I'm about to fir a new hood to my Rover 216. What's the best glue to use for this? Waterproof, strong and slightly adjustable before going completely off.

See New roof thread

cryptogram wrote: ↑Mon Sep 16, 2019 8:43 am I'm about to fir a new hood to my Rover 216. What's the best glue to use for this? Waterproof, strong and slightly adjustable before going completely off.

Original Gorilla glue, which you apply to one part, then wet the other part and bring them together (it's water activated so it's definitely waterproof). It does expand quite a bit though, so you need to clamp the parts together absolutely everywhere and use very sparingly. I'm only making the recommendation based on my own experience of finding good, flexible, strong waterproof glues - I've never had to bond a cabriolet hood. Takes 1-2 hours to go off, and several hours to reach maximum strength. It's adjustable for several minutes - until it starts to expand. The "Gorilla Glue" seemed a bit faddy to me, but I tried it and was really impressed, so I use it for lots of things now - wood, metal, etc. I'm a bit of a convert - I used to only really use Araldite Standard (slow) cure for the demanding jobs but increasingly I find myself making the decision to use Gorilla Glue. I even glued a rubber door seal with it once - Araldite dries solid so I couldn't use that. It was nigh on impossible to clamp as it was along a torn thin edge, so I just used tape. The glue expanded a fair bit beyond the join, so I just painted the excess black with a small paintbrush. It really bonded the rubber - I was quite surprised, and it was a more than acceptable repair at the time. You can get a "clear" version now, which I haven't tried - but it would be interesting to see just how clear it is if the glue has expanded beyond the joint.

Another suggestion might be a waterproof ("exterior use") PVA glue - the Ever Build stuff is good and not expensive at all. There are special "fabric" versions of PVA glue, but I was suggesting a good exterior "strong" version like the Ever Build Exterior as an upgrade. Doesn't require as much clamping (just the pieces being held together somehow), it doesn't expand, and it's adjustable for quite a while. About 8 hours for maximum strength but when you use the Ever Build with wood, the joint can be "handled" in as little as 10 minutes. Have to be very conscious of "soak through" with PVA - it's quite runny and even a modest amount can soak straight through fabric if it's not a tight, thick knit.

The Interweb seems to recommend "Fabri-Tac" as no. 1 specialist fabric glue- it's expensive at between £10 and £14 for a 59ml bottle. Sailing forums even suggest Polyurethane bonding materials like Sikaflex 291i - but the bond has to be over a fairly large area at least 1.5 inches wide.

I see the "new roof" thread recommends Evo-stick contact adhesive, which is applied to both parts kept separate until the glue goes tacky. There's not much adjustment with this though - once there's contact, it bonds pretty quickly.

I used Evo Stick on mine and it can be pulled off and adjusted with ease.

I've now tried Evostik Serious Glue. This seems to have all the positive attributes: waterproof, not immediate setting (an hour or two), dries clear, can be used on almost any material, no solvent, no smell. I suppose the only downside is the length of setting time. This is an advantage or a disadvantage depending on how you see it.

Hi Rover25x, when you say 'Evostik', which actual product was it because there are several that use that name but they all have a further name, e.g. Impact, Serious Glue, Sticks Like, etc?

I think it was 'Impact Adhesive', it came in a red and silver tin with a brush incorporated into the black lid.

Yes, I would have liked to use that but its own instructions said it bonded instantly. I was interested to read that, despite that, you have been able to adjust it.

Dunno if this pic post has worked, if so, this is what I used

Kriss707 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2019 4:54 pm

Dunno if this pic post has worked, if so, this is what I used

Fixed for you