Shell reinforcement

[Velodromed]

I found a new can of spray on gorilla glue and a sheet of fiberglass cloth in my garage. Would this combo work to reinforce a granite shell?
Any hints will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[ricky]

I used sheet rock tape (the netted tape) and shoe goo. many posts on this in the forums ------------------------ https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/new-big-rock-upgrades-reinforced-body.33836/

 

[Monster Dork]

I haven't done this before with a body shell, but in my broader experience fiberglass reinforcement only works with a good epoxy fill. There are toughened flexible epoxies that would probably work great with the fiberglass cloth, like this https://www.amazon.com/655-8-Pre-Thickened-Part-Epoxy-Adhesive/dp/B00LWKFZJ8 When doing glass for RC wing skins, you thin the epoxy with denatured alcohol and roll off the excess for a "dry" finish using toilet paper like a paint roller to sop up the overage. That way you get a good bond and a nice finish, without the weight. Just something to think about.

Here's the technique

 

[Velodromed]

I haven't done this before with a body shell, but in my broader experience fiberglass reinforcement only works with a good epoxy fill. There are toughened flexible epoxies that would probably work great with the fiberglass cloth, like this https://www.amazon.com/655-8-Pre-Thickened-Part-Epoxy-Adhesive/dp/B00LWKFZJ8 When doing glass for RC wing skins, you thin the epoxy with denatured alcohol and roll off the excess for a "dry" finish using toilet paper like a paint roller to sop up the overage. That way you get a good bond and a nice finish, without the weight. Just something to think about.

Here's the technique

Thank you very much! This all makes perfect sense. I appreciate the link also!

I haven't done this before with a body shell, but in my broader experience fiberglass reinforcement only works with a good epoxy fill. There are toughened flexible epoxies that would probably work great with the fiberglass cloth, like this https://www.amazon.com/655-8-Pre-Thickened-Part-Epoxy-Adhesive/dp/B00LWKFZJ8 When doing glass for RC wing skins, you thin the epoxy with denatured alcohol and roll off the excess for a "dry" finish using toilet paper like a paint roller to sop up the overage. That way you get a good bond and a nice finish, without the weight. Just something to think about.

Here's the technique

I used sheet rock tape (the netted tape) and shoe goo. many posts on this in the forums ------------------------ https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/new-big-rock-upgrades-reinforced-body.33836/

Thank you! I’ve read a lot of those threads, just finding these two items in my garage I was curious. Sounds like the combo would not be flexible enough. Much appreciated.

 

[arrmadillo]

Shoe goo and drywall tape seems to be the best combo for strength. There are so many combinations out there, some good, some not. Try your's and find out.

 

[Velodromed]

Shoe goo and drywall tape seems to be the best combo for strength. There are so many combinations out there, some good, some not. Try your's and find out.

Thank you!
I had never heard of the shoe goo process before joining here so I was curious. I regressed though, and just finished doing the shells on all three of my granites with copious amounts of gorilla tape. I already had too much of it on hand anyway. It has worked well with my dogs car. When he steps on it it doesn’t crack, mostly just flexes. If it does crack I use that UV cured plastic glue to repair and/or superglue. Works mostly well

 

[ncnative]

Second on the Shoe Goo. My body screws to a roll cage so I only used it around the screw holes and loose edges not supported by the cage.

 

[Sledgehog]

Shoe goo and drywall tape for sure.
You can also use e6000. It's the same stuff as shoe goo and possibly cheaper depending on your area for some reason.


Has anyone experimented with spray on flex seal? I used it in a 1/14 scale reflex body but then ended up selling it before I got to fully test it. Whoops, lol

 

[ncnative]

I thought about trying the Flex Seal stuff the day I was buying my Shoe Goo. Flex Seal costs a lot more and I didn't know for sure if it would be as strong. I knew the Shoe Goo would. My son suggested the truck bed liner material which would be good but add a lot of weight. Shoe Goo has a bunch of other uses around our house also.

 

[Monster Dork]

E6000 and Shoe Goo are made (ahem, distributed) by the same corp. They are the same copolymer, butadiene-styrene. They have different solvents. The Shoe Goo is toluene, faster-drying and higher toxicity. The E6000 is perchloroethylene, which isn't particularly harmful to us, but bad for the environment. But that's not my point.

I have used Shoe Goo for various off-label tasks, and my chief complaint is that it cannot be brushed on. It has to be fat-fingered, which ends up being thick (heavy) and ugly. It does not thin with acetone, and last time I tried it I was in Germany, where I could not buy toluene off the shelf to thin it. Now that I'm in the US, I can buy it by the quart at smaller hardware stores like Ace (Home Repo and Lowes don't do health hazard hazmat like toluene). Still haven't tried it.

E6000, being cheaper by the ounce, can be thinned with perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene on the label), which can be bought as red-can chlorinated brake cleaner for fairly cheap at the auto parts store. If this goop can be thinned and brushed on to a controllable thickness, I might not be such a critic of the two pound bashable body shell. I might try it after I cry over a body shell destroyed before its time.