Epoxy Glue Joints

[Carle]

I have a 2004 Journey and a number of metal supports are epoxyed to the fiberglass. Some of them have come loose and I have tried to fix them by regluing with the same epoxy as the original.

Now they have come loose again. Mainly, the grill over the engine that has a metal frame glued to the fiberglass cover.

Now, a mounting hinge on the front service cover mounting is loosening on one side from the fiberglass front cap. Eventually, it's going to come off and it appears that satisfactory regluing will be very difficult.

In the 'real world', has anyone found a better solution other than drilling holes and using some sort of pan head or flat round head bolts to make a permanent fix?

Thanks for your ideas.

Carle McFarland, 2004 Journey 36G

[Carle]

I have a 2004 Journey and a number of metal supports are epoxyed to the fiberglass. Some of them have come loose and I have tried to fix them by regluing with the same epoxy as the original.

Now they have come loose again. Mainly, the grill over the engine that has a metal frame glued to the fiberglass cover.

Now, a mounting hinge on the front service cover mounting is loosening on one side from the fiberglass front cap. Eventually, it's going to come off and it appears that satisfactory regluing will be very difficult.

In the 'real world', has anyone found a better solution other than drilling holes and using some sort of pan head or flat round head bolts to make a permanent fix?

Thanks for your ideas.

Carle McFarland, 2004 Journey 36G

[rgrstndgby]

Carle, on the few of these Ive seen, and experienced on my Adventurer, the prblem was that their attempt to glue the parts together, was attempted either on a shiny metal surface, or a painted surface. Both are recipes to failure. The repairs I've made were done with JB Weld, after the mating surfaces were "ground rough", all traces of paint removed. Idealy, after the new epoxy is applied, some sort of pressure should be applied, either by bracing, or clamping. I dont know if thats possible in your application, but the "joints" Ive re glued have held for several years. If it helps, I made some simple 1"x1" sticks of a length to brace, ( force) the pieces to be glued together.Your experience may vary...rgr...

[rgrstndgby]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rgrstndgby:
Carle, on the few of these Ive seen, and experienced on my Adventurer, the problem was that "they" attempted to glue to either a shiny metal surface, or a painted one. Both are recipes to failure. The repairs I've made were done with JB Weld, after the mating surfaces were "ground rough", all traces of paint removed. Idealy, after the new epoxy is applied, some sort of pressure should be applied, either by bracing, or clamping. I dont know if thats possible in your application, innovation is good here, but the "joints" I've re glued have held for several years. If it helps, I made some simple 1"x1" sticks of a length to brace, ( force) the pieces to be glued together.Your experience may vary...rgr...

[John_Canfield]

This is a fairly common problem. The original adhesive is not epoxy but I don't remember the chemical name (but it is a two-part system.)

My engine 'grill' became separated from its fiberglass mate a year ago and Winnie sent me some original adhesive which I used to refasten the grill.

So far, so good.

[rv rick]

I used a PL400 Polyurethane on my rear cap and grill (and clamps). This seemed to work very well and held without any failure. I did ask Winne about this when we got our new coach and was told that 3M came up with a new glue that has solved the problem. You might want to check with them and see if you can get the new formula.

[Wizard]

The J-B Weld worked really worked good for me also. After many years in the composite aircraft parts industry, I don't see why this should ever be a problem. A lot of airplane parts are "glued" together also. Imagine a failure there.

[doc]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> A lot of airplane parts are "glued" together also. Imagine a failure there.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Naw, don't want to imagine that AT ALL!!!
You guys are right however. This technique is used in most of the RV industry. The entire front cap of the coach we just sold was 'glued'. Metal attachment brackets were attached to the fiberglass shell and these bolted to the frame with slotted holes for adjustment. Pretty good way of attaching FG to metal.

[rgrstndgby]

WIZARD said

]I don't see why this should ever be a problem.[/quote]

It sure shouldn't be, just poor prep. and supervision. Like the window blind grommet deal, seems like sometimes Winnebago (tho they are certainly not alone)..has trouble getting workers to understand "the whats and whys" behind their job...sure burns up alot of $$$, and customer good faith...rgr..

[Carle]

Thanks for all the good ideas. I just spent the morning taking the front service cover off and inspecting the mount really well. It seems that the metal bracket was painted before being stuck onto the fiberglass and the adhesive used was a massive amount that squeezed around the edges and through holes in the bracket so that when it dried and cured, it could have a mechanical hold as well as a chemical hold.

It appears the mechanical part broke and the chemical adhesion couldn't take it.

So.... I'm going to let it remain partly loose and when it breaks completely, I will take the whole thing off, clean both surfaces well and use J-B Weld as some of you have suggested. Then I will paint the exposed metal surfaces for weather protection and hope for the best.

I will probably need to grind the remaining adhesive on the fiberglass to clean it and seat the bracket correctly.

Carle McFarland,2004 Journey 36G

[rgrstndgby]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I will probably need to grind the remaining adhesive on the fiberglass to clean it and seat the bracket correctly. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


I'll bet you find some paint in there as well..rgr...

[James Norman]

I found a metal bracket lying in the driveway under the front end of the motorhome. I found the same thing you guy found, bracket glued to the fiberglass cap. When I talked to Winnebago they said they are using a new adhesive, called "Plexus" Methacrylate Metal Bonding Adhesive.

Found an article about it here:
http://www.rv-news.com/oct2001/oems_suppliers.cfm

Found the company at:
http://www.itwplexus.com/home.html

Found its very expensive!! Haven't tried it as yet. Winne said to clean off all the old adhesive. If that is done, then it's going to take a LOT of expensive Plexus to redo!

[AFChap]

In addition to cleaning the bonding surfaces before trying to reglue, many have found that drilling some decent sized holes in the metal surface greatly helps. When you push the two surfaces together, the glue oozes through the hole and when dried therefore holds much tighter than to a solid surface.

[On A Tour]

Same deal just happened to me: 2007 Winne Tour, grill just came off in the drive. There's more to it than just glueing it back; the 2 struts will have to be replaced, as you can't collapse them in order to reattach the grill. Anybody bought any of those? I think this is my last (high end) Winnie.