With the ongoing thread on ABS plastic repair still echoing about inside my head, my mind wandered over to my rear window louvers, which I think are also made of ABS.
I haven't mounted them yet, since I'm going to convert from fixed to pop-out windows. But, it's finally getting to be that season, so I need to get ready!
The thing is, I've never been keen on the double-sided tape mounting which is normally suggested for the louvers on pop-out windows. It would make the rear windows impossible to clean, and the louvers could still easily fall off as the tape adhesive ages and dries out.
Now you'll get to see firsthand how my thought process works... Watch out kids; it may get scary, LOL!!
;0)
Well, as I was driving home from a conference in Pittsburgh last week, I began idly thinking to myself about how in a perfect world, I'd *really* like for my louvers to be removable, for multiple reasons.
If it were possible to drill the tempered glass, I'd simply bolt the louvers in place, but I'm not at all optimistic of the outcome when it comes to working with tempered glass!
I figured that there's simply *got* to be some way to kill multiple birds with one stone...
So, after a bit of reflection, this potential solution is what I cooked up:
How about if I were to get some large size truss-head stainless steel machine screws, like these:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#truss-head-machine-screws/=gxoxkf-in maybe a #12 or 1/4", and grind their heads totally flat, then glue them onto the window glass using that special superglue that's designed for mounting rear view mirrors onto windshields? This would leave me with nice studs to bolt onto...
I envision a process somewhat like this: I could drill 8 holes in the louver surround flange, and install the modified screws in those holes using low-profile stainless Nylok nuts covered by snap-cap screw covers.
Apply glue to the screw heads, then clamp the entire assembly up against the glass, permanently gluing the modified screw heads down to the glass.
This process would assure that the hole-to-screw alignment would be perfect, reducing stress on both the glued studs and the ABS plastic louvers to a minimum.
The Nylok nuts won't vibrate off, yet would still allow easy removal once they've been threaded on and off a bolt a time or two. I'd do this in advance of the gluing down so as to not unnecessarily strain the live parts...
The snap caps serve multiple purposes; in addition to cosmetics, they act as load spreaders, reducing loading on the ABS louver's surface. And, if I want to drive with the louvers off, I could sit the snap caps and Nylok nuts back in place on the studs, so it would look far more presentable and be safer than having bare threaded studs sticking out from the glass.
If I went ahead and installed a layer of the single-sided version of the double-sided foam tape on the undersides of the louver's flanges, it would act as padding so the louvers wouldn't rattle or warp inwards excessively over time.
I've seen a type of perforated plate large-head threaded stud which would be wonderful for use with glues, (body panel adhesive, anyone??) but the head is actually rather huge, and I'm not sure if grinding them down in diameter would affect their mechanical integrity:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-threaded-rods/=gxoziaI'm inclined to go with the modified truss-head screws...
It will probably still be another month or so till I pull the rear doors to paint them, so I've got plenty of time to refine the basic idea if need be.
So, what do you think? Does it sound like a reasonable experiment?
Do you think that rear view mirror glue is up to the task?
(And yes, years ago I had a few mirrors fall, but with 8 studs and fresh glue I think the odds are on my side overall.)
Any other thoughts or opinions on the matter?
Thanks for taking the time to read and consider this!