240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Moomoo]

Bless her!😂

[Othen]

A good outcome from a quiet Xmas day was that I won an eBay auction for a passenger side map pocket for only £8. The original one on the Barge is missing; there is no rush to replace it, which is just as well because the posties may take until Easter to deliver it .

There are two downsides, the first is that it has a crack (but is complete) in the normal place where people use their feet to hold the door open; the second is that it is black, rather than navy blue. Here is a close up of the crack from the back of the panel:



I was thinking of fixing this with a little piece of GRP, then filling any remailing cavity at the front with Miliput. It needs to be a bit stronger, but not too rigid because folk will probably continue using their feet as a doorstop against it. I rather suspect there will be others out there with experience of this repair, comments would be welcome.

I'd also appreciate comments on the colour, and how I might paint it:



... as you may see (this photo is from the ad), the panel is black, but the rest of the Brage's interior plastics are the navy blue colour, although there is considerable difference between the original colours as one may see from the centre console and the ashtray:



My first thought is that the black panel may not look all that out of place with the dark blue interior - so I may try just touching up the repair with some leather/vinyl paint. If that doesn't work out I could spray it, so here is my question: what sort of aerosol paint would stick to the plastic but remain flexible enough to not just fall off?



PS. Does anyone have experience of this product:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074KB3Q...5IVDJXT38&th=1

... from the rubric it sounds perfect to fix and fill the crack (although a slim GRP reinforcement to the back may be sensible as well). It is pretty inexpensive.

PPS. Or this product (also inexpensive):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221691715546?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc% 3A1CY33xQuURd-PfZYdRerYuA18&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=221691715546&targetid= 1647205089040&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=100665 3&poi=&campaignid=17206177401&mkgroupid=1368516906 55&rlsatarget=aud-1415330310908la-1647205089040&abcId=9300866&merchantid=7318434&gcl id=CjwKCAiAhqCdBhB0EiwAH8M_Gq5txuf3iu3uqncd_zhVPoa fHiA-aIziJdliKpXW6pHvQaNX6JwlWRoCoTgQAvD_BwE

PPPS. Bobwalking time (we are a little tardy this morn... no excuse, just me being lazy).

[Laird Scooby]

Ah, but which Easter Alan? 2024? The RM might just manage that at their present rate!

Both those adhesive products wouldn't really be ideal, the first "strong plastic glue" looks very similar to a Wilko product that i tried many moons ago on a similar door pocket.

The other is primarily for styrene plastics used in plastic models, tried it once about 40 years ago for model making and made a mess and ruined the model with it. Others had better results but still not realy strong enough for a door bin IMHO.

Recently i repaired a welding helmet strap and used some of this in 20 mesh flavour :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264395910...r=564019280340

I would suggest either a long strip ~1" wide or a series of short strips 1" x 1/2", plaed on the back of the crack, hold the bin together so the crack is closed and then using an old soldering iron, heat the mesh up and push it into the plastic of the bin then hold while it cools. Excess plastic displaced can be used to smooth over the repair with judicious use of the iron to melt and smooth it. A final coat of Milliput can be used to cover it inside and make it smooth and perhaps on the visible side of the pocket too.

Talking of visibility, i would then do one of two things.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122424262...r=423146901279

Use that in the correct (or nearest) shade of blue with the Satin finisher/sealer, heres a couple of pics from when i used it to recolour some leather panels that were beige :





Start and finish pics, the Satin finish takes the sheen off the paint that has a tendency to make it look glossy until the finisher/sealer goes on.

Alternatively use some plastic primer aerosol paint followed by the closest colour of spray paint or see how it looks in the black - would that fit with the ethos of the Barge?

[Bob Meadows]

Volvo 240 Door Pockets:~
I completed a write up on these a few years back but it seems to have escaped as I cant find it.

