Installing running board rubbers

[MikeB]

Hi all

I have sourced some reproduction running board rubbers for my P2 and intend to fit them in the next few weeks, although this seems to be straight forward, IE remove old rubber clean everything, cut to length and glue on new ones, I suspect that there will be some knacks to doing this job, one question I have is do the running boards come off easily so the rubber can be fixed to the boards then replaced ? or is it a case of replace them in situ ?

if anybody done this before any advise to get it right first time would be appreciated

Have a happy new year

Regards

Mike

[luli]

Actually you don't need to glue it, and hopefully the old one is not glued either. The operation is described here, step by step: http://wp.me/pXLKy-1kd
Other links: http://wp.me/pXLKy-1l8 http://wp.me/pXLKy-1lw

[dhbuchanan]

Having seen running-board rubbers which have become a little "baggy" in time, sometimes showing an unattractive blister-like effect, I'd be happier glueing them down. If doing it for the first time, the best adhesive to use is Alpha Thixofix S1470 contact adhesive which doesn't "grab" quite so quickly and finally as S708/AF170 or the general purpose S758/AF 176. Wipe the backs of the rubbers first with thinners to get rid of the waxiness of the mould release agent and lightly abrade before applying the glue. Plan the positioning carefully in advance and use a decent-sized brush- they're cheap enough these days. Make sure the glued surfaces are on the dry side of tacky before offering up, and avoid blobs of wet glue.
If high temperatures in use are a concern, try S1358/AF178, brush applied. The aerosol adhesives, both standard and high heat resistant, are not man enough for the heavy rubber mouldings.
All these adhesives are available from Woolies.

[MikeB]

Hi

Thanks for the information and links, I have discovered that the running boards are made of wood rather than metal although a good job has been done, looking at the links that Luli sent I can see how the rubbers are fixed to the boards, I have detached the wooden boards from the car and can see that they have been made so one piece can be removed to allow the rubber to be clamped underneath it then screwed back on again as with the steel ones,once it is clamped and then stretched over the rest of the board I will be adding some adhesive just to make sure the rubbers stay flat and tight and also screw the other end down also

Thanks for taking the time to reply and the advice

Mike

[David Bliss]

I have noticed, over the years, that when people have put rubber on their running boards there have been some issues with bubbling of the rubber. Some of this is because they have not covered the metal completely or haven't got good adhesion so when the car is stood in the sun the heat causes expansion of trapped air or of gasses given off by the adhesive. I have seen more of a problem when the rubber is put onto wood, I can only assume that this is because wood is porous and when stood in the sun the heat causes air or dampness in the wood to create blistering. Occasionally, if left, the rubber will flatten again and be OK until the car has gone through the winter and then gets hot again when out in the sun the next year. This is, of course, disappointing so when I needed to do a full running board re-rubber three years ago I decided not to use the recommended two part adhesive, I would rather use the old, well tested Evostick. Of course, as it is a contact adhesive, you have to get it right first time. The important thing is to get a good even coat on both parts and you must not stretch the rubber in any way. (I have noticed when removing old rubber that if there has been a good coat of adhesive underneath this seems to have inhibited corrosion.) I coated the non-absorbent part first and then did the rubber, I did not leave it long enough to get really touch dry on both parts so I started almost immediately to put the rubber in position. Staring from one end, with someone else holding the rest up, I carefully worked along taking care not to trap any air in the process. My car has an all-metal flat running board, when I got the original off the car I found that it was pricked with small holes and that a number of the spot welds had de-laminated so I got new ones made, as there was little difference in cost I had these done in stainless and had the surface lightly grit blasted to give a key for the adhesive. I chose stainless since modern sheet metal has a regrettable tendency to rot - I doubt it would last 90 years as the original ones had done. If anyone would like some photos I can send them ( my email is shinglefarm@shinglefarm.plus.com ).