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Re: Windshield / A Pillar rust
wrcsixeight #696622 September 28th 2015 4:47 am
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Kind of never finished this thread, last post 13 months ago.

The fiberglass has maintained the bond with the steel, over all the problem areas.

I detect no further rusting/leaking/ flexing in this area.

The fiberglass comes down over the windshield gasket, that middle part which locks the gasket/ windshield in place. I wound up painting over everything. The area is holding out remarkable well.

The crack in my windshield has not gotten any larger, and where the fiberglass roof meets the regular body line does not leak or flex, though the paint did crack once and I recaulked it once and touchup painted it, and will do so again before this winter along with some problem areas elsewhere.

The fiberglass roof is only mechanically attached with the screws. It can be removed.

To remove the windshield will require cutting the fiberglass which bridges the gap where the top of the gasket once resided. Not a big deal.

With the built up thickness of the fiberglass rope on the leading edge of the fiberglass roof, it appears more aerodynamic and it seems to make less wind noise at highway speeds, though that could all be in my head.

I really wish i could have cut and welded in parts from a donor van for a correct fix, but the epoxy saturated fiberglass is holding, still bonded with the steel after a year of heat cycling and stress.

I do not stress out over this area of My van anymore, so while not technically a correct fix, it has not failed and has at least slowed down the rust to an undetectable crawl, and it can still be correctly fixed, at some point, if it has to be..

No more white duct tape or gaffer's tape.


Re: Windshield / A Pillar rust
wrcsixeight #696652 September 28th 2015 2:15 pm
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Cool! Glad to hear it. Nice work!


Windows- they're what make a van worth owning!
Re: Windshield / A Pillar rust
wrcsixeight #696682 September 28th 2015 10:30 pm
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pooh-bah
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Good to hear it's holding up

Re: Windshield / A Pillar rust
wrcsixeight #696687 September 28th 2015 10:49 pm
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Very glad to hear it is working for you. . . .


My van : 1989 Ford E-150 Econoline, currently named “WOLF-DEN II”


Founder & President of Sooner or Later United Truckers and PROUD TO BE A S.L.U.T. ! !
Re: Windshield / A Pillar rust
wrcsixeight #696693 September 29th 2015 1:48 am
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Thanks guys.

Today ,I remembered a test piece of Steel with cured epoxy on it, I left outside under a coffee can that was baking in the sun for the last year, and forgot about it.

The steel was rusted, not too badly, and I was able to chip the epoxy off of the steel with a sharp chisel, but it was not easy to do so. I could not pry up the epoxy, hammer and chisel. I wound up gouging the steel, and ruining the edge on the chisel. It was not simple to lift it off.

So Anybody considering doing the incorrect fix like I did, by using fiberglass instead of welding steel, should consider employing epoxy instead of polyester resin to saturate the fiberglass cloth.

Do not try and use fiberglass matt with epoxy though. It will not dissolve the styrenes that hold the matt together and it will not turn clear or conform properly to the curved substrate

The epoxy I used is a relatively inexpensive surfboard epoxy, ~85$ for 1.5 gallons, whose bonding strength is not nearly as impressive as more expensive System 3 epoxies I prefer to use then the budget allows.

Also note that it is very important to mix epoxy in the correct ratio and make sure it is mixed thoroughly. In this regard it is much more difficult to work with compared to polyester resins, as even too little catalyst not mixed thoroughly, and the polyester resin will still eventually cure fully.

Do note that polyester resin is often called fiberglass resin.

Epoxy mixed out of ratio or not completely will become a horrible messy toxic nightmare.

My Van is painted white so the surface only can get so hot in the sunlight. I would be much less confident covering it with a darker color.

I've also found DeNatured alcohol to not be an ideal product to wipe a surface with before application of epoxy, or Polyurethanes, and have gone back to Acetone. I believe DNA compromises bonding strength to some degree. I did use it on the test piece of steel too.

Application tools with uncured epoxy on them can be cleaned with Distilled white Vinegar. I like a 50/50 mix of vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Do not get epoxy on your skin and try and clean it off with acetone. Very unhealthy.

Last edited by wrcsixeight; September 29th 2015 1:50 am.
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