Defrost vents

[shipwrecked]

What is a good way to preserve the cardboard elbows for the defrost ducts?

Mine are brittle and could fall apart worse than already have,

I thought of coating them in a poly or epoxy to stiffen them. When I used polyurethane on my campaign cover(DI hat) it became so hard I could stand on it.

Doing a search on here I found a post or two saying later ones are plastic... what years? Are they identical enough in size?

Thanks a bunch! Stand by for more shenanigans on Shipwrecked(it's really a boat,.. break out another thousand)

[64 f100]

65 and 66 should be the ones with rubber on the end. What you might find though is that these are made of cloth and frequently the cloth will rip when removed. The ones from later trucks look to me like those should work also. As to original 64 and older pieces that look like paper mache and are just as tough, crumble with little pressure. If you want something that will last, I suggest making some out of fiberglass. should not be to hard, and I'm surprised someone hasn't already made this and sold the ends. The cloth on the tube is another problem with both type of tubes. Plastic tubes are available but do not include the ends. The later style ends are more generic and I believe there is no difference between left and right. Personally, if I could find a set of the later style easily, in good condition this is what I would use. I also have a couple of suggestions if the cloth on the tube is torn or separated. I would cover it with some cloth and paint the tube and place the cloth over the ripped part , then paint the cloth and tube black. Years ago when building flying models airplanes we used this technique to apply silk or other material to the planes wings. Vinyl die might work best for this, as you need flexibility.

[unibody madness]

April if they are in decent shape, get a bottle of super glue, the kind with the brush. paint/soak them several times , letting them dry between coats, in a place with plenty of ventilation. Before re-installing them look in home depot ect for something made out of abs as a replacement as I do not know how long they will last..mine are going on two years.
John

[slick4x4]

I have had very good success making stuff like such as
Defroster tubes , headliner .... (Things made odd softer materials)
With just ordinary can spray paint....
It just soaks in & when it drys , makes it real strong & solid

I took an old headliner that was warped awful
Soaked it with water & put it between 2 sheets of plywood to flatten
After it dried , I sprayed it with primer on each side
Then painted the side you see.......
It's as hard as a piece of plastic now... And water proof !

[shipwrecked]

Well I went to my trusty hardware store and talked to the guys there- all know me pretty well and all in agreement to use PC Rot-termination.

It's a 1:1 mix bottle set that you mix the resin and Gardner together- shake and brush on. Takes a few days to cure but I've already applied it.








Took a whole lot to saturate the two vent tube pieces. Going to let dry and try to clean the vent ducts. Will post a follow up in a few days.

[64 f100]

Looks to be a good solution, nice job April.

[shipwrecked]

So far after two days these things are rock hard.

[Michelle]

Another problem solved.