Aluminium angle approximately 14mm: Anodised looks good as it matches the other door trim (88' 240)
Cut the sections to fit under the top lip on the pocked- hold down with double sided tape.
The tape doesn't like this plastic (oily) so will eventually reject it.
Better to screw through the trim into the aluminium section with small stainless self tapping screws- round head & flanged- then paint the heads black.(nip the sharp end off if the screws protrude)

The pockets become extremely strong withstanding normal door knocks or pressure when working on the car etc.
The very frail plastic sides are far less vulnerable

You just see a thinnish line of trim that matches the original.
Hope it helps.
Regards Bob.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Ah, but which Easter Alan? 2024? The RM might just manage that at their present rate!

Both those adhesive products wouldn't really be ideal, the first "strong plastic glue" looks very similar to a Wilko product that i tried many moons ago on a similar door pocket.

The other is primarily for styrene plastics used in plastic models, tried it once about 40 years ago for model making and made a mess and ruined the model with it. Others had better results but still not realy strong enough for a door bin IMHO.

Recently i repaired a welding helmet strap and used some of this in 20 mesh flavour :

I would suggest either a long strip ~1" wide or a series of short strips 1" x 1/2", plaed on the back of the crack, hold the bin together so the crack is closed and then using an old soldering iron, heat the mesh up and push it into the plastic of the bin then hold while it cools. Excess plastic displaced can be used to smooth over the repair with judicious use of the iron to melt and smooth it. A final coat of Milliput can be used to cover it inside and make it smooth and perhaps on the visible side of the pocket too.

Talking of visibility, i would then do one of two things.

Use that in the correct (or nearest) shade of blue with the Satin finisher/sealer, heres a couple of pics from when i used it to recolour some leather panels that were beige :

Start and finish pics, the Satin finish takes the sheen off the paint that has a tendency to make it look glossy until the finisher/sealer goes on.

Alternatively use some plastic primer aerosol paint followed by the closest colour of spray paint or see how it looks in the black - would that fit with the ethos of the Barge?

Originally Posted by Bob Meadows

Volvo 240 Door Pockets:~
I completed a write up on these a few years back but it seems to have escaped as I cant find it.

Aluminium angle approximately 14mm: Anodised looks good as it matches the other door trim (88' 240)
Cut the sections to fit under the top lip on the pocked- hold down with double sided tape.
The tape doesn't like this plastic (oily) so will eventually reject it.
Better to screw through the trim into the aluminium section with small stainless self tapping screws- round head & flanged- then paint the heads black.(nip the sharp end off if the screws protrude)

The pockets become extremely strong withstanding normal door knocks or pressure when working on the car etc.
The very frail plastic sides are far less vulnerable

You just see a thinnish line of trim that matches the original.
Hope it helps.
Regards Bob.

Thank you Dave and Bob, those were some good ideas.

I'm not so keen on melting in SS mesh Dave, I think the chance of the heat distorting the plastic is rather too great. I like the Meccano strips though Bob, I may try that with some VHB tape to see if that adheres, and if not use very short self-tapping screws as you suggest.

The vinyl paint is an excellent idea Dave - I've used it many times on leather, vinyl cloth and rubber, always with first class results. I find it is by far best to apply it with a sponge rather than a brush. It isn't that expensive and the navy blue colour looks like it might be a good match. I think having a look at the black panel to see if it looks out of place in the Barge would be the best idea in the first instance.

Many thanks chaps,

[Bob Meadows]

Alan:~
I tried various brands of tape to include the VHB one: cleaned the plastic forever but the thing eventually moved (fine on the aluminium though)
Tape & Tappers are the best bet I think, the screw heads aren't that noticeable.

From memory the original post had pictures of the finished items.
Regards Bob.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Thank you Dave and Bob, those were some good ideas.

I'm not so keen on melting in SS mesh Dave, I think the chance of the heat distorting the plastic is rather too great. I like the Meccano strips though Bob, I may try that with some VHB tape to see if that adheres, and if not use very short self-tapping screws as you suggest.

The vinyl paint is an excellent idea Dave - I've used it many times on leather, vinyl cloth and rubber, always with first class results. I find it is by far best to apply it with a sponge rather than a brush. It isn't that expensive and the navy blue colour looks like it might be a good match. I think having a look at the black panel to see if it looks out of place in the Barge would be the best idea in the first instance.

