TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Dec 27, 2014 4:53 pm

Happy Holidays to all my fellow Thingsters!

I am in the process of doing body work before a repaint and was working on my door hinges. Of course I found I will need to replace a rusted/broke hinge pin, get hinge plugs, and a couple of mounting screws (already ordered them from TTS).

I was looking at the hinges and noticed no matter how often I coat the contact points, there is always surface rust where the door and body hinges rotate.

I was wondering if anyone has tried using Teflon washers in between the hinges. I had some thin ones and tried it on a door but they were too thick and caused the flat spot which enables the door to be removed to scrap the body hinge. I could shave the hinges down to accommodate the additional height but I can't find any thinner washers any where.

What do any of you use or do to prevent the abrasion and rust from forming?

Sat Dec 27, 2014 6:56 pm

Interesting idea....
I would guess it would have to be a Very thin piece, in order to not mess up striker alignment....

I spray a small film of CPC on my hinges... Lubricates and keep the corrosion away(that's not a huge issue here in E. Tn)...

Sat Dec 27, 2014 7:42 pm

Thanks Joe, I have tried dry film lubricant, and CPC but here in Hawaii I am fighting humidity and salt air. I hope to figure something out soon as I about ready to repaint inside and out and trying to minimize those friction areas prone to rust. I am able to adjust the alignment of the hinges so the striker plate hits square. After the holiday food paralysis wears off I might try sanding some washers to see if I can get them thinner.

Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:02 pm

Baldy-
If shaving the door hinges is the only alternative, consider removing enough material for 2 washers per hinge. Then you could affix (Super Glue?) a washer to each half of the hinge for a nylon to nylon sliding surface.

Alternatively, you can buy PTFE sheet material as thin as .005 (maybe even thinner) for about $3 sq./ft. and make your own.
Example: http://www.eplastics.com/PTFE_Sheet

My car is way too roughed up for any detailing like this.
I bought the plastic caps for the door hinges at the VW dealer back in '83 when my car was painted; I think they were all lost by 1984.

Sat Jan 10, 2015 9:32 am

Washers of some sort would be a nice idea,
cause the only thing I read was to keep em oiled!

you know, I wonder if you could make a washer out of some thing about a credit card type thickness or even thinner?

I get cards from my work insurance that are a plastic type and paper thin but they may not last long from the wear. but a hard clear plastic could work, I have a plastic storage bag on my desk that came with eye glass cleaner, it's thicker than a sandwich bag but thinner than a credit card.

may be short lived but with some scissors and patience you could make one and try it maybe?

My try this myself.....good luck if you find a good suggestion please share!
Thanks
T

Sat Jan 10, 2015 10:04 am

McMaster-Carr has different types and size. My concern would be that the washer may raise the door side of the hinge to were the notch that lets you take the door off may not work. I guess if you are worried about chips on your hinges next you will be trying to make the rattles go away? It is a Thing.

Sat Jan 10, 2015 11:32 am

Ron, that is exaclty what I experienced when I first tried a set of teflons. It raised the hinge too high and it made contact with the notch. I have settled on a dry film lubricant for the time being. Im a helicopter maintenance pilot in Hawaii so I'm just a little quirky about preventing corrosion, wear on parts, and rust with methods that don't attract dirt (like grease and oils) I love the quirks of my Thing .... rattles and all, thats why I want to protect her as much as I can while she is here on the island. This place is horrible for corrosion.

By the way I'm really digging your website, thank you to you and Dennis for taking the time to build it.

Sat Jan 10, 2015 11:58 am

Thank you for the heads up on the site. All the reasons we love these cars.

Sat Jan 10, 2015 7:45 pm

If you are talking about trimming the hinges to clear the additional thickness of bearing washers, rather than use a soft material like PTFE (Teflon), which will not adhere to anything with any type of glue, think about using two brass washers on each hinge. Two washers can be glued to each hinge. One on the upper door hinge, one on the lower body hinge. You can fabricate the washers from brass shim stock using your Whitney Jr. punch that every A&P mechanic has in his toolbox. Excellent wear characteristics, cheap, available in about any thickness you want. Will not rust, only discolor to a darker shade. Sheet bronze shim stock will also work.

The other case of drastic OVERKILL would be to buy enough stainless steel hinge parts from TTS to have all new non rusting SS hinges. You would have to purchase two sets of eight pieces. Then remove the pin from one set and drill them for use as the upper hinge half. Should work ?

Another overkill approach, if you are doing paint work, would be to remove some material from both the upper and lower hinge, then use a brass brazing rod and torch to build up the area that was removed. Next drill and trim the brass to provide a good looking mating bearing surface.

Ron & Dennis may have additional or better input if you consider this direction.

Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:09 pm

A better "plastic" washer would be UHMW, ultra high molecular weight polyethylene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-molecular-weight_polyethylene

Thin sheet material is available at Grainger among others.

http://www.grainger.com/product/UHMW-PE-Sheet-Stoc...?$smthumb$