[T3] Cargo Mat Repair

[Jim Adney]

On 8 Oct 2018 at 15:25, Gary Forsmo wrote:

> My first though is to:
> A.) Lay the two pieces (good side down) on a flat surface (like a 4' X 8'
> sheet of plywood) &
> B.)  Embed a ~12" X 48" piece of woven roving fiberglass into a ~1/4"
> layer of something like liquid Flex Seal.
> C.) Let the Flex Seal cure for several days, then
> D.)  Reinstall the (now) one-piece mat back on to rear deck, without
> re-"crimping" the front edge.

Whatever you do needs to be very flexible, otherwise the old mat will break 
right away where the repair ends. So I'd look for a solution that's MUCH 
thinner than 1/4". I like the idea of laying it out on a large sheet of plywood to 
do the work.

I'd suggest using thin packing tape on the topside to hold it together, all the 
pieces in alignment, then turn it over and glue it from below using thin CA 
(super) glue. Once the glue has hardened, remove the packing tape.

Thinking this over, it seems like it would be hard to apply the tape and then 
flip the mat over without the tape coming loose, so I wonder if you could just 
do this without the tape, working on the bottom side? If you did that, you'd 
want to put a strip of waxed paper under the seam, so the CA can't glue the 
mat to the plywood.

Or just use good Duct tape like Dave mentioned.

> Questions:
> 1.)  Has anybody removed the mat from the front "crimped" metal piece?
> 2.)  How did you do it? (Use a flat pry bar?)

I've done it. I started at one end with something I could work under the end 
of the crimped metal strip; that may have been a large screwdriver.

Once the end was up, I was able to get a grip with my Channel-Lock pliers 
and work my way along the strip until it was fully released. It took some time, 
but it worked.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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