Fred W B
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| posted on 30/9/05 at 01:57 PM |
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Is Sikaflex an engineering material?
Reading various build diaries, and on here, I see Sikaflex or similar products mentioned often as being used to attach things to a car.
Ultima's, in particular, seem to be held together largely by Sikaflex.
I would suggest that Sikaflex is a good product, but only when used to join parts that are never going to be separated again.
If used where disassembly may be required in the future, for example in order to repaint or replace parts, disassembly can usually only be
accomplished by damaging either one or both of the mating surfaces or parts, or am I wrong?
Cheers
Fred WB
[Edited on 30/9/05 by Fred W B]
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 30/9/05 at 02:00 PM |
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That description matches my personal experience!
I used Sikaflex (or similar) to seal the ali to the back of my chassis. When I decided that I'd made a complete cods-up I decided to strip it
all off and start again.
It took me 10 minutes to get most of the ali free - and 3 hours to get the Sikaflex'd bit off the bottom!
David
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DarrenW
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| posted on 30/9/05 at 02:05 PM |
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Ive had a bad experience with Sikaflex when trying to bond plastic wheel arch spats to a Golf Gti - they were very clean and the surface keyed but
fell off after a couple of weeks.
Ive used Wurth bond and seal for the ZR and it is the preverbial sh1t to a blanket. Once its on it stays on. One nice tip ive found though when i got
a bit of overspill, ive found acetone cleans it off.
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pajsh
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| posted on 30/9/05 at 03:48 PM |
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Sikaflex comes in a variety of flavours and normally should be used with the appropriate primer. We use 11FC for sticking concrete together.
We also used an industrial grade to stick GRP to glass for a Ford showroom and it stuck in minutes. This stuff was from the automotive industry and is
used to stick windscreens in.
It does bond almost anything to anything and is very difficult to get off if properly applied with the right primer. You can knife through the SIKA
but getting it off the materials is harder.
Sika do a cleaner but acetone is effective too. Doesn't come off your clothes too easily.
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lexi
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| posted on 30/9/05 at 03:50 PM |
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White Spirit will clean it no probs when uncured. There are many grades of Sikaflex. The one sold in yacht chandlers is usually high modulous which is
stiffer when set, cures quicker and usually costs more. It is basically all one-part polyurethane sealant. I use one called Everflex which is about 5
quid a tube and is pretty good. It is flexible but tough. You can cut it out if need be with a stanley provided you can get access.
Alex
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Mike R-F
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| posted on 30/9/05 at 04:15 PM |
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I notice in this months Practical Classics they are sticking their Matra-Simca Bagheera (plastic panels to steel subframe) back together with
something called Teroson Terostat. Anyone tried this & what was it like?
Mike
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lexi
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| posted on 30/9/05 at 05:37 PM |
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never heard it . But you gotta remember despite all the wonder claims about these materials there is really only four or five sealant types. Bottom of
the list is oil based mastics which are basicaly veg oil and slate dust. Butyl based ones are similar in that they dont harden. Then come water and
solvent based acrylics. Water based are sold as painters caulk or frame sealant. Have saw this sold as bath sealant and is crap for that purpose. Then
come Polysulphides in one and two part. The two part is catalytically cured to aid speed. One part polyurathane is a different compound but with
similar qualities. Then come silicones in high and low modulous. Low mod would be used round window frames and high mod with added fungicide is the
best material for sanitary ware etc. These are the sealants its just picking the right one for the job.
Primers are only used in high movement joints where substrates are dusty or unstable. They don`t make any difference to stable surfaces like glass
or gelcoat new metal etc because you apply them and leave to dry to a glass like finish before you apply sealant.
Alex
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omega 24 v6
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| posted on 1/10/05 at 09:53 AM |
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We used it for a while at work and it's great as long as everything is dry and stabilized at the working temp ( don't bring the parts to
be used from the cold into a warm workshop as you get a damp film on condensate) and a primer is used.
It is extremely adhesive and you wont budge it once it's cured.
Oh and it can be painted unlike most other silicone based items.
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Danozeman
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| posted on 1/10/05 at 09:56 AM |
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Sorry to nick this thread. How much would u pay for a tube?
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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lexi
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| posted on 1/10/05 at 06:35 PM |
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A tube of polyurethane is 5quid. Sikaflex
is 10- 12 pound a tube. Overpriced Swiss product. And I repeat you do not need primer on stable surfaces. It will be recomended to sell you more££
worth.
Alex
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