Q&A: LORD's Ed Staquet

Jan. 1, 2020
Ed Staquet, Senior Technical Support Manager for Fusor Aftermarket Repair products at LORD Corporation, talks to ABRN

The weld sealing process is a customary procedure in vehicle assembly. After the sealant is applied, the robotic welder welds through the sealant to complete the assembly process. Until recently, body repair shops were not able to duplicate the OEM weld-through sealing process. However, with the introduction of a new weld sealing product, Fusor HD Seam Sealer, weld sealing is now available for the first time to the automotive repair industry.

Ed Staquet

Ed Staquet, Senior Technical Support Manager for Fusor Aftermarket Repair products at LORD Corporation, discusses how body shops can reduce inventory, increase profits and duplicate OEM seams with one product.

ABRN: Why is the ability to use a weld sealer significant for a body shop?
ES: Weld sealing allows the body shop to replace the seam sealer in a vehicle joint with results similar to the seam sealer applied robotically in the OEM factory. Body shops can now duplicate the appearance and function of OEM seams. Damaged vehicles can be returned to “absolute pre-accident condition” for high customer satisfaction.

ABRN: What does the Fusor HD Seam Sealer offer to the aftermarket industry?
ES: The Fusor HD Seam Sealer is a single-component product that duplicates OEM beaded, brushed, sprayed, and weld-sealed seams. Its HD (High Definition) feature provides a higher quality appearance than common seam sealers, and will not flow back or allow brush marks and spray patterns to fade. The seam sealer permanently maintains a “high-definition” crisp appearance. Fusor HD Seam Sealer is the first and only seam sealer approved by major OEMs for aftermarket duplication of factory weld sealing applications.

ABRN: What is the difference between weld sealing and weld bonding?
ES: Weld bonding is applying a material, usually a structural adhesive, to a joint for the purpose of sealing and adding strength. With weld sealing, a seam sealer is placed into a joint for sealing and corrosion protection, and then welded through. A weld sealer does not provide bonding properties, but provides corrosion protection and sound dampening in the weld sealed joint.  Fusor HD Seam Sealer is designed for weld sealing, not weld bonding.

ABRN: How do you know when to use a weld bonding product and when to use a seam sealer?
ES: If the material protruding from a joint (pinch weld area) is hard or rigid, this indicates that a weld bonding product is needed. If the material protruding from the pinch weld area is soft, pliable or foam-like, then a weld sealing product, such as the HD Seam Sealer, should be used to replace the damaged seam sealer.

When sealing a joint, weld through the Fusor HD Seam Sealer using Squeeze-Type Resistance Spot Welding (STRSW) with inverter technology.

ABRN: Describe how the seam sealer is used.
ES:As an example, if you are replacing a quarter panel, you need to seal the joint where the new panel will be welded. After preparing the surface, apply the HD Seam Sealer to the bare metal with a manual or pneumatic gun. Complete the weld seal using Squeeze-Type Resistance Spot Welding (STRSW). The panel is now ready for finishing and painting.

ABRN: How does the seam sealer speed up the repair process and increase profitability?
ES: The HD Seam Sealer allows a body shop to perform sealing and welding in one step. It saves time from having to use multiple products for priming and sealing various types of seams. It can be applied directly to bare metal, skipping the priming step and the expense of another product. It is easy to use – just pick the color you need; use a standard caulking gun to apply a bead of sealant around the edge of the part; flatten the pieces together; and start welding. The repair/sealing process is performed as the welding is performed. The easier and faster it is to fix cars, the more cars that can be cycled through the body shop. This adds up to more profit for the body shop and the ability to bring cars to “pre-accident” condition.

ABRN: How do the colors and formulations allow the body shop to match

To prepare the vehicle mating surface, grind the metal mating surface with a 40 grit disc before applying the Fusor HD Seam Sealer.

OEM seams?
ES: The HD Seam Sealer comes in four colors – white, gray, black, and beige – so it’s easy to match the seams from the OEM factory application. This one product can be sprayed, beaded, brushed, or welded, allowing the body shop to duplicate the appearance and texture of virtually all OEM seams.

ABRN: Why is duplicating the appearance of seams important in the replacement process?
ES: Customers and car manufacturers both want replaced parts to look “as good as new.” Car manufacturers use quality products in the production line and they want the same product quality for the aftermarket. Customers want their damaged vehicles returned to them in “like new” condition. They do not want a part to look like it has been repaired or replaced. The HD Seam Sealer is the first product to be OEM-recommended for aftermarket use, and has been endorsed by General Motors, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co.

ABRN: Does the concept of “lean inventory control” apply to Fusor HD  Seam Sealers?
ES: Yes, with this one product, body shops can replace several products in their inventory. This direct-to-metal, one-component product can duplicate about six-to-seven products currently used for sealing. It replaces separate products for each procedure – spraying, beading, brushing, and welding; and can also be used as an underbody chip-resistant, coating. And since no primer is needed, that’s another product savings, too.

Fusor HD Seam Sealer offers easy application with a Fusor 313 high-thrust manual caulking gun or a 312 pneumatic gun.

ABRN: How is the Fusor HD Seam Sealer used in various applications?
ES: To spray apply the seam sealer, the Fusor 312 Sprayable Seam Sealer Gun is recommended. This applicator offers adjustable spray patterns, with no spray-gun splatter or spitting, making it easy to duplicate factory-applied seams. When used as a brushable seam sealer, the HD Seam Sealer’s high-build formula holds brush marks to match OEM textures. As a beadable seam sealer, it is easily applied to bare metal and will not sag or slump. When used as a weldable seam sealer, it not only replaces OEM non-structural, weld-through sealers but also provides additional corrosion protection and sound dampening qualities.    

ABRN: What makes the HD Seam Sealer different from other products used for seam sealing?
ES: The Fusor product features Silane Terminated Polymer (STP) technology. STPs are hybrid polymers that combine the best attributes of polyurethane sealers with low solvents and no isocyanates. They offer several advantages over urethane formulas such as greater flexibility, versatility, and durability; no shrinkage; excellent paintability; and the ability to bond well to bare- metal or primed-metal surfaces. The environmentally friendly formula is non-yellowing, virtually odor-free and offers greater UV-resistance. 

To complete the repair process, position the prepared replacement part and clamp in place.

ABRN: What advantages does the HD Seam Sealer offer to the aftermarket industry?
ES: One of the biggest advantages is the ability to weld through the seam sealer and provide corrosion resistance at the same time. The joint will be completely sealed, eliminating the problems of water or other liquid seepage. Having one product, in one chemistry, that can do spraying, beading, brushing, and welding saves on inventory, time and expense. It’s a universal solution for all applications. This product is the first weldable seam sealer to be recommended by OEM manufacturers for the aftermarket industry.

Ed Staquet Bio
Ed Staquet
has over 40 years of experience in the auto body repair business, starting as a teenager sweeping floors in a shop and working his way up to shop manager. He has been an instructor at I-CAR for 30 years. At I-CAR, he has been the recipient of I-CAR’s Instructor of the Year several times and was awarded the I-CAR Founders Award. Staquet served two terms on the I-CAR Board of Directors, and has served on several Auto Body Repair committees for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). For the past 20 years, Staquet has worked for Fusor Repair Systems and LORD Corporation and is now the Senior Staff Technical Support

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