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73 74 polyethylene wheel well repair idea [message #228111] Fri, 01 November 2013 19:49 Go to next message
74CanyonLands is currently offline  74CanyonLands   United States
Messages: 81
Registered: September 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Karma: 0
Member
Hope you all had a happy Halloween!

So being the owner of a 74 CanyonLands I have Polyethylene wheel wells.
In theory they are great but in practice over 40 years not so great. When Airbags go, so goes the top of the wheel wells as the tire bounces up and down against them. I have been looking for a way to repair or replace these for a while mainly for safety. There an't much between the road and the inside of the coach when these are breached.

So I have been searching and here is what I came up with.

A Polyethylene bonding glue call Tap Weld that when mixed is white:

http://www.tapplastics.com/product/repair_products/adhesives_glues_sealants/tap_poly_weld_adhesive/435

An adhesive pigment to make it black:

http://www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/resin_fillers_dyes/tap_super_pigment/49

1/8 inch black polyethylene patch panels as a repair panel:

http://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene-Opaque-Thickness/dp/B0070ZAXUK


The interesting thing about this Glue is if panel is mildly heated with a torch...
I do mean mildly it increases the bonding to better than original. So I plan to cut a few patches for the larger repairs and use glue and fiberglass tape for the small repairs.

I am feeling like this will work, but just in case I am only investing in a small patch first.

I may later on make a mold of the two rears when I can secure a donor and try to make some replacements but that will be Waaaaaaay down the line.

The only other repair back there is to reseal between the well and the plywood. Anybody know what sealer did GMC originally use?

Cheers!


Curt Remington, 74 Canyonlands Los Angeles, CA

[Updated on: Fri, 01 November 2013 19:51]

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Re: 73 74 polyethylene wheel well repair idea [message #228131 is a reply to message #228111] Fri, 01 November 2013 21:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Dennis S is currently offline  Dennis S   United States
Messages: 3046
Registered: November 2005
Karma: 2
Senior Member
Curt,

Thank you for the information -- I look forward to your results.

I am considering using aluminum sheet metal, pop riveted to cover the breaks and burns -- then truck bed liner overall. To seal the wheel well liner to the plywood after removing what appears to be roofing tar -- backer rod from Lowes and the truck bed liner.

This is my worst damaged area...

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/73-painted-desert-230/p43351-00714.html

from inside

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/73-painted-desert-230/p43350-00415.html

Dennis

74CanyonLands wrote on Fri, 01 November 2013 19:49

Hope you all had a happy Halloween!

So being the owner of a 74 CanyonLands I have Polyethylene wheel wells.
In theory they are great but in practice over 40 years not so great. When Airbags go, so goes the top of the wheel wells as the tire bounces up and down against them. I have been looking for a way to repair or replace these for a while mainly for safety. There an't much between the road and the inside of the coach when these are breached.

So I have been searching and here is what I came up with.

A Polyethylene bonding glue call Tap Weld that when mixed is white:

http://www.tapplastics.com/product/repair_products/adhesives_glues_sealants/tap_poly_weld_adhesive/435

An adhesive pigment to make it black:

http://www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/resin_fillers_dyes/tap_super_pigment/49

1/8 inch black polyethylene patch panels as a repair panel:

http://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene-Opaque-Thickness/dp/B0070ZAXUK


The interesting thing about this Glue is if panel is mildly heated with a torch...
I do mean mildly it increases the bonding to better than original. So I plan to cut a few patches for the larger repairs and use glue and fiberglass tape for the small repairs.

I am feeling like this will work, but just in case I am only investing in a small patch first.

I may later on make a mold of the two rears when I can secure a donor and try to make some replacements but that will be Waaaaaaay down the line.

The only other repair back there is to reseal between the well and the plywood. Anybody know what sealer did GMC originally use?

Cheers!




Dennis S
73 Painted Desert 230
Memphis TN Metro
Re: 73 74 polyethylene wheel well repair idea [message #228229 is a reply to message #228111] Sat, 02 November 2013 22:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jim kanomata is currently offline  jim kanomata   United States
Messages: 257
Registered: March 2007
Location: fremont,ca
Karma: 12
Senior Member
Thank you for sharing this info.
People like you help the community keep these coaches going.


