Re-attaching catch on door table, advice please!

[Haze]

Hi, the catch has fallen off the door table in our 2014 5.1 Beach. Thought it would just be a simple case of screwing it back on, but it isn't. Seems like there was some kind of rubber pad between the plastic table and the metal catch. Is it possible to replace this? Also it isn't 2 screws holding it in place, just some kind of studs, can these be replaced or re-used? Any advice gratefully received. Looks like it should be a straight forward fix but not sure where to start! Thanks

 

[Alan Andrews]

Fixing is by pop rivets.

You can buy a pop rivet gun and rivet kit at Screwfix, Toolstation, B&Q etc.

Is a worthwhile investment if you do not have. I suggest that you place a small metal washer over the stud once pushed through the fixing holes. This will help to prevent the rivet being pulled out in the future.

 

[Haze]

That's great thanks, didn't know they were called pop rivets so that will help a lot. Do you think I should replace and glue another rubber pad in some way, or 2 rivets is enough to hold the whole thing in place?

 

[Perfectos]

The rubber pad is in fact black sealant, such as Sika fix or some thing similar. (Suitable for bonding metal to metal, high Grab for use externally)
clean off the old black residue from all surfaces.
clean both surfaces (table & bracket )
put a piece of flat metal (or something similarly hard) over the deformed pop rivet holes, in the table.
gently tap the metal plate to push the deformed aluminium back flush with the table surface. repeat until the deformed hoke is flush with the table surface.
one pop rivet shank is still in the table this will need to be drilled out if it cannot be pushed through.
Then you will need to very carefully re drill the existing hole (use a slightly smaller drill than the new pop rivet requires) to allow the new pop rivet to be installed correctly And bind. (If you drill the new hole too big the new pop rivet will simply pull out.
Be extremely careful when drilling tge new holes not to allow the drill to push through and make contact with the front face of the table (when drilling, it will dent it outwards)
the addition of new glue will be integral to the latch staying in place. Apply the glue to the bracket before attaching to the table (mask the table to prevent unsightly over spill of the glue )

 

[Haze]

Thanks so much for the detailed replies. One confusion: why will I need to re drill the existing hole and how can this be smaller than the original (or do I use a bigger pop rivet than the original)? Or is that just for the hole that has the old rivet shank stuck in it? Thanks again for your help.

 

[Perfectos]

Thanks so much for the detailed replies. One confusion: why will I need to re drill the existing hole and how can this be smaller than the original (or do I use a bigger pop rivet than the original)? Or is that just for the hole that has the old rivet shank stuck in it? Thanks again for your help.

one hole still has the rivet in it the other is deformed, re drilling with a smaller drill will:
A) remove the old rivet shank.
B) reshape the deformed hole ( once it has been tapped down flat)

personally I would try to replace the rivets with a similar size

if you try to fit a larger rivet : check the rivet will fit through the catch bracket before drilling the appropriate size hole.

edit if you use a slightly smaller drill, you prevent the “correct size drill” from making an over size hole, I,e. The drill may make the hole bigger unintentionally, you can alway go gibberish but you can’t go smaller !