Chris, that was the whole object of this exercise, Don’t waste your mula on “gaskets” from the jobbers, just stop by next time you see a roofer at work and ask him for a few feet of paper if you want to go the full sheet route. Other wise, like scs replied, pick up a roll of gasket material at War-Mart, Farm & Fleet, Autozone, etc., for three or four bucks.
To vacuum form the part, I used an actual vacuum bagging material, breather, sealer and pumpout from Airtech. The vacuum pump that I used is for evacuating AC systems. I suppose you could use polyethylene and double face tape and the Shop-vac. It HAS got to be vacuum tight to get the full 15psi on the bag other wise you will be disappointed. Getting it vacuum tight can be a real challenge, so be fore warned. There is a lot on the net about vacuum bagging so I’m not gonna go into it any deeper here.
As far as the original being simply 1” strips or full size, I’m sure that mine came with a full piece because of the way it was formed around the stiffening ribs and contours at the hump. It was .100” thick and that needs to be formed under pressure, the average mechanic or garage is not going to go through what I did to form it! Mind you, that my 30# replacement was only around half the thickness of the original, but I might add, twice the thickness of the vendors.
Jeff, Jeff, Jeffff, thanks for the heads up on the other gaskets/welting etc., used elsewhere. I did get this from CP of Am (AKA CD). Let me say this in all fairness, that I have been very pleased with their service and pricing, the quality of a lot of the products I have bought is another matter. I don’t have similar items from the other jobbers to compare them to, but I would be willing to bet that a lot of this stuff comes from the same source. It sure looks the same when you compare the pictures and descriptions in the catalogs.
I’d like to see more consumer reports of the products that we are using for our restorations, it could save some poor sap a buck or two down the road and it would prompt the vendors to improve on the quality of the product.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
