# Outdoor patio metal panel falling off



## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

Any idea how to adhere the aluminum panel to the wood substrate? The contractor tried contact cement and made a mess. I want to get this fixed for my sister without replacing the door.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*not enough to go on ....*

What aluminum panel, what substrate, what door? What's is this project? You know aluminum moves at a completely different rate than wood, so that may be part of the problem. Exposed to sunlight? Temperature extremes? etc....


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## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

The panel is the aluminum sill cladding on the bottom :thumbsup outside of an Anderson sliding door. The substrate is wood. :crying2:


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

Take it off and use on another project. Then paint the area with alloy paint.
If you must retain the panel, then screw with stainless screws and make the holes slightly over size to allow expansion.
Me, I would use some mirror screws.
johnep


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Contact cement would be a great adhesive for that if it wasn't exterior. The cement ages prematurely from the heat of the sun even though some of it is rated for exterior use now. 

From what I can see in the picture the contractor was an idiot didn't have a clue on how to work contact cement. Like anything paint related you must mask off areas not to be glued so there shouldn't have been a mess. Anyway the cement is really better sprayed or rolled. Brushing it the cement tends to either go on too thin or glob. Either would have prevented the cement from adhering well. 

Another thing, aluminum oxidizes which makes an oily substance on the surface so it should be cleaned off with lacquer thinner or acetone prior to using any adhesive. 

Even though it would be a lot more work I would be inclined to use a two part epoxy for the adhesive.


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## rubberduck (Jun 24, 2014)

Is the door rotten ? I can't understand why you need/want to cover a wooden door with aluminium.


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## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

rubberduck said:


> Is the door rotten ? I can't understand why you need/want to cover a wooden door with aluminium.


The sliding doors are aluminum clad on the exterior and stained oak ceiling n the interior. So called maintenance free.


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## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

Steve Neul said:


> Contact cement would be a great adhesive for that if it wasn't exterior. The cement ages prematurely from the heat of the sun even though some of it is rated for exterior use now.
> 
> From what I can see in the picture the contractor was an idiot didn't have a clue on how to work contact cement. Like anything paint related you must mask off areas not to be glued so there shouldn't have been a mess. Anyway the cement is really better sprayed or rolled. Brushing it the cement tends to either go on too thin or glob. Either would have prevented the cement from adhering well.
> 
> ...


You are right. The contractor didn't have a clue and now tells my sister the doors need to be replaced.
I like your ideas. Next time I head to her house I'll pull off the entire panel, try to clean off the old contact cement he used, and use a two part epoxy to reattach the panel. Adding a bead of caulk at the top should keep the water out and act as a wood filler for the top seam.
Thanks. Didn't think ok epoxy.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Most of the epoxy you find today is the fast set epoxy. If you work fast and perhaps have some help mixing it you could use the 5 min set epoxy. Once you get the panel on there you could tape the edges down to hold the metal in place. Then use your hand or a J-Roller to work down the middle. Should be within five minutes from the time you started mixing glue you could walk away from it and let the glue cure. It's just a lot of glue to mixed up and get the metal on there before it sets up. The slow set would be easier to work but you would have to come back from time to time for hours and roll the bubbles out.


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