Floorboard fiberglass

[87manche]

So, I pulled the nasty rubber floor out of the MJ. After the torrential rains last week it had gotten wet. Door seal leaked.
Amazingly the floorboards are in really good shape, and seem to have some sort of tar sealant applied. I suspect it it was done when the truck was repainted. I scraped some off and the metal is in excellent shape, so I'm not going to clean this all off. I was thinking about just fiberglassing over it, then herculining over that.
I figure not only would the fiberglass be pretty impervious to most anything it should also offer some noise/heat insulation. Especially combined with the layer of undercoating/tar that's on the metal right now.
Discuss.

 

[beakie]

Although I have absolutely no epxerience with this, I would suspect your not going to get a good seal between the fiberglass and the original floor.
If I understand you correctly your going to lay fiber over the existing floor (not sure how many layers to what thickness tho) and once that has cured you'd herculiner over that? Correct?
So I think the fiber would not adhere very well to the metal floor (if the rust protectant is on the inside even less to adhere too) so there would be a gap between the fiber floor and the orig one. Any gap would allow water, or whatever in there and could cause problems in future.
If your floor is in good shape right now, as it should be if this protectant has been applied so liberally for so long, I would think leaving it would not do any harm, why remove any at all?

Maybe let your carpet dry, and put it back. If your set on removing it, then put down the herc liner on the floor as is, if the rustoleum is on the bottom (outside) of the floor. If its on the inside of the MJ... well I have no idea what to do there.

 

[87manche]

the tar like substance is on the inside
Rubber floor was hosed anyway
I would be sure to wet the fiberglass properly and it will seal to the floor.
I was thinking that fiberglass matt would give me a good surface to herc too and help to sound deaden the interior a bit.

 

[MrShaft696]

I dont think the glass is gonna work out real well, especially since its alot of area to cover. If water gets under it then your stuck, also over time its gonna move around from being stomped and probably crack.

 

[87manche]

I don't see how it will move around. I'm going to be wetting it with resin to the existing floor.
Area does not concern me, I've used fiberglass in much bigger areas

 

[beakie]

I don't see how it will move around. I'm going to be wetting it with resin to the existing floor.
Area does not concern me, I've used fiberglass in much bigger areas

Again I still don't think this will adhere all that well. Even with wetting it properly, the chances the whole project will stick to the existing floor would be a concern for me (granted it is an MJ not an XJ). However if you have experience with this type of thing your ahead of me so this is not gospel. I think any offroad, or even DD road bumps would over time cause any little spot that didn't seal well to grow, and grow, and leave that vulnerable area where water, dirt and grime can get in and really bugar things up.
IMO, again if you've done this type of thing before your pro compared to me.

 

[Pelican]

If you were going to remove the "tar", there is no inherent reason that the fiberglass will not adhere permanently to the metal pan if properly applied with epoxy. I "temporarily" fiberglassed all of my gas tank (with several pin holes) that I could reach eight years ago, with one layer of glass and resin thickened a bit with silica gel to help keep it from running off before initial cure. I am not sure if I used West System or Bondo Marine epoxy -- I've used both on similar projects. No delamination whatsoever. (I am going to finally replace the tank because I assume that it is rusting on the inside even if it isn't leaking.) I did the deck on my ancient lawnmower in a similar fashion some years ago. It sits outside year round and is subject to some god-awful vibration and again, no problems.

However, since you are not planning to remove the tar, it is at least questionable whether the epoxy will effectively adhere to the pan where the tar remains. You are probably going to create a waterproof bowl or liner and I would think that it would work for your purposes provided that you cleaned an area around the "rim" of the pan where the epoxy could properly adhere. This would keep moisture from getting between the liner and the metal pan.

Just a couple of thoughts: Seems like both herculining AND fiberglassing is a bit of overkill since either properly done would achieve the desired effect. Also I'm not sure you'll get a lot of sound deadening with fiberglass.

Let us know how your project turns out.

 

[87manche]

If you were going to remove the "tar", there is no inherent reason that the fiberglass will not adhere permanently to the metal pan if properly applied with epoxy. I "temporarily" fiberglassed all of my gas tank (with several pin holes) that I could reach eight years ago, with one layer of glass and resin thickened a bit with silica gel to help keep it from running off before initial cure. I am not sure if I used West System or Bondo Marine epoxy -- I've used both on similar projects. No delamination whatsoever. (I am going to finally replace the tank because I assume that it is rusting on the inside even if it isn't leaking.) I did the deck on my ancient lawnmower in a similar fashion some years ago. It sits outside year round and is subject to some god-awful vibration and again, no problems.

However, since you are not planning to remove the tar, it is at least questionable whether the epoxy will effectively adhere to the pan where the tar remains. You are probably going to create a waterproof bowl or liner and I would think that it would work for your purposes provided that you cleaned an area around the "rim" of the pan where the epoxy could properly adhere. This would keep moisture from getting between the liner and the metal pan.

Just a couple of thoughts: Seems like both herculining AND fiberglassing is a bit of overkill since either properly done would achieve the desired effect. Also I'm not sure you'll get a lot of sound deadening with fiberglass.

Let us know how your project turns out.

I like overkill. I was only going to do the "tubs" of the floorboard. I was thinking that the fiberglass may provide some sound deadening because the metal would not vibrate.
I don't know, I was pondering.
Maybe I'll try it, nothing a flapper wheel can't fix if I F it up.

 

[Nevada City Sparky]

Here's what I'm planning to do:

1. Add additional sound deadeners (those tar like sheets on the bottom)

2. Lay down insulation pad like this: http://www.coolandquiet.com/products_detail.cfm?PID=1

3. Lay down new rubber floor mat

4. Cut out drainholes and put in bilge plugs (marine)

I may add a layer of Bitchuthane (thick self adhesive rubber product used for outside basement walls) between the rubber floor mat and the padding to REALLY make sure its water tight.

Living in California, I'm not too concerned about rust under the padding.