RogP Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 I noticed last night that there is what appears to be a small crack in one of the out side walls of the MH. Its about an inch long and it would appear on the surface just to be the outer coating of the skin. I think its been caused by something hitting it like a tree branch which has just broken the surface. MH is out of warranty and I cant get it looked at any time soon so want to do some kind of tempory fix to at least protect it and prevent any possible water ingress or increase in its size. I initially thought just get out the silicon gun a dab a smidgeon on , but knowing my luck its not going to be that straight forward A colleague who is into sailing said try some Gelcoat sealer he's used on his GRP boat. Before I jump headlong into it , whats my best course of action just to protect the area till I can get it properly assessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Duck tape gaffa tape or duct tape. It,s both strong and waterproof. You can get the residual adhesive off later with nail varnish remover Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Hi . I would do at least a temporary repair with :- white "ever build STIXALL". I have found this the best sealer/adhesive I have come across for this type of job, even works under water. Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 w1ntersun - 2010-05-20 3:08 PM Duck tape gaffa tape or duct tape. It,s both strong and waterproof. You can get the residual adhesive off later with nail varnish remover Richard Be careful with nail varnish remover - it's very, very strong and can melt some plastics! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njw Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 when i had a mark in my motorhome wall i managed to get a decal made at a motorhome show to match the colour of my motorhome decals ,which made it totaly invisable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 One problem with Duck tape is when its been in the sun for a while it perrishes, well the adhesive do's and it just goes powdery and falls off. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Whatever you do, do not under any circumtances use Silicone. It's almost impossibe to get it all off when you do a proper repair and nothing will adhere where it's been. Depending on the material your van's made from the solutions are varied.If it's grp. then drill a small hole each end of the crack to stop it spreading. Then you will need to make the crack wider with a 3 cornered scraper and fill it with grp reinforced filler and and then either paint it or use gelcoat repair paste.If it's aluminium then just fill it eith Epoxy (Araldite) then paint it. To seal it temporarilly cover it with sticky back Alumimium tape after getting all the wax off the surface with Meth's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 How about using a DIY windscreen chip repair kit. Scrape out a very small hole in the crack at the center. If you have one, the tiniest of drills just to get through the gel coat. Then use the repair kit as you would on your windscreen to suck out any air (and moisture) and inject the resin. It will get sucked in every corner of the crack and any void underneath. If you see afterwards you scrape a groove along the hairline and fill with gelcoat. What do you all reckon, will it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 peter - 2010-05-20 11:10 PM Whatever you do, do not under any circumtances use Silicone. It's almost impossibe to get it all off when you do a proper repair and nothing will adhere where it's been. Depending on the material your van's made from the solutions are varied.If it's grp. then drill a small hole each end of the crack to stop it spreading. Then you will need to make the crack wider with a 3 cornered scraper and fill it with grp reinforced filler and and then either paint it or use gelcoat repair paste.If it's aluminium then just fill it eith Epoxy (Araldite) then paint it. To seal it temporarilly cover it with sticky back Alumimium tape after getting all the wax off the surface with Meth's. I would go along with Peter's advice above except I would use 'Gel Coat Filler' I've used this many times on boats, caravans even repaired my resin shower tray (House one) where I dropped a large wrench on it, the stuff never fails. Yacht chandlers stock in tubes 'Plastic Padding' brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinfrier Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 What ever the material if you have a crack drill a small hole at each end before any repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogP Posted May 21, 2010 Author Share Posted May 21, 2010 many thanks for all the responses , really glad I asked as I would have gone mad with the silicon gun!!!!!!! Thats my weekend sorted now :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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