Cabinet T-Moulding "Shrinkage" Repair

[Jeffrey Lee]

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Camp Westfalia
Camping Tips • Newsletter • Cool Campervan Apparel
www.CampWestfalia.com

[65Tops]

Wow. I never thought this post from 5 years ago would surface from the bowels of The Samba. I just went and checked and all but one of the T moldings has stayed put and not re-shrunk. The one that did shrink was the one I forgot to glue.

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89 Vanagon 2.1 WBX Westy Camper "Spanky"

[Chestercopperpot]

Never cut yourself short, that's surely going to leave a mark!!

Does the stretching lead to long term white stretch marks?

One way to fix them would be to strategically use a pin nailer; but one wonders if 30 year old plastic has enough unstretch to fight it-any adhesive that holds between old plastic and dirty van is new to me.

[Sodo]

Can you heat it and massage it back where it belongs without pulling it out of the T-slot?

Probably not this one...

Very thankful to see this thread!!!
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[65Tops]

[dobryan]

Nope. Gently pull it all out of the slot. It has shrunk proportionally along its length and needs to be stretched back the same way.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

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[Sodo]

I saw where someone was selling little 'plugs' to extend the ends, and was dreading that option.

Very excited there's a clean & proper method to fix this blemish!

Did Westfalia glue it in? I wonder if the pin-nailer scheme will work.

Also it seems prudent to measure the lengths that you need to stretch it before pulling it out.
So if it's 10mm short on each end, then when you have it out, you stretch it 20mm longer
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[65Tops]

[jimf909]

Sodo, here's my cupholder (made from the end of a table...the rest of the table was used to make a closet door) with a similar situation as yours. Pull it out to where it is still in the slot, i.e. no need to remove it entirely, heat it up, stretch and reinsert it. I believe some glue will help hold it in place (see my post above for suggested construction adhesive). Westfalia may have used adhesive but it may have lost grip (I'm guessing they didn't and just expected the moulding to stay in place - most of their work has held up pretty well).

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- Jim

[jimf909]

[johnt55]

A few "power tips" about doing this repair.

1. Use the heat gun as little as possible! Never point the heat gun at one spot for more than a second. Doesn't take much to actually melt or set the rubber on fire!
2. Use a clamp or Vise grips to grab either end of the inner tab strip that goes into the table's notch so you don't mar the outer edge.
3. After clamping, hang the strip from a garage ceiling joist with a weight, (1-3 pounds) clamped at the bottom end while you carefully heat the entire rubber strip.
4. Note the amount of stretch, (measure from the floor to the bottom of the strip) you'll need after the strip has cooled because it will shrink back slightly.
5. Take your time.
6. You can also, (carefully) restore the rubber strip to its original shiny surface by very slowly passing the heat over the outer surface. This very slightly softens/melts the worn outer surface and it will shine again. Only do this if it's that important to you. Not worth making a mistake!
7. When heating the rubber edging in order to stretch it, always point the heat gun at the BACK SIDE of the rubber strip. This way, if you accidentally overheat the strip, (easy to do!) the deformation should be hidden from view.
8. I used Gorilla glue, but remember that Gorilla glue expands as it dries. So, watch it carefully so you can remove the excess as needed. (I'm sure there are better glues, but that's what I had on the shelf).
9. Use a sharp box cutter or other very sharp edge to slice the rubber straight across after you've fit the rubber strip back into the table slot.
10. I used protective wooden blocks, (to reduce damaging the soft rubber outer surface) and clamps, but I'm sure wooden blocks wrapped tightly with light ropes will do the job. Without the protective blocks, your clamps or rope may damage the rubber as the glue sets.
11. Pay particular attention to the area an inch or two on either side of the table corners. This is where the rubber strip will most likely try to pull away from the table top while drying. Avoid clamping the corners.
12. Let it all dry overnight before removing the clamps/ropes. (You can wait that long!)
13. Admire your work!
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81' AC Westy

[dgbeatty]

In the past I have purchased the trim in bulk and then like fine whiskey have aged it. I usually cut it into 3 meter lengths. Using a wide board with slots made from strips of place the new trim pieces one per slot. The contraption is then placed in the attic for a couple of three years to age ie shrink during the hot hot Sacramento summers.
When installing i glue them into place using an adhesive that does not creep under tension and heat ie is not plastic. If the area is not visible i anchor the ends with monel staples.

Most importantly I save any removed pieces to be reused in areas that only need a shorter piece. Tip, if you scrub the old trim with a medium or fine Scotch Brite and BarKeepers Friend they look like new.

Keeping the inside trim around the doors and drawers tight tends to be more troublesome for me personally.
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Schau in das Buch

[jimf909]

^^^I'd like to visit your attic. It seems there may be other interesting works in progress up there.
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- Jim

[Sodo]

Wonder where dgbeatty's aged/shrunken T-molding stash went.
Sure wish I could ask him...
He's probably trying to guide us to it but can't log on.

Where is a good place to get ~8 feet of gray T-moulding?
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[jlrftype7]

[MsTaboo]

[E1]

I haven’t read the whole thread but do want to stretch our molding.

My evil plan is to boil water, coil the molding into it, put on Nomex cooking gloves, stretch and measure, repeat longer in the water until at least a half-inch too long, force into length in the channel, glue after shrinkage and once the right length.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[Synergy Solutions]

Another heating trick (eric) if you’re in a campground, is boil some water. Drop the vinyl in the water for 2 minutes, stretch it to fit, dry, then glue.

No heat gun needed if you dont want to risk the heat spots or dont have the $20 harbor freight heat gun…

I often use painters tape to hold it in place for 24 hours too…
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Im a Mobile Aircooled VW mechanic, and work on old and new cars alike. Specialty in Camper busses/Vans, TDI, and FI diagnosis and repair.

(206) 841 7324

[Sodo]

GoWesty's option is $75 for 25 feet.
Looks like the real thing.
I need about 6.5 feet - anyone have 6.5ft for sale?
Or a wrecked 'large Westy table'? That's 8 feet.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[Synergy Solutions]