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Sun May 09, 2010 7:52 pm

Winston's rear table broke loose before I ever knew him, and smacked pretty hard into the panel behind the water tank cabinet, inflicting THIS damage:

The two metal plates are to hold the magnetic latch I installed to prevent a re-run. That hasn't been particularly successful, so I have two cabinet latches from West Marine for what I hope will be a stronger fix. But, first...

I don't particularly want to dismantle my kitchen, etc, to repair this damage, but I would like to repair it. I have a few theories of my own, involving cutting out the damaged area, fishing and riveting an aluminum plate into place, and puttying over that... But...

Anybody got a better idea?

Best!

Sun May 09, 2010 9:22 pm

A thin piece of plywood covered in you favorite Art. Or cover it with a piece of thin ABS sheet, with an amusing or dramatic sticker. Glue these in place over the damaged area. You can also attach them with toggle bolts. The ones that go through a small hole and flip out to make a large 'T' to allow the screws to pull against.

Mon May 10, 2010 6:04 am

And for the magnetic catches, I did/do have success using those to control that unruly rear table. I wonder if the difference between yours and mine is the positioning of the magnets. I have two (same as you) but they are spread apart. I'll search for pics, but mine are near the ends of the long side of the table. I think having them farther apart gives them better holding characteristics.

Mon May 10, 2010 6:48 am

A real hobby shop that sells to the airplane crowd will have some nice multi ply birch that would make a nice patch. You may even be able to find some wall paper/vinyl material thats close to the Westy pattern.

My rear table is often loose, but the seat back always keeps it captive. You must travel with the seat down, or there's a difference between upholstery on my '85.

Mon May 10, 2010 10:36 am

Like many, mine looked like yours, MS. I tried a patch with wood; tried a patch with spackling compound; tried covering it up with art. All looked terrible.

I finally tore the galley out to repair the surface rust behind and replaced the whole panel with 3/8" ply and stained it.

Besides, my whole interior had that terrible vinyl stuff (like yours) that was shrunk, crinkled and very dirty. I took it all off in the interior (blow drier and acetone; including inside cabinets) and painted it with tinted patio/floor paint. All, except, the natural wood looking stained panel I replaced.

What to say, other than do what your aesthetics dictate.

Fri May 14, 2010 9:19 pm

All the results aren't in, and I won't have pictures 'til Sunday or so, but on the whole I'm not displeased.

I measured the total damage, which came to an area around 8 1/2" x 13 1/2", preparatory to cutting it out. I had a good suggestion from my friend the engineer about cutting out the area with a jigsaw set at a 45 degree angle, so that at patch cut at a corresponding angle would be supported when I glued it into place. I even found some 1/8" plywood, enough for the patch... But I also found something else--an old tube of Plastic Wood.

It's an interesting product--essentially cellulose fibers in a polymer carrier. I was lucky that the tube was so old that the instructions mentioned it could be thinned with acetone. Since I was going to cut out the damaged portion anyway, and the tube was old, what did I have to lose?

The first thing to do was to remove the "shelf paper" clinging to the damaged plywood. The heat gun, on 'low,' had no problem at all with that, the stuff peeled right off. I left the glue right where it was, I figured the Plastic Wood would bond to that at least as easily as to the wood.

I got a very flexible putty knife and started smoothing the stuff into the cracks, and when I had a hard time getting it to stick to things, I got out the acetone and a glass jar, stirred it up, and laved it in until it stuck to the wood, the glue, and then the next coat stuck to the first coat once it dried. The stuff dries FAST, get used to the concept. Has its advantages, though.

I removed the plates for the magnet, I only had the one, a big one, and kept spreading the stuff over the holes. Each coat, and I just kept applying them, covered that much more of the holes until... No more holes! I was rather pleased.

After an overnight drying, I started sanding, using 240 grain sandpaper and a hand sand block. I didn't QUITE get it smooth, I suppose I could have, by adding yet more Plastic Wood. I bought a more modern tin that mentioned it could be thinned with 'DAP Plastic Wood Thinner,' which, for some reason, I rather suspect includes a lot of acetone.

