Best way to stick aluminum to fiberglass?

[cnc]

The less marks you put in the finished surface the less you will have to wet sand and buff to get it out. An ounce of Prevention is worth a a pound of cure, so I would use the tape for the reason Steve stated.

[dmyers]

In this case tape wont help much
I have tried it.
when you take a hammer to the edge you are going to put a shitload of little dents in it.
if you have a hand break some times you can just fold the edge down with that but it only works in strait lines
Don't worry about it. Aluminum is super easy to sand and buff

I made this cover out of aluminum sheet as I described

[Monkeyman]

Perhaps this is a bigger task than I envisioned. Maybe I'll just find some black lexan/plexi and cut it to fit. Must be easier. I'm getting tired of working on the bike anyway.

[dmyers]

Lol

[Monkeyman]

The spots I need to cover aren't that big. I'd like it to look good but like I said, I'm getting tired of working on the bike. It'll never be a show bike so I'll just come up with an easier alternative (maybe just a piece of plastic sheeting cut/glued around the area) for now and use the sheet of aluminum for something else that matters more. Before it gets painted, I'll probably try to find someone who can do some plastic welding and see if they can't fill in the holes the right way. If not (I know plastic welding isn't easy), I'll think about covering things the right way then. Time to move on to other things before I ditch the entire project.

[dmyers]

another thing you mite do is paint the cover pieces
you can get nice results with a spray can

[rewindgy]

I'd make the plexiglass / plastic back pieces slightly larger so they look like a spacer / molding then paint them black with "paintable rock guard". Note- must be the paintable type! The complete dash plastic panel was missing off my 1982 Yamaha Vision fairing project and the side pieces were pebbled plastic - so I got a piece of plastic from Home Depot - cut it to size - drilled the mounting holes and blew the rock guard on. / took me a couple of tries to get the right distance from part to get the texture I wanted - but now most people can't even tell it's not factory! Glued a Yamaha emblem in the center and bob's your uncle! Or, maybe make your adapter plate from plastic and attach it and paint the whole Radio pod with rock guard? Practice first on something to get a texture you like!
Just a thought?

[jestephens]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

3M tape. Hmmm...for some reason, I never thought of that. Duh, to me. What would happen to the fiberglass if I ever tried to remove it? I can remove emblems stuck to metal all day long without damaging the metal but fiberglass?

To remove the tape, some patient work and "Goo Gone" citrus adhesive remover will get it done without damaging the fiberglass.

[dmyers]

I normaly use a putty spreader to remove emblems.
Just about any piece of flexible plastic will work.
You can also use high test fishing line put it between the emblem and surface and saw it back and forth and you will cut the tape into.
Then use 3M adhesive remover or just about any piece solvent and clean the serfice. run your thumb across the glue and roll most of it off first

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by dmyers

another thing you mite do is paint the cover pieces
you can get nice results with a spray can

The radio pod will get painted to match whatever color I end up with on the bike next year.

Originally Posted by rewindgy

I'd make the plexiglass / plastic back pieces slightly larger so they look like a spacer / molding then paint them black with "paintable rock guard". Or, maybe make your adapter plate from plastic and attach it and paint the whole Radio pod with rock guard? Practice first on something to get a texture you like!
Just a thought?

There's no "adapter plate" so to speak. I'll post a pic of what I'm talking about. I have holes from the original speaker covers that need to be covered and I trimmed a bit too much (especially under the stereo) so that needs to be covered.

Originally Posted by jestephens

To remove the tape, some patient work and "Goo Gone" citrus adhesive remover will get it done without damaging the fiberglass.

Originally Posted by dmyers

I normaly use a putty spreader to remove emblems.
Just about any piece of flexible plastic will work.
You can also use high test fishing line put it between the emblem and surface and saw it back and forth and you will cut the tape into.
Then use 3M adhesive remover or just about any piece solvent and clean the serfice. run your thumb across the glue and roll most of it off first

I've always used fishing line (or waxed dental floss) to remove emblems. I just wasn't sure if peeling tape off a piece of 20 year old fiberglass would end up peeling some of the fiberglass with it. It'll all have to come back off next winter for paint. Will the fiberglass be ok with the paint solvent? Or do they make a special solvent for fiberglass?

Rewindgy --- Here's a pic. You can see the holes around the speakers and under the stereo face.

[dmyers]

Adhesive remover won't
i would get another gauge to plug the hole it moment even have to work .
No one will know if you don't tell them

[dmyers]

For the holes around the speakers tell me what size you need and i will make you a cover piece for them. we do it all the time at work

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by dmyers

Adhesive remover won't
i would get another gauge to plug the hole it moment even have to work .
No one will know if you don't tell them

The hole for the gauge has been filled by a gauge. I even drilled another hole next to it for a 2nd gauge (and a third on the other side). The only problem areas (worth fixing) are around the speakers and around the stereo.

Originally Posted by dmyers

For the holes around the speakers tell me what size you need and i will make you a cover piece for them. we do it all the time at work

I'll PM you.

[dmyers]

When building covers to hide stuff either make it blend in
or make it look like its supposed to be that way(make it stand out)
Use some nice cap screws like you have around the radio but stainless
sometimes its alot easyer to make it stand out than try to hide it.
im prity sure you can go to a stereo shop and they have those rings to down size a speaker hole

[ringadingh]

Originally Posted by dmyers

When building covers to hide stuff either make it blend in
or make it look like its supposed to be that way(make it stand out)
Use some nice cap screws like you have around the radio but stainless
sometimes its alot easyer to make it stand out than try to hide it.
im prity sure you can go to a stereo shop and they have those rings to down size a speaker hole

Those are good ideas.