Rain Gutter and Top Restoration (1 Viewer)

[jvincig01]

I'd wager you're ok with just a good cleanwith wax/grease remover, but not sure what other prep you were thinking.

The 3M self-leveling seam sealer is pretty "goopy" with a fair bit of surface tension, and it's fairly thick if you fully cover the rivet heads. I suspect you'll be ok even with the bowing, but it's just a guess.

It's a lot like the clear two-part epoxy you find at any home improvement store in both smell and texture/viscosity - if you really wanted, you could probably bend up a little channel out of scrap, put it on a slight slant, and burn up a tube of that as a test for a couple bucks. If nothing else, it's a chance to play with how the material flows before cracking open the big tubes - once you start laying the bead, you do want to keep trucking.

Amazon product ASIN B0044F9KFI

Very helpful. Thank you!

I was thinking about hitting the channel with 2k primer before the seam filler, but it sounds unnecessary.

BTW, I used every last rivet you provided. They look great! I prefer them over the dome ones.

 

[jvincig01]

Blow out the dust and degrease. The front of my top had a slight curve to it (maybe 1/2”) but I don’t remember it causing the epoxy to slump to the corners. The Eastwood product I used was fairly thick and needed some encouragement to spread out. Ambient temperature might effect how it flows. Kind of the thickness of honey.
Go for it and good luck!

I think the 3m stuff I have is almost identical to the Eastwood product. Good to know it doesn't flow like lava. haha

 

[jvincig01]

Double-checked the 3m datasheet

. Looks like I need to lay down some 2k primer.

 

[jvincig01]

While I am waiting for the 2k epoxy to arrive, I started tackling the visor rivets. The PO used countersunk screws to mount it. Some of the holes were drilled funky so I am redrilling and attempting to do it right. I am ditching countersunk and doing it right ( I think) to prevent leaks.

To clean up the messy countersunk holes, I used a bit to just clean up the edges before I filled it with bondo glass. I purposely covered every other hole so I could mount the visor back on with clecos and then redrill the holes I just repaired. After that, I will remove the tape and get to work on the remaining holes.

I don't know much about gelcoat, but does it look like I need to lay some down before I drill and paint? I cant tell if I cut too deep when sanding the bondo glass off.

 

[zerotreedelta]

BTW, I used every last rivet you provided. They look great! I prefer them over the dome ones.

The flat heads were a "happy accident" but they did look nice.

And it was convenient that the box from McMaster had just enough for two cap - I recall counting what was left before sending, and having *just* enough...which was lucky, I burned up a few on test scraps while making the pliers.

If anyone else needs the pliers, send them on...and I can look up the rivet P/N as well if needed.

 

[jvincig01]

If anyone else needs the pliers, send them on...and I can look up the rivet P/N as well if needed.

For sure! Happy to pass them on! They worked great.

 

[Wildcat Walker]

Has anyone tried a legit texas rivet squeeze? Wouldnt work for the visor rivets, going to have to buck them or use pop rivets.

 

[OlYellr]

If anyone else needs the pliers, send them on...and I can look up the rivet P/N as well if needed.

That is a generous offer. Not sure of my timeline - but maybe in May I might take you up and see if they are available.

Cheers

 

[jvincig01]

That is a generous offer. Not sure of my timeline - but maybe in May I might take you up and see if they are available.

Cheers

Just let me know. I will ship them to you.

 

[zerotreedelta]

Found the rivet order in my email - just to add to the thread, or for the next user of the traveling pliers.

McMaster P/N: 97481A125
Aluminum Flat Head Solid Rivets, 1/8" Diameter, for 0.313" Maximum Material Thickness,
Packs of 250

 

[zerotreedelta]

Has anyone tried a legit texas rivet squeeze? Wouldnt work for the visor rivets, going to have to buck them or use pop rivets.

I'm sure they would would work as well, as long as the die-side fits in the gutter.

The pliers were just cheaper, and easy enough to whip up (and probably lighter to ship )

I forgot they went to @Slapshot first - I think that's three Mud caps they did now. Not a bad return on $15 of rivets and a $10 set of vice grips.

 

[Wildcat Walker]

Any updates on this? I need to start my repair soon. I found a 3M product called "Heavy Drip Chek #08531" that states "This product is specially designed to seal exterior auto body definition seams (such as roof drip rails) typically found on older model vehicles. This product will shrink during the curing process to provide a visual definition seam."

 

[jvincig01]

Unfortunately, no. I need to lay down 2k primer before I use seam sealer and the weather has been too cold. It needs to be above 60, and it has been hovering in the low to mid-50s here in Sacramento. It should be getting warmer here soon. I will be using 3m 08307 self leveling seam sealer. I bought two tubes of it.

 

[jvincig01]

These areas I sanded down could use some thin body filler. I can feel little dips on the surface that will surely show up once painted.

Would body filler work on gel coat?

 

[jvincig01]

I am getting close to sealing my gutters up. I put some epoxy down first, though.

Question for you all, I need to rivet my visor on and wasn't sure if I should do that first or if it is ok to do that after I fill the gutter with seam sealer.

Will the seam sealer crack or fail easily if I need to flip over the top? Trying to figure out what to tackle first... visor... or gutter.

 

[zerotreedelta]

I'd probably do the visor first, but no particular rationale past doing the extra "handling" before the more "finish" work of the seam sealer.

I doubt the self-leveling sealer will get bothered if you do it first, though - I flipped my top around repeatedly for priming, paint, buffing, and the headliner.

 

[jvincig01]

I'd probably do the visor first, but no particular rationale past doing the extra "handling" before the more "finish" work of the seam sealer.

I doubt the self-leveling sealer will get bothered if you do it first, though - I flipped my top around repeatedly for priming, paint, buffing, and the headliner.

Yeah, that's what I am thinking. Setting the rivets should be interesting. I will give it a shot tomorrow and post pictures. I am going to use 3m Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 between the fiberglass and the visor. That should make a nice seal.

 

[jvincig01]

Visor is on. It wasn’t a difficult process. I used an air hammer set to 40 psi to drive the 1/8 rivets. I turned the top upside down and drove the air hammer upwards while my father-in-law pushed down on the bucking bar. Before I drove each rivet I put a little Sika Flex on the rivet head to make a waterproof seal. The 3m 5400 is considered permanent, so I used that on the base of the visor when mounting it to the fiberglass.

Up next is repairing some of the chips in the gel coat. They aren't bad so i purchased this bathtub repair kit. Pretty sure it's paintable but I will check before applying. After that, I will fill the gutters... and then finally paint.

 

[Wildcat Walker]

Is that a newly manufactured visor or OEM?

 

[jvincig01]

Is that a newly manufactured visor or OEM?

It want to say it’s oem because it was pretty gross when I removed it. I had it media blasted and primered a couple months back.

The only reason why I’m not sure if it’s oem is because the PO used screws to fasten it down. Makes me think it was replaced at some time.