40 runningboard covers and glue..

neilswheels

neilswheels

Junior Member
Had a little search, found 3 posts about glue, but here's the thing. I've justs stripped the original rubber of my runningboards and noticed the ribbing stamped in the board horizontaly and verticaly. These give the board a less than smooth finish, and the V8 Shop rubbers that I have are way thinner than the original stuff, so I think all these ribs are going to show thru when the rubbers are on. Is there a better make of cover, or do i have to fill the board tops to loose the ribbing? Also the instructions with the covers say that the supplied adhesive (which i dont have, ebay purchase, no glue!) will allow 20 to 30 minutes to get the ribs on the covers straight. Anyone know what glue this is? I've used contact adhesive before, and you dont get a second chance.

Thanks
 
You might have to fill in those low spots with bondo or they will show up.Contact cement is what is commonly used.If they are a bit short you might warm them up in the sun.
 
3M rubber adhesive works wonderfully. It can be purchased at Grainger's. It is made specifically for bonding rubber to steel. About $15 a quart. Be certain to the wipe the back of the covers with lacquer thinner prior to gluing.
Fill the low spots in the boards with All- Metal. Be careful with any paints you may be thinking of applying. Often times the glue won't bond to paint.
 
I will be picking mine up from having the outer edge painted to match, and the rubber should be sprayed on the top this week will post before and after pictures.....:D
 
I have never done the boards on a 40 before and I assume that's what you have. I noted that the cover kits that Mac's here in the US sells, and they are more expensive than all the rest at $234 US (that don't mean they're better). I just think that something isn't right about having to smooth over your steel to get the rubbers on. The All-Metal that Kube mentioned is harder than regular polyester bondo. I think it has aluminum metal particle added as well to give it strength. I'm not sure about availability of it in the UK but there may be an equivalent.

The original covers may have been molded to fit the ribbs to keep it from slipping. The repro stuff is probably a far cry from the quality of the original.

I use a product called Pliobond that is a contact adheasive for de-icer boots for airplane wings but the 3M stuff is pretty close to the same. I just don't know if you can get it easily in the UK either.

Kerby
 
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If it gets very hot there,100 deg. or better,contact glue lets loose,I used rubber cement glue,still holding good after 5 yrs.
 
The original covers may have been molded to fit the ribbs to keep it from slipping. The repro stuff is probably a far cry from the quality of the original.

The original method of covering the boards was vulcanizing rather than covers. thus, any 'low' spots' were simply filled in with rubber.
I've used covers when a client wanted to save a few bucks. No matter ... they will never be as nice as a set of newly vulcanized boards. Hunley Acuff does work beyond reproach with these boards. every 'serious' car I've done has utilized his service.
 
Here is a good example of filling the voids with rubber, look close and you can see the light in a spot where a tool box rested years ago. No glue no parts just Line-X. UV Coated so it wont fade and guaranteed, I can only mess up the outside edge.
 

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I have done several sets of runningboards with good success. The low spots on the original boards is to be filled with bondo. DO NOT try to glue the rubber unless the boards are "Bare Metal". (sandblasted) Contact cement does not stick to primer or paint worth a darn. Glue 2 inch strips and let it sit a day before you apply the next 2 inches. Start at the outside edges first. Go slowly. Don't rush. If you don't fill the original indentations on the boards, they will show through when the rubber is applied. It looks bad. When they vulcanized the rubber at the factory, they used a mold to apply the rubber and the low spots were filled in with rubber with pressure in the mold. The new rubber needs the low spots filled since we can't use the vulcanizing process. When you do the ends, after the tops are glued on, cut the flanges so that they fit on the ends. They will be hidden when the fenders are bolted on. I found that using stips of wood and C-clamps to hold the flanges down while the glue set up worked well. Good luck.
 
Thanks everyone,

Kube, i thought that's how they were made due to the different thickness' when I stripped them. Does Hunley Acuff do them this way? And how much? Does he need boards to start with as shipping may add up. I know Spadaro does them like this, but at a grand a pop, my pockets just aren't that deep.

Chris, you said thay had to be blasted, bare steel, o.k, but will the glue be o.k with bondo? 3M is available over here, so that looks like the one. When you say start on the outside, do you mean the outer bottom edge and work in towards the rocker/mounting side?

Steel 35, looks like you had a rubber sprayed over stock boards with ribs stamped in them, 40 boards are completely different, so I don't think this would work. C

Cool idea tho.

Neil
 
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