Basil Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 trialsrider - 2020-05-19 6:17 AM Also when I offered up the bracket to the panel to See the curvature of the roof it really is quite curved. The panel rests perfectly over 5 corrugations but the middle one will literally not have any gap at all between bracket and roof for the adhesive. Could I screw at a later opportunity ? I was thinking I could let it go off then use self tappers. Remove screws and put sikaflex onto thread and into holes and screw down. Obviously if time is on my side I would do it all in one hit. I can't put the panel transversely due to me working alone. It is far easier to work from one side alone. I'd seriously suggest you look at Rivnuts to fix to your roof bodywork, they are extremely secure (much more so than self tappers) and are not expensive at all, even the installation tool is inexpensive. You can install them needing only three to each aero bracket which will enable you to secure your panel allowing the curvature of your roof to have no effect on your panel but will ensure total securing. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 Well I riveted the panel to the bracket. I used 10 x 4mm rivets on each bracket. I've now bonded brackets to roof with sikaflex 292 I. I was running out of time on the roof as the tooling of sikaflex took a while. So I didn't have time to screw down the brackets too. 40 minutes passed too quickly. I think I'm going to let it go off over the next few days and then fit the screws. I am going to fit 5 stainless 4.2 mm wide flange head self tappers on each bracket. One for each corrugation. I'm planning on drilling a 4.5mm hole in bracket to get screw in then a 3mm hole through the sikaflex and roof panel for screw to tap through. Im going to put sikaflex down hole after drilling and cover screw thread too. Does this sound ok ? I've attached a photo of how it looks so far. End caps and cable routing still to be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Well I decided to screw them down. Used 10 screws in total. Used 4.2mm screw into 2.5mm hole in roof. 4.5mm hole in bracket. Squeezed extra sikaflex in to hole and all over screw before final fit of each screw. Feel a lot more confident about the panel on the roof now. I was surprised that the sikaflex 292 i was still very sticky when drilling through despite being left to cure for 48 hours. The edges have gone off but not the inside. I note on the A&N solar page he says cure time can be very extended in dry periods. I'm wondering how long it could take? I wasn't planning to drive it till Saturday anyway which would be 6 days cure time. No rain is forecast for ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 You’ll see from the “CURE MECHANISM” graph on this link https://gbr.sika.com/dms/getdocument.get/2c4a06be-c191-4746-b23a-3a7039659096/sikaflex_-291i.pdf that the thicker the ‘layer’ of the adhesive (and the lower the temperature) the longer the cure time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Derek Uzzell - 2020-05-27 9:40 AM You’ll see from the “CURE MECHANISM” graph on this link https://gbr.sika.com/dms/getdocument.get/2c4a06be-c191-4746-b23a-3a7039659096/sikaflex_-291i.pdf that the thicker the ‘layer’ of the adhesive (and the lower the temperature) the longer the cure time. Thanks for the info. I think I'll leave it 10 days for my own peace of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 trialsrider - 2020-05-27 9:34 AM I was surprised that the sikaflex 292 i was still very sticky when drilling through despite being left to cure for 48 hours. It's too late now but it's "best practise" to drill everything up, strip it down and clear away all the burrs and swarf, before you even think about showing it the sealant/adhesive.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsrider Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 pepe63 - 2020-05-27 1:24 PM trialsrider - 2020-05-27 9:34 AM I was surprised that the sikaflex 292 i was still very sticky when drilling through despite being left to cure for 48 hours. It's too late now but it's "best practise" to drill everything up, strip it down and clear away all the burrs and swarf, before you even think about showing it the sealant/adhesive.. I agree. Thankfully all the swarf from the bracket was left on top of the bracket and roof and promptly hoovered up. As far as I could see the majority of swarf from the steel roof was stuck to the drill bit with sikaflex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejkay Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 A not ideal solution would be to drill for or five holes, large enough for a screwdriver, through the upper curved part of the spoiler and corresponding smaller holes for the screws/bolts in the bottom flange. Won't look too pretty but it will be on the roof. I usually only see my roof when I'm on a ferry! Might be possible to find some plastic plugs for the top holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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