Many thanks chaps,

I was also concerned about the heat distorting the plastic Alan but to be honest, it's such a localised area of heat with plenty of plastic behind to keep the shape that isn't a problem. Have a look on YouTube for plastic bumper repair using mesh or similar search terms, much easier to see it in action than for me to describe it and they are similar thicknesses of plastic. Hot staples would also work but you'd probably have to be a little more careful with insertion not to go all the way through!

https://youtu.be/b6UIVSNEps4

https://youtu.be/dGveuYxwzg0

A couple of YT videos picked at random to see how it's done, plenty of others to choose if you don't like the presenting style but the methods will all be similar.

The strap i repaired on the welding helmet was only 1-2mm thick and that suffered no heat distortion so 5mm or so thickness on a door pocket shouldn't be a problem.

All depends whether you want a near invisible repair from the visible side or if you are happy having screwheads visible, even if you buy black pan head self-tappers.

I need to do a couple of repairs on my tailgate trim panel, it has (had!) eyelets for fasteners to secure the bottom edge to the tailgate, two have broken off. I'll be using the stainless mesh again and even more cable ties as filler rods and know there will be little to no heat distortion and a very strong repair.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Bob Meadows

Volvo 240 Door Pockets:~
I completed a write up on these a few years back but it seems to have escaped as I cant find it.

Aluminium angle approximately 14mm: Anodised looks good as it matches the other door trim (88' 240)
Cut the sections to fit under the top lip on the pocked- hold down with double sided tape.
The tape doesn't like this plastic (oily) so will eventually reject it.
Better to screw through the trim into the aluminium section with small stainless self tapping screws- round head & flanged- then paint the heads black.(nip the sharp end off if the screws protrude)

The pockets become extremely strong withstanding normal door knocks or pressure when working on the car etc.
The very frail plastic sides are far less vulnerable

You just see a thinnish line of trim that matches the original.
Hope it helps.
Regards Bob.

I think this was the guide you referred to in your post above Bob:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=279736

[Bugjam1999]

The reason people hold the doors open with a foot against the map pocket is because the 2-position door check mechanism in the door hinge wears out and doesn’t hold the door open any more.

If this is the case for your doors (I appreciate the map pocket came from a different car) then replace your front door hinges with hinges from a rear door, as they’re the same and rear doors get opened far less than the front ones so the hinges will be in better shape.

Cheers

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

A good outcome from a quiet Xmas day was that I won an eBay auction for a passenger side map pocket for only £8. The original one on the Barge is missing; there is no rush to replace it, which is just as well because the posties may take until Easter to deliver it .

There are two downsides, the first is that it has a crack (but is complete) in the normal place where people use their feet to hold the door open; the second is that it is black, rather than navy blue. Here is a close up of the crack from the back of the panel:



I was thinking of fixing this with a little piece of GRP, then filling any remailing cavity at the front with Miliput. It needs to be a bit stronger, but not too rigid because folk will probably continue using their feet as a doorstop against it. I rather suspect there will be others out there with experience of this repair, comments would be welcome.

I'd also appreciate comments on the colour, and how I might paint it:



... as you may see (this photo is from the ad), the panel is black, but the rest of the Brage's interior plastics are the navy blue colour, although there is considerable difference between the original colours as one may see from the centre console and the ashtray:



My first thought is that the black panel may not look all that out of place with the dark blue interior - so I may try just touching up the repair with some leather/vinyl paint. If that doesn't work out I could spray it, so here is my question: what sort of aerosol paint would stick to the plastic but remain flexible enough to not just fall off?

The new map pocket showed up in the mail this morn. It is in quite good condition, but the plastic is so brittle. I think it will clean up very nicely, but I need to think about reinforcing it otherwise the brittle material isn't going to last long as all.

I tried it for size and colour match on the Barge:



... the black is just fine against the Barge's navy blue, so I won't be painting it.