Phoenix Gold Phorum

This is an easy and time saving way of making trim panels fit-up perfectly to thier adjoining pieces. The result is perfect every time and takes the guess work out of making things gap-free.

This is just one example but the idea is useful for any kind of fabricating. Whether it is flat wood panels or contoured fiberglass pieces.


In this example I was making trim panels fan out from the amps and butt-up to the factory side panels. The side panels had crazy contours where they were to meet and trying to cut to wood exactly to shape would've been tough to say the least. The piece your are working with does not need to be cut perfectly to shape. Just close.

Tape-off the piece you are trying to match around the area the two pieces meet. Put your trim panel back in place. Using bondo, fill the gaps between the pieces and let harden. The bondo will not stick to the tape but will stick to anything not taped. So be careful to protect anything else that might be at risk.

Obviously, the closer your 'guess' is on the original cut, the less bondo you will need. Also, if your gaps are large, the bondo will have the tendency to fall out before hardening. No problem. Just use tape on the back side of your work to form a bridge between the pieces. Helping keep the bondo in place till it hardens.

Once it has hardened, pull out your piece, sand the surface smooth and viola, a perfect fit.


One other thing to consider is the thickness of the material you are gonna rap the finished product in. In this case vinyl was used and the piece it butted-up to had some 'give' to it so I didn't need to worry about thickness. But if that's not the case then you can layer the tape on the piece you're matching to accomidate the thichness of the material you're rapping with



One other tip. Cutting grooves in the end of your trim that is to be filled-in will help the bondo to adhere better. Also, while bondo works fine for most applications, duraglass is often perfered for it's strength over bondo.

The pics are kinda self explanatory but if I left anything out just ask. I will elaborate.

Amazing writeup, thanks! I have moved this to the How-To section for safekeeping.

damn greg, that's exactly what i needed! thanks a ton!

another gorgeous install from you

Ya. It's one of those things that once you see you go "a ha!"

I remember the first time I saw this technique. It was like the proverbial light bulb going off in my head. The wheels started turning and I instantly knew of a hundred different uses for it. Then proceeded to kick myself in the ass for spending hours and hours trying to get things perfect with trimming little by little. And it still never came out perfect.

gkitching wrote:Ya. It's one of those things that once you see you go "a ha!"

I remember the first time I saw this technique. It was like the proverbial light bulb going off in my head. The wheels started turning and I instantly knew of a hundred different uses for it. Then proceeded to kick myself in the ass for spending hours and hours trying to get things perfect with trimming little by little. And it still never came out perfect.

i cannot express how accurate that statement is^

i can think of at least 3 fairly recent installs that i spent a shitton of time on that this would have made drasticly better and faster.

so another question. what are those panels made of? is it some kind of 1/8ich mdf?

also, did you wrap them in vinyl? or is that an SEM spray?

The amp trims are fab'd from 1/4" MDF. The floor is 1/2" MDF. Everything is wrapped in vinyl.

which leads to this question. what do you adhere your vinyl with?

Ah! The million dollar question.

I've heard people sware that standard contact cement works for them. I've never had any luck with it personally. It may stick initially but always popped up over time. The glue would just 'gas out' and become a slimey mess. I may well not have been applying it correctly or whatever, but enough people say it works for them that I think I may have been doing something wrong. But I gave up on it after many attemps.

DAP makes a product called Landau Top Adhesive.

http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=351

I haven't had the pleasure of using that particular product. But if it's anything like what I used to get back in the day when we did vinyl tops on cars, it would be what I recommend for most any application. I heard installers sware by this procuct. The down side is it's not easy to find locally. Home Depot. Lowes,etc. don't carry it. But I'm sure it can be shipped from some supplier. There is a dealer locator on that web site.

Ultimately though, I only use 'Heat Activated' glue.

http://74.175.101.66/dealer/items.asp?C ... =0&Tp=&Bc= (copy and paste)

(sorry, didn't realize you can't link to a 'cart') try this and search adhesives www.selectproducts.com

After trying lots of different things and failing I resigned to using that stuff exclusively for vinyl. It is the shit! And I can use it with the confidence that it will hold and stand the test of time. That plus you're already heating the vinyl to stretch it. So it kinda goes hand in hand. I also like the fact that with the heat activated glue, you can apply it to both surfaces and let it sit for days. The moment you heat it up, it's ready to stick! And stick it does. Which can be a down side too. If you mess up a little and want to pull it back up to stretch it in a different direction or something, No Dice! It's down and ain't coming back up without a fight.

The down side is it isn't cheep and I have to go thru Select Products to get it. It's the only thing I get from them and only because I have not found another source for it. I'm sure there is an alternative source because they buy it somewhere and re-label it. I just haven't looked real hard.

damn nice sir...that looks great, i wish i had seen this along time ago!!!! cause like you said trimming the panels is a PITA!!!!

thaks for the great tip!!!! i think i will be using that tip in my suburban too

ah...i will look into it. i have always used hot glue....which works ok...as long as it doesn get warm again...

Dap seems to be expensive also....crap.

been using that technique for years.
also

i use weldwood contact adhesive thinned to spray out of a paint gun

works good. if you need strong adhesision then brush it on and make sure to let it tack before applying,

you have one shot with thsi stuff.

aloha

brenzbmr@sb wrote:been using that technique for years.
also

i use weldwood contact adhesive thinned to spray out of a paint gun

works good. if you need strong adhesision then brush it on and make sure to let it tack before applying,

you have one shot with thsi stuff.

aloha

What do you use to thin the contact cement?

Nice finish work. Thanks for the pic log...

Interesting reading!!

hey good learning tool, i wish i could find the pic i did of that envoy, i did basically the same technique for the trim panels for the box and rack..

its so simple but effective..

nice job on car btw

Greg have you ever found another source for buying the heat activated glue?

gridracer wrote:Greg have you ever found another source for buying the heat activated glue?

I am not sure if you are one of the people that had problems with the old Select Products but now that they are an AAMP company things have changed drastically. We still sell the heat activated adhesive as it is the most popular product with our heat formable vinyl.

Digital Catalogue Page 28

hey can i get a SP catalog mailed to me?

pm me if u can i would really like to stock up on some stuff

ty

Great DIY!