7 replies to this topic

[C.44]

Hi all,

 

i'm knee deep in the restoration of the wife's Mini (what did i get myself into...) and i'm about to put the new wings on. I've already got the new scuttle welded in place. I'm wondering, when i put the new wing on do i seal the curve where the wing sits against the scuttle with seamsealer? Should it be welded (the flange onto the scuttle on the inside of the wing) or is seamsealer going to be enough? I'm kind of afraid it'll move somehow if i just seamseal it and that doing so will result in cracked paint (or worse... rust) down the road. On the other hand... i have no idea how i'm going to get to the flange on the inside of the wing to weld it.

 

Any advice is welcome!

[sonikk4]

The wing to scuttle flange underneath should be spot welded but its awkward to get to. Most folks force seam sealer down into the gap as far as possible myself included.

[Daz1968]

I just forced seam sealer on the gap, but if you wanted to you could braze a few short runs in the gap as it would flow below the joint, I may try that when I restore my other one, only issue is getting paint down the gap after burning the paint when brazing.

[cal844]

plug weld then seam seal/ bathroom sealant(non silicone stuff!!)

[corrado vr6]

Tiger seal available on eBay and can be painted over

[C.44]

Alright, i'm going to try and get the metal as close together as possible then plug weld it. I'm currently using the 3M 08694 seamsealer, as far as i know that can be painted over.

[skoughi]

Squirt in suitable adhesive/sealant then squeeze the two layers of metal (wing and scuttle) together from underneath with pliers or vice grips thus squeezing the stuff all through the joint and helping it adhere to the two surfaces.

[Rob Gavin]

this is something I have always been frustrated with. I used to use seam sealer and paint however invariably i'd end up with a hairline crack after a while and water getting under the paint.

 

My current project I left dry of any sealer.  The wing and scuttle were primed prior to fitting and then I stuck a few tack welds on the underside;  I then flooded the joint with paint;  the excess drained out the bottom leaving both the scuttle and wing sealed without bridging the gap.  Its been like that since 2007 when the car was painted and no signs of deterioration (albeit its not been in bad weather!)  At the end of the day, the factory never applied anything to the joint

 

just my opinion though!