised if it wasn't.
 
I buy my fiberglass/resin stuff from US Composites.
Use epoxy resin. Ships UPS ground, is a very safe to use strong resin. US has glass, kevlar, carbon, all the stuff you might need for the seat pan.
http://www.shopmaninc.com/index.html
Pat
Hi Pat,
thanks for the link. It sez one could buy enough Carbon fibre/Epoxy to double-skin that seat pan for ~$50 plus shipping.
 
PJC thanks for the link. I think I will be using carbon fiber and sandwiching the old pan in between. My issue is quickly becoming the weather. I don't feel like doing crap when it starts getting cold and dark outside. I'd do it in the basement but the fumes would likely get me in trouble with management lol.
 
I'd do it in the basement but the fumes would likely get me in trouble with management lol.

We must have the same management. After I baked a couple cylinders in her oven to swap sleeves, I was told to keep my motorcycle projects outside! So ....there was a haze hanging in our kitchen, I rather liked the smell of baked motor oil, it smelled like victory!
A861A220-C7DA-4055-893C-B01B0F3CC506.jpeg

Women just don’t understand. :shrug:
 
Wing, that's the beauty of using epoxy resin. IMO does not stink to bad at all vs the poly resin. Epoxy is pretty safe too. For fiberglass boat restos I've done I swear I literally was swimming in the epoxy with no negative results. I'd never do that with poly resin, toxic. But, if you have a pot of epoxy left, watch it for heat, the mixed resin can get pretty warm while it's reacting. Best to place it outside in a safe spot (or only mix enough that you apply most of it) while it cures.

Acetone is the prep and cleanup solvent I use. Acetone can be a bit stinky. But management might not object 'cause it smells a bit like nail polish remover (polish remover can have acetone in it). Were it me, I forge ahead & work in the basement to do your seat pan.

Pat
 
pjc it doesn’t matter how much anything smells it’s just the fact it does...
I’m getting ready to start a new project at work. The interesting thing is after I started this thread and carbon fiber was brought up I noticed on my project drawings that there are four area’s where the concrete load rating is to be increased by a few thousand lbs. The plan is to use Carbon Fiber strips on the underside of the existing slab. If this is the case there will probably be more than enough “scraps” of material to do my pan depending on what type of material it is.....
 
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