I smoothed out the whole patch with more of the stuff, and sanded, and just today I painted the patch with some gloss Antique White paint, three coats. It's not a perfect match, but, the paint will protect the polymer from Colorado's horrifying ultra-violet, which just plays hob with anything related to plastic. If I do find a 'shelf paper' that matches in color and texture, I might cut a piece to fit from the closet to the kitchen and cover the whole thing, in the mean time, it looks better than the holes did.

The plan is to glue-and-screw a thin long piece of wood on the bottom of the table and attach those West Marine two cabinet latches to that, I think I'll take the suggestion of putting them far apart for maximum grip, and to avoid drilling a hole in the patched area. The label on the Plastic Wood is quite positive, though, about the stuff being 'drillable.' If that isn't strong enough, I'll put one of those 'hook and elbow' catches in between them.

I'll have pictures of the repair and the finished job Sunday, I hope. Winston's going to VW's on the Green Sunday, then I'll swing by my friend the cabinet maker's for that and the construction of one of those knife blocks for the microwave cabinet's door. As part of getting ready, I torque-tested all of Winston's lug nuts (on all four wheels) and checked his tire pressure. All were good to go, anyone who is both in Colorado and who wants to see the finished job is more than welcome to stop by Sunday and have a gander.

And I am very tired.

Best!

Sun May 16, 2010 10:12 pm

While at VW's on the Green today, I took a picture of the final appearance of my Plastic Wood repair job on Winston, with three coats of enamel over that to protect the polymer from Colorado's plastic-obliterating UV. Paint's a ghastly match, but on the whole, I'm not ashamed:

I used a bungee cord to hold the table in place on the long run out to Golden and back. That's... not the best method. The thing kept slipping loose and shooting across Winston's interior.

:shock:

Missed me three times, though! I had no intention of that being a permanent fix, I mentioned those two cabinet latches I bought from West Marine, the URL with the part numbers is up above.

When I got back with Winston, I stopped at the home of my cabinet-making friend. We 'screw and glued' two pieces of thin wood to the bottom of Winston's table--I think part of the 'swinging' problem is that it's a 2nd front table, not the original rear table--and attached the female ends of the catches to those. I figured that since the table moved a lot, I didn't want any protrusions on that.

We were both a little nervous about the strain the catches would put on the panel, although we took Hi's advice and put them as far apart on the table as we could. Doing that avoided the patched area altogether, something of a relief. We took a thin test piece of wood, the screws holding the male ends of the latch showed no strain at all, so we went ahead and installed the two male ends on the panel, where they were out of the way. I can provide pictures of the whole thing if anybody really needs them. Has anyone found a species of anchor that adds some security to things drilled into the interior paneling on a Westy?

The result was... Success! The catches seem to do a very good job of holding the table to the panel, they don't take TOO much effort to release. Of course, ideally I'll remember to cinch down the screws on the table's swivel and leg, but this fix makes the hold stronger and adds another level of security. I figured latches from West Marine would be designed to take lurching and shifting, and the drive home had its share of those, deep ditches, tight turns. The table stayed right where it was, no rattle.

I may look for a paint that matches Winston's interior more closely, or a similar shelf paper, and match that section of the panel to the rest of Winston's decor. But, for the moment, no hole, and a firm lock for the table.

And I am very tired.

Best!

Thu Jun 22, 2023 3:19 pm

Hello! Winston and I are still alive, Winston is as wonderful and cherished as ever, and my time in, under, around, and driving him is the happiest I've had in quite a while.

The rear table--which is somebody else's front table, which might be PART of the reason it keeps slamming into that same panel and damaging it--punched a hole right through the hole I patched with the plastic wood.

The current plan is to cut a section of ABS plastic--Dogpilot's old suggestion--paint it, and hold it in place with at least four Jack Nuts, with which I've had very good luck in the past:

https://www.zygology.com/store/pc/viewcontent.asp?idpage=78

I think I still have a Jack Nut 'wrench,' which keeps the nut from spinning while the screw expands and locks the nut and its threaded insert into place.

