Another door panel thread

[charliekwin]

That's why it's a good idea to buy enough extra material to make another one!   (For the record, I am almost never so forward thinking, which is why most of my projects require a minimum of two trips to the store!)

1/8" MDF, which is more flexible than hardboard, is another option to consider.

EDIT: another option would be to cut one or two slats the length of the panel and glass them together to approximate the shape of the curve then shape by hand or with a sander.  Of course, all this might be overworking the problem if the rest of the old door card is still in salvageable shape.

Edited March 22, 2016 by charliekwin

[grannyknot]

Well I decided to use a bunch of the suggestions you guys have offered and so far everything seems to be going well. Before I start repairing the holes I have to get the panel straight again, it has been warped by getting wet too many time and curling. I made a splint out of angle iron and plywood, soaked the corner of the panel with methyl hydrate (wood alcohol) until it was almost squishy and pliable then clamped it down.    Now I'll let it dry slowly and hopefully it wont be warped when I un clamp it.

The lower section by the door handle was warped and had multiple tears and breaks, that area I soaked in cyanoacrylate glue  and clamped it up with wax paper covered splints, I'll have some better pics tomorrow.

[Captain Obvious]

Cool. Hope some of the concoction works.

Anyone know what type of binder they typically use in that composite stuff?

[sweatybetty]

i will be watching how this turns out. my panels have also been warped by water, i think beyond salvage. i think i have a solution, but it may take a few more beers to perfect.

[S30Driver]

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

Cool. Hope some of the concoction works.

Anyone know what type of binder they typically use in that composite stuff?

I'll guess that back in the day the binder would be some form of formaldehyde / urea-formaldehyde based.

[grannyknot]

The soaking in methyl hydrate and pressing flat did the trick, all the edges are clean and straight now so I can add a layer of fiberglass to the back of the panel now to give it some stiffness.

Got to say that I'm really impressed with the cyanoacrylate glue, I've only ever used it in drops in the Krazy Glue form but used liberally it soaks into the fibre of the panel and reinforces it.

(not sure what I did to change the type face of the lettering?)

[S30Driver]

Looking good.   The outcome appears it will be very positive. 

I have 2 damaged clip holes on the driver side door to repair.   Thanks for documenting this.

[Captain Obvious]

Second. That looks great!

[Namerow]

Chris:  Just to be clear, what did you use to fix the areas around the clip holes:  cyanoacrylate glue, f/g resin, or both?

[Namerow]

FWIW, here's a bit more info on cyanoacrylate (CA) glue (c/o Wiki):

"When added to baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), cyanoacrylate glue forms a hard, lightweight adhesive filler (baking soda is first used to fill a gap then the adhesive is dropped onto the baking soda). This works well with porous materials that the glue does not work well with alone. This method is sometimes used by aircraft modelers to assemble or repair polystyrene foam parts. It is also used to repair small nicks in the leading edge of composite propeller blades on light aircraft. The reaction between cyanoacrylate and baking soda is very exothermic (heat-producing) and also produces noxious vapors."

" CA glue is also used in combination with sawdust (from a saw or sanding) to fill voids and cracks. These repair methods are used on piano soundboards, wood instruments, and wood furniture."

And a big caution:

" Applying cyanoacrylate to some natural materials such as cotton, leather or wool (cotton swabs, cotton balls, and certain yarns or fabrics) results in a powerful, rapid exothermic reaction. The heat released may cause serious burns,^[23] ignite the cotton product, or release irritating white smoke. Material Safety Data Sheets for cyanoacrylate instruct users not to wear cotton or wool clothing, especially cotton gloves, when applying or handling cyanoacrylates.^[24] "

Fortunately, it appears that this caution doesn't apply to the natural fibres (if there are any) in our Z's door cards!

[djwarner]

You might also find a product called Microballoons Filler at the hobby shop in lieu of baking soda. This is a fine powder make up of hollow glass spheres and was developed for filling gaps back before CA gels. The advantage of Microballons is there is no heat generated.

[grannyknot]

2 hours ago, Namerow said:

Chris:  Just to be clear, what did you use to fix the areas around the clip holes:  cyanoacrylate glue, f/g resin, or both?

So far I have only used the CA glue to reinforce areas where the panel board fibres are broken and torn but still intact, I haven't used it to fill voids because it doesn't seem that it would have much strength that way.

I have purchased a gallon of 3M microspheres/microbaloons that I will be using to make my version of Lizard Skin heat/sound deadener for the cab of the car but the boat place I bought the fiberglass supplies from suggested to use some of the microspheres and resin to fill voids.  It seems reasonable from what you say that I could also use the microspheres and CA to fill voids.

I can also attest to the noxious fumes from the CA when heated, my shop is fairly cool, 55-65*F with low humidity which extends the working time with CA from 5 sec. to 2-3 minutes. Once I have everything clamped  I hit the area with a hair dryer to set it up.  You really need to do this at arms length, squinting with your T-shirt over your nose, the vapor plume only last a couple of seconds which is why I didn't bother with a mask but if you get in the plumes way it attacks the nose, eyes throat and lungs instantly.

Of course the hair dyer is unnecessary if you have time to cool set it.

Djwarner, just saw your post, yes I think I will give it a try.