cowl to firewall, bond or weld?

[Beck]

hey all,
i have my cuda in a body shop to get the front chassis straightened out.
the cowl has been removed from the firewall in order to patch rust prior to the chassis work (they gave me a great price).

they recommended bonding the cowl back on as opposed to welding.
if welded they thought that there wouldn't be a way to seal and protect the inner join. where as bonding would create a seal with the cement.

they said the bond would be as strong or stronger than welding.

what do you think?

cheers,
aaron.

[elitecustombody]

I'd use metal bonding adhesive,sounds like the guys know what they're talking about

[pywell]

Yes, I would agree, the metal adhesive like Fusor 108B is extremely strong and is used in many applications such as roof skins in all modern cars/trucks.

[72cudamaan]

I'd use metal bonding adhesive,sounds like the guys know what they're talking about

 

[E-Body Products]

Agree!!!

[lemming303]

What do yall mean by bonding? Like JB weld or something? How would that be better than welding? Obviously I have no idea what yall are talking about. I thought everything was welded....

[72cudamaan]

There is a 2 part bonding adhesive made just for body panels.Painter supply stores, auto parts stores and Eastwood carry it.

[Topcat]

What do yall mean by bonding? Like JB weld or something? How would that be better than welding? Obviously I have no idea what yall are talking about. I thought everything was welded....

Bonding metal with the specific glues for it you can get at auto body supply stores is a good option to consider.

You have about an hour to work with it. Areas like the cowl upper half and the wheel well lip areas where they meet are an ideal way to adhere the new part.

[elitecustombody]

What do yall mean by bonding? Like JB weld or something? How would that be better than welding? Obviously I have no idea what yall are talking about. I thought everything was welded....

Yes, it those days everything was welded,but bonding is far more superior in this case,because the adhesive not only holds panels together, but serves as a sealer and completely seals the seam eliminating any corrosion at the joint,opposed to welding,cowl is very sensitive area of the car that can trap moisture,on some cars it's absolutely inaccessible ,so using panel bonding adhesive is the smartest way to go,I use it all the time.

 SEM,Duramix/3m Automix,Fusor,Norton make great bonding adhesives ,most dual cartridge runs about $30-40,they offer different working time,as some parts take less/more that others to install,thus different curing time.Give it a try sometime,you'd be amazed,no drilling,no welding,no grinding and best of all,NO RUST years down the road

[MoparCar]

I just used the Lord Fusor 108B Medium for the roof skin drip rail areas and am totally impressed. Easy, strong and no plug welds! Do it!. The cheapest place I found for the adhesive and gun was www.autobodytoolmart.com fast shipping and great prices.

Wes

[alphabuck]

yep ive used the 108b from fusor on a number of occasions.  you bond 2 pieces of sheet metal with that stuff and try to pull it apart youll tear the sheet metal before the bond will break.

the 108 gives you a half an hour or so of work time they make a 110 i think it is that gives you an hour or better.

try it youll like it.  life in the 21st century is grand

[lemming303]

Crazy. Never thought something like that would be better than welding. I guess you would probably need a ton of clamps to make sure it's held together properly for curing.

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Used bonding on my trunk pan braces. NO PROBLEMS! 

[pywell]

I just wanted to make sure EVERYONE using these products knows 3 things about bonding panels. 1. YOU CANNOT BOND STRUCTURAL its against the law (depending where you live of course) and its UNSAFE. 2. You must clamp the panels down with even pressure where you are bonding accross the entire piece if you cannot get a clamp down use a selftapping screw or it does not bond properly. And 3 you must prep the bonding surface on both sides where the bonding material is going or you might be able to pull it right off, by prepping the surface (36grit grinding pad or equivelent) to ruffen up both sides. Also clean off any excess completely that was squished out of the panels, paint and bodyfiller will fail if applied over top.

Please read the manufactures directions, which I am sure most of us do. I just dont want to see someones project fail or worse, someone get hurt.

 

[beekppr]

This is great information. I too always thought it had to be welded. I am going to try and reuse my original cowl and straighten it if possible. I am definitely going to replace inner fenderwalls so is this a good candidate for bonding materials or are those pieces considered structural? How about radiator support?