Welding and carpet

[Mark Hofman]

I've had two spot welds break, and I really want to get them fixed. Both involve a support/stiffening piece of aluminum attached to the underside of a storage lid - a rod locker and the livewell.



Do you think that I could get those spot welded without wrecking the carpet if the carpet itself was soaking wet? Or would the heat from the welder still damage the carpet?

 

[Brian Toth]

Surround the area with aluminum foil

 

[Randy Walls]

Wouldn't try it. The heat from the welding and the aluminum would evaporate the moisture much faster than may think it would. You would basically have to keep the water running over the area while you welded and most likely wouldn't make a good weld.



Randy!

 

[john horn]

did the stiffener break loose?

 

[Brian Toth]

I was just throwing my .02 out there b/c I work @ a car manufacturing plant and thats what we do when vehicles that are already built up need to be welded around any type of carpet or fabric

 

[Jim B]

jbt083 i think he talking about welding on a peice of metal that has carpet glued to the other side.



I wouldnt try it, even aluminum gets pretty hot when you weld it. I would think the carpet would melt.

 

[Brian Toth]

I gotcha...Yea its going to get hot quick!

 

[Dan J.]

Ditto the above comments. We've been there done that many years ago at our service center and wound up recarpeting a boat over a "cheap, quick and easy" repair. I would strongly advise against it.

 

[john horn]

I would use lord adhesive - as strong as a weld. I use it all the time in the sign business its main use is in the automitive business. If they are 2 flat pieces butting together there is now way to seperate without destroying the metal once dry.

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Electric welding spot/tig and water DO NOT MIX. With out replacing the carpet you are left with bonding or rivets.



BF

 

[Mark Hofman]

Okay, that's what I feared would be the answer. Looks like I'll be gearing up for a full carpet replacement project sometime in the near future. Oh well, the boat is almost ten years old. At least I'll be able to get a few more years out of the old gal.

 

[Jim in VA]

JB Weld.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

If you can get to it..you can use large pop rivets.

 

[Mark Hofman]

I'm not a big fan of JB Weld unless I'm going to replace parts. I may just drill a hole and use a flathead nut (countersunk), washer and bolt with some Locktite until I have the time to do the recarpeting job.

 

[Jim B]

I would look into the adheasive that John mentioned. Its some pretty sturdy stuff and it will fix it permanently. I have see nthe stuff in action before at my fathers metal shop, he uses it where welding isnt feasable and it works very well.

 

[Mark Hofman]

I looked at their website, but didn't see anything about retail outlets carrying it. I'm also not sure if the acrylic adhesive or the epoxy would be the better route. Using it would help avoid having to drill a hole in a lid and the support stringer.

 

[Jeff Daubert]

Water might help but as was alredy mentioned not a great idea with electricity. What would work would be to cover the carpeted area with a piece of metal thick enough to act as a heat sink. The best thing would be another piece of aluminum or brass. It doesn't need to be be real wide or long but the thicker the better.It will pull any heat out of the area quickly enough that the carpet shouldn't reach a temperature that will cause damage. Depending on where this spot is might make holding a piece of metal in place difficult but it will work if you can keep it tight to the carpet.

 

[james casteel2]

MOFISH I used to be a heavy vehicle body/painter and this should work great for you.

If you can't get a clap on it you can always use an 80lb bag of cheap concrete or sand. Lord Fusor 108B or 109B (differant size tubes).



http://www.lord.com/Home/ProductsServices/Adhesives/FusorAutomotiveAftermarketProducts/Products/MetalAdhesives/tabid/3400/Default.aspx

 

[john horn]

Mofish we have 50 mil tube that i can sell you($15). Send me a picture so I can see what it looks like so I know exactly what you need. When applying you dont want to clamp very tight as it will squeeze all the adhesive out. Do you have any frends in the body shop industry? The bad thing about Lords is that you needs a special caulk gun to mix material, if not you would have to mix by hand.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Thanks, guys!



Right now the boat is in my garage with it's cover on (haven't had a chance to clean it up after our winter trout freezeout trip last month), and we're expecting to get several inches of snow tonight. When the weather is a bit more cooperative, I'll get the cover off and start a new thread. That way you won't have to keep checking this one to see when I've posted the photos.



John, thanks for the email. I don't have any friends in the body shop industry. $15 sounds very reasonable if this will help me prevent damage to the lids themselves and hold until after I graduate and have the time and money to do a full carpet replacement. Do you have a tubes of the adhesives Jimfc3 is recommending, or a different opinion about which one to use?



Any guidance I can get here will be appreciated. My dad is very mechanically gifted, but I didn't pay attention when he was trying to teach me about this kind of stuff. I've mixed epoxies by hand for small projects, but never something like this.

 

[john horn]

I am in the sign industry and Lord uses different # for sign use. I know for a fact this will work on bare aluminum. We use it on signs daily, many being very large and hanging over the heads of many people.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Okay, John, I'll give it a try. Shoot me an email with your address and I'll mail a check for $15.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

I'm interesed to see how the 'glue' works for you MO....

I had the same thing happen on my TV-18...the compartment lid in front of the driver's console....pretty 'thin' welds...



Overall, how is your carpet holding up?

I've got a few spots worn through at a couple of the uneven deck joints...and the adhesive is worn out under my common standing spot in the front...

NOT looking forward to a re-carpet job! Actually holding up pretty darn good for a 2000 model year boat!



az

 

[Mark Hofman]

 

[Mark Hofman]

I'd have to agree Andy. I could chalk one off to me being overweight, but two... and especially one I don't put weight on regularly?



My carpet is showing its age. The boat is nine years old and I've kept it in the garage; but summer heat, winter cold, water and other junk have ruined the glue. It wrinkles up on the front deck and down in the lower well during really hot weather, and is so matted down now that it's not comfortable to stand on in bare feet. Deck screws are showing in a few places, and the carpet makes a 'crinkle' sound when touched.



I hope I can find carpet that will match the original because what's on the two consoles and inside the front lockers is still like new.





John, I just shot off an email to you and put an envelope in the mailbox. You should receive my check Saturday or Monday.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

MO-

Let me know how it works....



thanks,

az

 

[john horn]

Got your check, I will Ship Tuesday, no mail Monday because of holiday. Call me when you recieve.