drilling galvanised corner cappings

Al2O3 · Jun 16, 2015

How bad is it to drill a hole in your galvanised cappings? Mine don't clamp up against the rear panel very tightly, above the indicator hole.

I'm contemplating drilling a hole in the centre of the quarter circle around the lens and putting a pop rivet in.

Does the galv work to protect the steel that will be exposed or is this just a stupid idea?
It's going to the paint shop on Saturday and so I want to try and sort the gap.

AlbertDefender90 · Jun 16, 2015

Galv doesn't work like paint, it will still protect the steel even when exposed due to preferential corrosion. If you want you could spray a little primer on the hole just to act as an additional barrier but the top coat should seal it up nicely

Al2O3 · Jun 16, 2015

I thought that was the case. That's music to my ears

timtheenchanteruk · Jun 16, 2015

personally, I'd buy a tin of cold galv (zinc spray) to prime it with

Al2O3 · Jun 16, 2015

Will any brand do?

trax · Jun 16, 2015

needs to be zinc rich.. like 90%+ galvfroid type o deal

i think i'd stick seal sealer/caulk in there from behind myself

Al2O3 · Jun 16, 2015

Made the mistake of putting body filler in the gap, but one side has pulled away.

Al2O3 · Jun 17, 2015

Thinking about what you said, trax. I think there's too much movement between the rear quarter panel and the capping. I think caulk or tiger seal would come away. The paint over the top will just crack

trax · Jun 17, 2015

Al2O3 said:
Thinking about what you said, trax. I think there's too much movement between the rear quarter panel and the capping. I think caulk or tiger seal would come away. The paint over the top will just crack

doesn't look that large a gap from that angle. is it bent or something?

filler isn't flexi, so will crack.

tiger seal (pu) wouldn't be coming away.. but it would be a bugger to replace later on.

i'd be tempted to stick tiger/ some builders grip between the gaps and use a c/g clamp through the indicator hole to hold the panels tight together. scrape off excess and a few mm down the gap on the outside, so you can't tell any is there.

or rivet if you think it'll work

meego · Jun 17, 2015

All holes should be drilled slightly over size in anything prior to Galvanising. This should make allowance for the thickness of the Galv when applied. If you drill a hole in any Galvanised part, you are compromising the protection. As said, Zinc Rich paint such as Galvafroid can be applied. But if it is going to corrode at any time, the drilled hole will be where it will start.

Al2O3 · Jun 17, 2015

trax said:
doesn't look that large a gap from that angle. is it bent or something?

filler isn't flexi, so will crack.

tiger seal (pu) wouldn't be coming away.. but it would be a bugger to replace later on.

i'd be tempted to stick tiger/ some builders grip between the gaps and use a c/g clamp through the indicator hole to hold the panels tight together. scrape off excess and a few mm down the gap on the outside, so you can't tell any is there.

or rivet if you think it'll work

You can't tell the gap is there because of the body filler. I thought the capping, riveted in place would be stiff enough to take the filler. Rooky error. The actual gap now is only paper thickness, but no good for painting over I reckon.

I think the cappings are out of square. I used sika flex and a G clamp just as you described, but it pulled off when I released the clamp.

meego said:
All holes should be drilled slightly over size in anything prior to Galvanising. This should make allowance for the thickness of the Galv when applied. If you drill a hole in any Galvanised part, you are compromising the protection. As said, Zinc Rich paint such as Galvafroid can be applied. But if it is going to corrode at any time, the drilled hole will be where it will start.

It's a dilemma.

meego · Jun 17, 2015

It's a dilemma.[/QUOTE]

I would go ahead and drill it. If you use a good quality zinc rich paint or etch primer you should be ok. You could also apply some seam seal on the inside face and this will fill the holes when you pop rivet them. I would use seam sealer to fill any gaps as well as it can be painted.

trax · Jun 17, 2015

Al2O3 said:
You can't tell the gap is there because of the body filler. I thought the capping, riveted in place would be stiff enough to take the filler. Rooky error. The actual gap now is only paper thickness, but no good for painting over I reckon.

I think the cappings are out of square. I used sika flex and a G clamp just as you described, but it pulled off when I released the clamp.

It's a dilemma.

how long did you leave the sika? should be about 24hours to cure.

if it's hard to clamp and trying to pull back out of shape, then pu won't cut it.

paper thickness? be fiiine.

it's a landy, it's all out of shape anyway

Al2O3 · Jun 17, 2015

meego said:
It's a dilemma.

I would go ahead and drill it. If you use a good quality zinc rich paint or etch primer you should be ok. You could also apply some seam seal on the inside face and this will fill the holes when you pop rivet them. I would use seam sealer to fill any gaps as well as it can be painted.[/QUOTE]

Read previous comments when I got in from work and just got back in from working on it. Bottled drilling it and decided to squirt seam sealer in to it. Used one of the Mrs icing bags and nozzle

It probably does need another physical fixing though.

trax said:
how long did you leave the sika? should be about 24hours to cure.

if it's hard to clamp and trying to pull back out of shape, then pu won't cut it.

paper thickness? be fiiine. it's a landy, it's all out of shape anyway

It was all left clamped up for two or three days, but it was under too much strain for the sika to hold. You live and learn I suppose. The cappings must have opened up a few degrees when they got dipped.

Thanks for the ideas chaps. I'll see how this goes and what the paint shop say, if anything!
If it opens up after painting I'll put rivets in and paint them myself. The rear quarter panels and corner cappings have been a right pain.
Thanks again.

drilling galvanised corner cappings

Al2O3

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AlbertDefender90

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Al2O3

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timtheenchanteruk

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trax

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trax

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