lunartraveller1 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I have two small holes in the aluminium roof on a 13 year old m/home .the alloy has gone powdery about the size of a little finger nail. Anyone know the best thing to repair it with, fibreglass or anything better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 White powdery deposit sounds like corrosion, are there any steel fittings associated with the holes? you will need to remove all signs of the corrosion and the source of corrosion before attempting any repair by taking the surrounding paint back to bare metal, this will also provide a key for the repair. I am not going to suggest how you carry out the repair because there are people on the site who are far better qualified than me and are aware of products available in the UK. if you are at all unsure of how to proceed I am sure that your local body shop will be able to help. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Have you owned the van from new? Is it always parked in the same place? Are you sure these are holes, as opposed to patches of oxidation? Reason for questions? You appear to be describing a chemical, or electrolytic, attack. If there is something that allows drips onto the roof from directly above the patches you describe, whether van roof mounted, building mounted, or pole mounted (old telephone wires, for example), especially if of copper or brass, that may be the reason. If the van had previous owner/s, it may be that the damage was done then, in which case you may never discover the cause. For repair, providing there is no evidence of other, similar, areas developing, I would think a couple of small offcut pieces of pre-coated aluminium stuck down with an adhesive sealant. One of the Loctite Teroson sealants, or a Sika sealant, for example. One part preferably, modified polymer. It would be wise to contact the technical department of either firm for advice on which would be the best for the purpose, and for stockists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry1956 Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 hi, you can buy aluminium filler,from motor factors but it comes as a price, so you could use any roofing product to fill the holes. like the others have said you need to find the reason you have holes. It may just be one of these odd things that happen, but look out for any steel, etc or at one time was anything bolted to the roof in the area of the holes. anyway its an easy job to repair. michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I have had the misfortune to deal with holes similar the those you describe, whilst not quite as large, by the time I had cleaned them out they were the size of a new penny. This was on an old caravan I owned, actually not that old but that's another story. They were caused by a leak allowing water onto the wooden frame, as the frame rotted the chemcals so produced rotted a neat row of holes where the wood frame contacted the aluminium. I finished up replacing the roof structure and panels in the bathroom and then using Sikkaflex I neatly fixed an aluminium patch over the holes, by the time it was painted (Sikkaflex does not paint easily, try and keep it under the repair) it was hardly noticable. Some hours of work were then spent resealing the seams with a mastic strip before some months later, selling it on. It's probably still 100% waterproof. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunartraveller1 Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Many thanks for the replies. The m/home is 12 yrs old not 13 and I have owned for 10,one bit of corrosion is where the roof rack bolts down but sure enough we did have a leak from the Status aerial when the "flying saucer" part filled up with water. this was binned and a proprietary sealing disc screwed down and sealed with Sikaflex. A Protec roof cover is used in the Winter and no overhead wires etc near. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Another way of repairing aluminium is to 'solder' a patch in place using Lumiweld. I have repaired aluminium and die cast parts with it in the past and as long as you can get the parent metal up to a suitable temperature without damaging anything in the surrounding area you can get a really god result. Saying that it would be good to practice on a piece of scrap first. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Don't even think of soldering it, as the heat will destroy the foam insulation. It's also too thin to fill as it's likely to be less than 1mm thick. If it was mine I would just get a piece of thin ally or pvc and stick it over the hole with silicone sealant, or if you're feeling flush, sikaflex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Araldite 24 hour epoxy resin is ideal for bonding aluminium. Exoxy adhesives were originally developed for bonding aluminium. It is also compatible with any foam insulation underneath. Use 24 hour epoxy not fast set. It has much better properties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stantheman Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Hi. I have a 10 year old Lunar Roadstar 630 that developed a leak. It started around the roof-rack fixing and penetrated quite a large area between the outer alluminium skin and the plywood roof. As someone has just mentioned, it manifested itself with a nice row of 'powdery' holes across the roof caused through electrolytic action between the iron nails/screws in the wooden subframe and the metal skin. Result, £2000+ for a new roof! The point I'm trying to make is, before you attempt to patch it, make sure that it has started from the outside otherwise you may just be sealing in dampness which will cause further havoc. Either do a damp test yourself or get a professional survey. By the way, the roof-rack and ladder were not replaced! More trouble than they're worth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunartraveller1 Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 Hi Stantheman, how long ago did you have it done and by whom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stantheman Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Hello Lunartraveller1 I was only outlining the worst possible scenario, so don't get too despondent! But in answer to your question, Peter Ayles of Motorhomes Coachcraft did the repair. I had it done in September 2009. He was very helpful. He came and did a damp test and told me the bad news (which I already suspected). I took it down to his works near Luton and he delivered it back to me as good as new (I hope). (I assume he will also collect it if you can't get to his workshop, he seems to have customers all over the country). I'm in St. Neots so not that far from him. He did have a problem getting the correct pattern of interior roof panels from Lunar (discontinued items!). The interior colour doesn't exactly match but it's close enough. His address etc is Unit 1, Gibraltar Farm, London Road, Luton, LU1 4LE. Tel: 01582 404880 Actually, I've just looked at the invoice and it was £3,220 !!! So don't leave it too long befor you get it sorted!!!! And to all you Lunar owners out there, check your roof racks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike, St Neots (sorry, spelt Gibraltar wrong!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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