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Filling grooves in floorpans?
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many408
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PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 3:27 am    Post subject: Filling grooves in floorpans? Reply with quote

My project is at the stage where I get to put the insides in.

The floorpans have a bunch of stiffening grooves in them, all different lengths and orientations. I think that these should be filled to create a flat-ish surface for the carpet underlay. Ideally the fill pieces could be glued to the underlay, so the whole thing will come up as one piece.

So far I have tried cutting narrow strips of 1/8" rubber to build up a D shape, and pressing sugru [1] into the grooves. The first method is not even close to a good solution, the second is better but will be much more expensive and is VERY sticky to apply (but cures fine & peels off easily, which is what I want).

Has anyone done this/got a working method/materials?

[1] 2:5 mix of cornstarch and silicone I caulk.
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Derek Cobb
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PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 6:43 am    Post subject: Re: Filling grooves in floorpans? Reply with quote

Maybe some flat thin floor boards laid over the floor. I wouldn't try to fill the grooves with any sort of filler or goop. Anything you put in there will eventually fail and allow grit and moisture in. Removable carpets that can be easily pulled up to clean and maintain would be the longest lasting choice in my opinion. These floors have to endure a lot of abuse both from the road and from our shoes.
If you're dead set on filling them, I would try some sort of truck bedliner. You could mask the high parts so the lower recesses could get enough extra coats to fill them up to the same level.
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many408
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PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 5:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Filling grooves in floorpans? Reply with quote

I tried:

a) several strips of 1/8" rubber, widths such that laid on top of each other they approximate a D shape;

and

b) silicone squished into them - with a plastic wrap to allow release.

a) was not a good idea, too hard to get the strips just right and gluing them was a real pain as they would slide around on each other, ruining the D shape.

b) worked but was very messy and I quickly realized going to be expensive.

A friend suggested "Backer Rod" cut in half. This stuff is a construction gap-filler, basically a closed-cell foam tube, available in various diameters. I think 1" might just do fine, squishy enough to fit the different depths, hard enough that underlay won't sink, and I think I can lay them in and then put the underlay on them, with a bead of glue on each one.

And it's pretty cheap - especially when you get double by cutting it in half.
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Cali_Army_Guy
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 11:00 am    Post subject: Re: Filling grooves in floorpans? Reply with quote

Just curious what the point of filling them is. In my '66 I have dynamat on the floor pans, then carpet pad, then my carpet kit. It looks flat as can be. You can't see any unevenness in the carpet.
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TDCTDI
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 11:30 am    Post subject: Re: Filling grooves in floorpans? Reply with quote

Cut a piece of plywood in the shape of the floor, get a thin plastic bag & inject some "Great stuff" foam in the plastic bag, SEAL IT, lay it on the floor & press the plywood down over the top of it & place some weight on it & walk away for a couple of hours. If any leaks out, it will be messy, but that would be the easiest way I can think of to get something that conforms to the irregularities.
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c21darrel
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:49 pm    Post subject: Re: Filling grooves in floorpans? Reply with quote

Layered in Rattletrap strips, then full cover over the top of the strips with Rattletrap, then a layer of the aluminum paper backed jute insulation, then carpet. Like CaliArmyguy said, its not a big deal. The carpet will remove most of the impressions.
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