P6 dashboard tray distortion - any solutions?

Roveragedkid

New Member
Just bought a '72 2000TC and it has the common problem of serious distortion of the dashboard tray. What do other owners do about this?
 
Not my solution but it works. Obviously just the flat bit and it keeps the whole piece in shape. I also glued some thin Ikea fleece blanket to the bottom of the Al to stop it rattling against the steel.
 
Yeah Richard will no doubt sort you out.
3M Panel bond in its variants is industry standard in automotive certainly, and also aviation to my knowledge. In fact I'll be bonding my aluminium bonnet scoop using the stuff when I get around to it. The stronger versions are even aerospace grade I believe
Jim
 
I used a polysulphide two part sealant (and aviation product), because it sticks to anything & it's flexible. Expensive though. For a one part compound, I'd use something from the Sikaflex line. They used to do a polysulphide, but I think these days Sika just do polyurethane compounds.

Yours
Vern
 
I would use one of the MS polymer products or hybrids. Stixall, Fixall, CT1, HB40 - Tradeseal HB40 White - £5.21 +VAT : Trade Grade Products Ltd - The Glue People, Innovation in Adhesion or other. These adhesives do bond very well to such things as PVC and aluminium, but they do need moisture to cure. Best way to use them between two impervious surface like these, is to apply a thin coat to both sides with a serrated glue applicator, then using a spray bottle, just puff some water into the air and let it settle onto glue before joining them. Put a weight on it to keep it together, then leave it overnight.

You can always use an acrylic structural glue (Methacrylate) like this - Tradeweld Acrylic VT - £10.60 +VAT : Trade Grade Products Ltd - The Glue People, Innovation in Adhesion bit pricey though and you need a gun, unless you want to push both sides out with a screwdriver and mix it by hand - you need to be quick though, this stuff cures fairly quickly. This one is also a methacrylate - MXBON® Fast Setting Plastic Weld 28g - £6.35 +VAT : Trade Grade Products Ltd - The Glue People, Innovation in Adhesion

Richard
 
The world of Adhesives and Glues is really fascinating, all of my life I have built a myriad of mechanical /electrical prototypes and production devices that need to work in extreme conditions of temperature and mechanical stress and or corrosive atmospheres and finding the right adhesives makes or breaks a product.
I must say that the interior of a car is really difficult to achieve stable gluing due to the extremes of temperatures that dashes experience and also the unknown vapours that some plastics emit when heated. Let us know how you get on.

I like Richard choices for this and would be trying them first.


Graeme
 
I must say that the interior of a car is really difficult to achieve stable gluing

If you know what you're bonding and it's new, there aren't really too many problems. What gets complicated is the car restorer who for example, wants to bond new leather to old heat damaged plastic, when re-trimming his dash top. Assuming the dash top is PVC, but not really knowing, and not knowing how much heat damage it has been subjected to, makes it very difficult to bond. Forty year old plastic of some description, of undeterminable quality?

If it's polypropylene, or another polyolefin, then you have different problems, but I'm fairly certain the dash tray on a P6 is PVC.
 
If it's polypropylene, or another polyolefin, then you have different problems,

That stuff is freaking near to impossible to bond with glues even the right glue, in the past I have used plastic welding with better success.

Graeme
 
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