Jim Kanomata Applied/GMC, Fremont,CA jimk@appliedairfilters.com http://www.appliedgmc.com 1-800-752-7502
Re: [GMCnet] 73 74 polyethylene wheel well repair idea [message #228234 is a reply to message #228111] Sat, 02 November 2013 23:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Mr ERFisher is currently offline  Mr ERFisher   United States
Messages: 7117
Registered: August 2005
Karma: 2
Senior Member
there is this
http://gmcmotorhome.info/skin.html#front

gene


On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 5:49 PM, Curt Remington <Mag4media@mac.com> wrote:

>
>
> Hope you all had a happy Halloween!
>
> So being the owner of a 74 CanyonLands I have Polyethylene wheel wells.
> In theory they are great but in practice over 40 years not so great. When
> Airbags go, so goes the top of the wheel wells as the tire bounces up and
> down against them. I have been looking for a way to repair or replace
> these for a while mainly for safety. There an't much between the road and
> the inside of the coach when these are breached.
>
> So I have been searching and here is what I came up with.
>
> A Polyethylene bonding glue call Tap Weld that when mixed is white:
>
>
> http://www.tapplastics.com/product/repair_products/adhesives_glues_sealants/tap_poly_weld_adhesive/435
>
> An adhesive pigment to make it black:
>
>
> http://www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/resin_fillers_dyes/tap_super_pigment/49
>
> 1/8 inch black polyethylene patch panels as a repair panel:
>
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene-Opaque-Thickness/dp/B0070ZAXUK
>
>
> The interesting thing about this Glue is if panel is mildly heated with a
> torch...
> I do mean mildly it increases the bonding to better than original. So I
> plan to cut a few patches for the larger repairs and use glue and
> fiberglass tape for the small repairs.
>
> I am feeling like this will work, but just in case I am only investing in
> a small patch first.
>
> I may later on make a mold of the two rears when I can secure a donor and
> try to make some replacements but that will be Waaaaaaay down the line.
>
> The only other repair in that are is to reseal between the well and the
> plywood. Anybody know what sealer did GMC originally use?
>
> Cheers!
>
> --
> Curt Remington,
> 74 Canyonlands
> Los Angeles, CA
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>



--
Gene Fisher -- 74-23,77PB/ore/ca
“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today --- give him a URL and
-------
http://gmcmotorhome.info/
Alternator Protection Cable
http://gmcmotorhome.info/APC.html
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Re: [GMCnet] 73 74 polyethylene wheel well repair idea [message #228237 is a reply to message #228234] Sun, 03 November 2013 01:11 Go to previous messageGo to next message
74CanyonLands is currently offline  74CanyonLands   United States
Messages: 81
Registered: September 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Karma: 0
Member
I have looked into plastic welding too and I may try that as well. I have seen guys does some really nice work.

Curt Remington, 74 Canyonlands Los Angeles, CA
Re: [GMCnet] 73 74 polyethylene wheel well repair idea [message #228245 is a reply to message #228234] Sun, 03 November 2013 07:00 Go to previous message
mjbourgon is currently offline  mjbourgon   United States
Messages: 259
Registered: May 2010
Karma: -1
Senior Member
Good morning from sunny new mexico
Just looked at the video for the poly weld and it looks great. One of
our guys here has a black water tank that is cracked and I am curious if
this product would work on the tank? Any ideas
thanks
Marcel in Santa Teresa, n.m.
On 11/2/2013 22:30, gene Fisher wrote:
> there is this
> http://gmcmotorhome.info/skin.html#front
>
> gene
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 5:49 PM, Curt Remington <Mag4media@mac.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Hope you all had a happy Halloween!
>>
>> So being the owner of a 74 CanyonLands I have Polyethylene wheel wells.
>> In theory they are great but in practice over 40 years not so great. When
>> Airbags go, so goes the top of the wheel wells as the tire bounces up and
>> down against them. I have been looking for a way to repair or replace
>> these for a while mainly for safety. There an't much between the road and
>> the inside of the coach when these are breached.
>>
>> So I have been searching and here is what I came up with.
>>
>> A Polyethylene bonding glue call Tap Weld that when mixed is white:
>>
>>
>> http://www.tapplastics.com/product/repair_products/adhesives_glues_sealants/tap_poly_weld_adhesive/435
>>
>> An adhesive pigment to make it black:
>>
>>
>> http://www.tapplastics.com/product/fiberglass/resin_fillers_dyes/tap_super_pigment/49
>>
>> 1/8 inch black polyethylene patch panels as a repair panel:
>>
>>
>> http://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene-Opaque-Thickness/dp/B0070ZAXUK
>>
>>
>> The interesting thing about this Glue is if panel is mildly heated with a
>> torch...
>> I do mean mildly it increases the bonding to better than original. So I
>> plan to cut a few patches for the larger repairs and use glue and
>> fiberglass tape for the small repairs.
>>
>> I am feeling like this will work, but just in case I am only investing in
>> a small patch first.
>>
>> I may later on make a mold of the two rears when I can secure a donor and
>> try to make some replacements but that will be Waaaaaaay down the line.
>>
>> The only other repair in that are is to reseal between the well and the
>> plywood. Anybody know what sealer did GMC originally use?
>>
>> Cheers!
>>
>> --
>> Curt Remington,
>> 74 Canyonlands
>> Los Angeles, CA
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
>>
>
>

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