Morris Minor Owners Club

While many (??) of you will be impatiently waiting for the great long ramble that will be part 2 of this saga, I thought I'd throw in one or two "wee bitties" about fings wot I is doin' at the mo'!
While the wood on the Traveller is extremely good considering "the Beastie" is 53 years old, as one would ( sorry!) expect, there are one or two small niggles that need sorting out for my satisfaction if for no-one else's!! I don't intend to go along the path of bleaching the wood to try to remove the (relatively few) black stains, as several reliable sources inform us that, as far as those on the timbers around the wheelarches, they emanate from "within" thanks to Morris's use of threaded bolt inserts so close to the outer surface of the timber, although, to be fair, they probably didn't really anticipate many, if any, of their Travellers still being around half a decade and more on!
My woodwork issues are more to do with one or two of the joints opening up a wee bit.[frame][/frame]
The picture above shows the worst, and it is on the driver's side wheelarch ( providing it has uploaded ok! Not too proficient at this yet!)
There were others as well that I thought would benefit from a little "infil" for both aesthetic and functional reasons; ie to stop water running in!
To this end I wanted a decent, waterproof filler that would fill, expand into and stick firmly to the pieces of wood . My intention was to make my own using that which purports to be both 100% waterproof and also the strongest glue in the world. I refer, of course, to Gorilla polyurethane adhesive which certainly sticks well and, when it comes into contact with moisture, expands because it foams up!
However, I wanted it to be at least a little bit "ash-coloured", so to this end I collected a little bag of ash dust as I sanded a couple of the interior panels.
That done, and the car's woodwork being well sanded down, I took a little of the Gorilla glue and mixed enough ash dust into it to make a thick paste. Using a hand sprayer , I squirted a little water onto the areas to be dealt with and, with an artists brush "persuaded" a little of the water into the cracks and seams. Using an old butter knife with a nice flexible blade, I then applied the paste and forced as far into the gaps and cracks as I could, and then left it for a day.
When I returned, the paste had hardened and could be seen to have expanded, as can be seen in the next picture, albeit of a different joint![frame][/frame]
Next step involved a VERY sharp chisel to pare the excess filler off and there fore minimise sanding. Next came the 120 grit aluminium oxide paper followed by the 180 grit ( always with the grain, of course!) and, if you are a perfectionist, on to the 240 grit.
The next picture features the original joint after this treatment[frame][/frame].
Once sanded, then the joints are ready for varnishing or whatever other treatment you have planned, but had I not done this, then I feel sure that water would have penetrated these gaps and that, of course, causes future problems as we all know.
Anyone have any other pet remedies?
I'm currently doing some work on the doors which naturally bear a few scars from use. I'll put on a wee article about those soon.
This last picture shows the joint with the first coat of Epifane's yacht varnish applied (I think!)
[frame][/frame]

wow
well done cant fault your work
excellent repair and will last a long time
keep posting those pics

As a new member ( not of the MMOC but of the site) and a new contributor, I really would appreciate a helping hand from some of you old-stagers. I think I've got the hang of adding more than a single photo to my ramblings ( though I probably do it in a rather roundabout way!), but right now, should I be adding this article to my first one on Minor woodwork issues, or am I correct in doing it as a new topic? If I should be adding to the last, how do I do it? Simply click "Edit" and get on with it? Some feedback and advice would be both useful and appreciated..Anyway, here goes for now.
As I'm keeping the 53 year-old wood on my Traveller, I want to keep the original doors also but, by the very nature of them being doors, they get some wear and tear and sustain some minor injuries.
One fault that mine had was that the top of one of them, while being fine on the outside, and got a bit of damage and softness to the very top inner edge above the rebate. This therefore didn't give a nice "clean" line, even when sanded and planed a wee bit. I could have planed and sanded some more, but I would have had to remove about 4 mm off the top of the door, and would then have had to do the same on the other door to even them up.[frame][/frame]
The photo shows the scabby bit, and as you can see, it's been marked out ready for cutting out with a VERY sharp chisel.
The next picture shows the wood removed[frame][/frame]
I had plenty of ash available, but my stuff was newer and possibly of a different origin, so I decided to use wood from an old inside Traveller panel; the one that fits on the inside of the B posts, as it would match in age and colour ( I hoped) and the panel had been damaged anyway when it had holes drilled through it for seatbelt mounts. Having planed to faces approx square, I then cut a strip approx 5mm square and a bit longer than I needed. I then carefully trimmed the ends and, having ensured a good fit, spread Gorilla polyurethane on the two planed faces and sprayed a wee bit of water into the cavity where it was to go. Then came clamping time! To parody Dave McCullough's catchphrase......So many clamps, so little space![frame][/frame]
Twenty four hours or so later, I removed the clamps and carefully, using my wee plane and then sandpaper, I removed the excess wood until I could feel nothing with my fingers and my eyes shut! A nice, smooth surface on both edges!
I didn't really get a very good grain match, and I wasn't too pleased with the colour, so I tinted the infil a wee bit with Sikkens Cetol "Light Oak". Still not perfect, but an improvement![frame][/frame]. Another wee "door flaw" that I sorted out today was done in a similar way. There was a bit gouged out of the centre upright on the d/s door close to the handle which was black stained and several mm deep and almost one cm, square. It had to go. The remedy was carried out in a similar fashion with sharp chisels, glue and a wee piece of the same timber panel. This time the color and grain match was a wee bittie better.
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
Hope you agree it's an improvement!?
Still got other remedies to carry out yet! How long does it take before I can actually varnish the doors and replace the glass and the newly painted Old English White panels!!??

Which is the best type of wood glue to use for this type of repair?

Thanks

Hi.
I've been using Gorilla Multi Purpose Glue, the Polyurethane type. It's not cheap, but one of the great things about it, apart from it being ( the manufacturer's claim!) the strongest glue on planet Earth and 100% waterproof, it expands on contact with a wee bit of moisture ( hence I dampen one of the surfaces being joined) and therefore fills any gaps. You'll find it on eBay, or at a good hardware store. It will bond a multitude of different surfaces and materials, and leaves lovely marks on your hands, so maybe the wee disposable gloves are a good idea?
Good luck.
Ian

Ian, thanks for information. Gorilla Glue have a very good website

I've just done the same thing, using pu glue to seal the small gap between the waist rail and the rear pillar.
I also used blue masking tape either sides of the gap prior to filling it with the glue. That way when it foamed up it didn't spread too much and didn't require as much sanding. After varnishing it you can't see it, and there is now no gap to let water in.

Coalmossian wrote:Hi.
I've been using Gorilla Multi Purpose Glue, the Polyurethane type. It's not cheap, but one of the great things about it, apart from it being ( the manufacturer's claim!) the strongest glue on planet Earth and 100% waterproof, it expands on contact with a wee bit of moisture ( hence I dampen one of the surfaces being joined) and therefore fills any gaps. You'll find it on eBay, or at a good hardware store. It will bond a multitude of different surfaces and materials, and leaves lovely marks on your hands, so maybe the wee disposable gloves are a good idea?
Good luck.
Ian

hi thanks for the tip on the glue