The ABS paneling is expensive, but it's likely to be pretty impact resistant, as that was something claimed early in the ad copy when I set out to reinvent the wheel--again. I'll probably have to remount the yacht wall fasteners I used with ball catches to keep what happened from happening.

Further bulletins and pictures as events warrant.

Thu Jun 22, 2023 9:20 pm

Sooo glad to see you post!

Best!!!

Sat Jun 24, 2023 9:23 am

dobryan wrote: Sooo glad to see you post!

Best!!!

+1 Makes me happy when OG Samba Vanagoners who have contributed so much over the years pop back in!

Sat Jun 24, 2023 12:07 pm

photogdave wrote: dobryan wrote: Sooo glad to see you post!

Best!!!

+1 Makes me happy when OG Samba Vanagoners who have contributed so much over the years pop back in!

Yep! Rob really came to my rescue in 2008 when I flew out to Denver to pick up a Westy to replace my fire victim and the Westy had plenty of tread but severe cracking. Holiday weekend and tire shops were not open. He had 4 good tires in his shed and I was able to be safely on the road soon after.

Sat Jun 24, 2023 12:24 pm

photogdave wrote: dobryan wrote: Sooo glad to see you post!

Best!!!

+1 Makes me happy when OG Samba Vanagoners who have contributed so much over the years pop back in!

Likewise. The first thing I did before seeing today's post was to see when Winston's owner was here last and it was nice to see that it was today.

I've had good lick with a large rare earth magnet firmly holding the table in place in all conditions. The magnet is screwed to the c-pillar and it has a powerful hold on the metal plate screwed to the table.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9351717&highlight=#9351717
jimf909 wrote: I was researching the adjustable table height mod and saw this about the magnets. I too tried small magnets but they didn't hold 100% of the time so I added a much bigger magnet, screwed into the c-pillar with a metal strip on the table. This has held 100% of the time for about a year.

Neodymium magnet...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013L36SXA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Screwed to the c-pillar

Metal strap on the table

Tue Jun 27, 2023 2:54 pm

I use the bigger box of Kleenex tissue. It always worked for me. I put it on the counter under the table. It wedges real good and it's a nice place to have K :roll: leenex in the camper. Did anybody ever think of that? :roll:

Tue Jun 27, 2023 5:44 pm

A fiberglass panel might be a good choice, often used in restaurant kitchens, or in restroom walls. tough stuff.
Kydex plastic might also be a nice option.

Tue Jul 18, 2023 7:18 pm

Very touched, everybody. I miss being around here as much as I used to. There have been some fairly major and unwanted alterations in my domestic situation, and I've had some bad health news. I'm holding out.

The one thing that hasn't changed, at all, is my joy in Winston and you brilliant improvisers. He is performing splendidly, and is one of the bright spots in my life.

I'll let you all know what I end up doing.

And... really...

Best!

Tue Jul 18, 2023 7:52 pm

Wow! 13 years between updates - that's glorious procrastination there!

I gotta say welcome back too - you had the below very nice pinout diagram for one of the big dash connectors (T14) posted ages ago that was very handy, I worked from that and updated it in one of my posts for different years. Mucho appreciate the original work!

Hope the health news isn't too bad. :/

Wed Jul 19, 2023 2:38 pm

That thing saved my hash too, when I dropped in a later instrument cluster with an LED clock and a tach to replace Winston's original cluster. I don't remember where I stumbled over it, but it made the impossible possible.

The compulsion to tinker remains strong. I hope to get one of those washer fluid tank supports that Tim sells, and the T3 steering crossmember reinforcement brackets, and... some day... his shocks and sway bars. Winston is on some VERY deteriorated roads, just now. I'd like to help him as he grimly works his way through the ruts and ditches.

Thank you for the kind, and tremendously appreciated remarks.

Best!