New Exterior Siding

[Piker]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I don't have any new aluminum left over from the exterior panels big enough for the door... but I do have the original aluminum. I'm not sure there's enough of it either though, as most of it is either pretty corroded on the backside, or bent up a bit from being handled so much.

I decided to try my hand at making some of the irregular sized boards that make up the frame of the core tonight. I don't have a real table saw, but I have a little table type tile saw that will take a 7 1/4" circular saw blade. The pieces are small enough that I was able to rip a 2x4 on both the thickness and width with relatively good accuracy to replace one of the rotten pieces. So I guess that's how I'm going to proceed... I'll reuse as much of the door materials as possible to save $$, including the cheesy inside steel, the foam, and the exterior Filon.

I'll have to find some adhesive to reattach the filon and the steel... I tested some of the stuff I used on the exterior panel, and it melted right through the Styrofoam. How to laminate this so that it ends ups square and parallel might be a challenge too, but I'll figure something out.

all for now...

-cheers

[sam-3]

We used heavy duty liquid nails from walmart when we repaired our water damaged RV. Cheapest at Walmart. That was three yrs. ago and it has help up realy well.

[ronspradley]

I think it is Locktite PL300 that glues and does not melt styrofoam. Should be able to make your door sandwich and put it between something like 3/4" plywood top and bottom and clamp and/or put weight on the sandwich and get it to bond. Just thinking out loud. ☺

ronspradley

[WILDEBILL308]

I still like the spray foam in a can it sticks to everything.
Bill

[TQ60]

It sticks but not strong at all.

For wood to anything porous is titebond exterior as it will cure stronger than the wood.

For aluminum to anything use what you have been as it works.

Same for filon.

Rebuild outside of door with proper glues and clamping and leave foam out for now.

Test fit the repaired frame so adjustment can be made if required.

Once outside is fully cured and size good paint inside with a few coats of good thinned oil base paint so it can seal everything.

Also blocks any glues from foam.

Now use spray glue for just the foam and get that done.

With masking tape make a barrier on top of the foam along any edge that will be near any glue.

If possible space inside for any condensation be sure to either fill it with spray foam or other packing or provide paths for drainage.

Spray glue on foam and proper glue for frame to cover and get it back together.

Screws help.

[Piker]

Originally Posted by ronspradley

I think it is Locktite PL300 that glues and does not melt styrofoam. Should be able to make your door sandwich and put it between something like 3/4" plywood top and bottom and clamp and/or put weight on the sandwich and get it to bond. Just thinking out loud. ☺

ronspradley

I see that home depot carries this in the local store... I'm not sure what the consistency is, so it might take some effort to get it put down in such a way that it is uniform... I'm a little concerned that it won't dry inside the door.

I think the spray foam would actually hold quite well. I've glued foam to foam before using Great Stuff, and it holds ridiculously well. You will tear a piece of styrofoam apart before the great stuff lets go. The only drawback is that it expands quite a bit, so keeping your materials lined up while you work the gas bubbles out might be a challenge.

I've read that Gorilla Glue does not eat into styrofoam. I've used this before on a few projects, including gluing the bull-nose pieces on the edge of our staircase in our home... I've never used an adhesive that holds as good in so many different applications. This stuff does foam up a bit when you use it, but nothing like the Great Stuff... I'm thinking this is what I will try. It's a bit pricey, but it's available everywhere... and if it works... it's probably worth it.

I'll keep you all posted.

-cheers

[Piker]

Originally Posted by Vectraguy

Can you use some of the extra aluminum to skin it? That is what I would attempt.
I gotta say, I have restored a few cars to a high detail, but your patience and willingness to learn is really an inspiration.

Thanks for the kind words... I know that the detail on this particular rebuild isn't all that great, but of course, like most people, time and funds are not unlimited. When it's done it will look good from 20 or 30 feet away, whereas before you had to get back around 100 feet before it looked good. So it's an improvement! It's definitely been a learning experience, as well as a tremendous lesson in my life... in many ways. Many... many ways.

Looking forward to camping this summer...

-cheers

[Daveinet]

I'm not sure you need a core on that small of a surface area. My aluminum is thicker, but has no core. On the exterior side walls, there is a ripple, but on the door, there isn't any ripple. If you make a very solid wood frame, that should support the aluminum as the gap is not that great. By solid wood frame, I'm thinking white oak, so it won't rot and around 3 inches wide. Even simpler would be to build a completely solid wood core, and then take a hole saw to it, to lighten it. There should be enough wood in between the holes to support the aluminum.

[BurienTimmer]

I rebuilt the door on my 1994 Montara by disassembling the door and building a new wood frame. I used pressure treated lumber as I wanted more moisture protection. Good luck on your repair.


Tim in Burien

[Piker]

Well, I've been under the weather a bit this weekend, so I didn't really get much done. Plus, it's just plain cold out, and me and the cold just don't get along.

I did manage to get the wood frame inside the door fixed up. I reused everything I could, but the all-thread that holds together the side of the door with the lock set broke when I tried to loosen the nut. I quick trip to home depot and all was well. The original wood was just stapled together, so I pre-drilled and countersunk the wood for a stronger assembly.

The whole thing really does look cheap doesn't it? This kind of gnaws at me since I generally try to overbuild things when I can, but it is light, and I guess the aluminum channel around the outside is really where it gets it's strength. It's too cold for the glue to set properly, so I'll have to wait till the weather breaks to put the filon back on. I was thinking I would paint everything before I put the aluminum back around the outside of the core, but it fits so tightly that the paint would probably get damaged on reassembly. I'll plan on just masking everything off and painting after assembly.

-cheers

[cwk]

Looks good so far. The extra screws may have been overkill for the factory, where they may have had a jig to hold things in alignment while gluing on the filon. However, in your case, they make perfect sense to hold things in place while gluing, and will add extra strength as well. Nice job!

We had faith that you would find a good solution.

[NHRA225]

Originally Posted by cwk

Looks good so far. The extra screws may have been overkill for the factory, where they may have had a jig to hold things in alignment while gluing on the filon. However, in your case, they make perfect sense to hold things in place while gluing, and will add extra strength as well. Nice job!

We had faith that you would find a good solution.

Ditto--- Nice Job !

[WILDEBILL308]

Looking good, not as many gaps inside as I thought there would be.
Bill

[guardrail53]

Looks great, Piker! We all knew you could do it! It will be better than new when you are done with it!! Rail!