Has anyone done a repair on a seat pan missing a lot due to rust?
Here’s the pan which was on my Super Rat. As you can see, big holes from rust out!
What I plan to do is weld in Patch’s from the top side of the pan, after treating with Naval Jelly. I will also weld the cracks/breaks in the sides of the pan where it folded. Then I’m going to fill on the rough areas with JB Weld Steel and sand it back before repainting it.
Has anyone done a repair on a pan this bad or worse, and if so, how did you do it? Thx! Victor
Is there even enough metal to take a weld? I'd start looking for a replacement unless you are building the guy a man cave bike that will never be ridden. Strike that. Get a replacement under any circumstances. That pan is toast and can never be made reliable.
The marks /divots you see on top are because I pulled it from the mold too soon. Other wise it's a perfect copy. 3/16" thick of alternating cloth and matte fiberglass. The matte gives it substance, the cloth gives it strength. I used the brackets from the old pan and since they were thick enough, i just threaded them and ground off the protruding end of the bolt. I'll use slotted panhead screws on my next seatpan though. The clips were handmade from some leftover sheetmetal I had, and attached with JBWeld and then laid a strip of fiberglass over them to permanently secure them.
This pan is stronger and lighter than the original and guaranteed will never rust.
Roger. I’ve never ever touched fiberglass. No experience what so ever. I’d have to learn how to do it.
Did you use an existing seat pan for the mold? I guess I could try it. I have an Ace seat pan here. Please give me more details! How did you add the upholstery clips on the bottom? Thx! Victor
I did a Resonator article with my seat pan a few years ago. I think it might be best to start there because it will help you understand what I'm talking about if you have more questions or want to tackle it. It's quite easy.
The upholstery clips are the clips I mentioned above. I made them from scrap stock and glued them on. They were glued on so that they didn't fall off while I was laying another strip of glass over the top of them. The good thing about that is that if I break one, I only need to grind it off, re-glue another on and lay a strip of glass over it again; a 30 minute repair.
Total layup time is about 45 minutes to make the mold and for each pan that is pulled. Cure time is 24 hours. and then another 1 - 2 hours to attach clips and brackets. Clearly a weekend job.
I approached a local fiberglass shop about mass producing a few seatpans and they promptly lost my mold. I have at least three more to make so I'll be making another mold unless I can guilt them into making a new one for me.
Victor