Hi - I joined a few months back after buying an ABI Ambassador Ace and finding it rotten to the core. Now my degree's finished I'm itching to get going on repairing it.
I've just been pondering the multiple pinprick holes in the skin - the vast majority of them being in the front end of the caravan, where I'm removing absolutely everything anyway. I'd been planning on using Isopon P40 but have just been wondering about adding a new skin underneath the old one by way of attaching 0.7mm aluminium sheet to the underside. An 8 x 4 sheet weighs just under 6 kilos.
Is there any merit in doing it this way? I think it would be much quicker but I don't have a clue what I'm doing :D
Thanks :) I'm tackling a small rail and a tiny patch of pinprick holes on the back today. It'll be my first ever attempt at a caravan repair. I'll use the Isopon P40 for the holes. Wish me luck!
i would agree i've got the same problem on my roof, i used fiberglass resin about five years ago and i've just found out the roof is leaking again,i think overtime the weather has lifted the resin, so i'm going to use soudal fix all which is flexible and once its on it stays on. hope this is a help
Use the fixall as a filler? That sounds interesting and easier than mixing the isopon. I'll use the isopon for the back because they aren't serious and I'm impatient but I'd definitely be interested in using fixall for the front. Thanks.
ok it is good, used it on the van on some rails with no problems i've even used to repair my plastic storage box outside the van,the back of it was cracked and the hinges were also broken fixed it when in the past i've used araldite not sure of the spelling,it is flexible but strong best place to get it from is the rang its the cheapest i've seen it so far ok.ged
IF you do go for araldite DO NOT use the quick drying stuff .the one you want is the one that takes 3 days to fully cure i.e original araldite .i used to do a lot of boat building some years ago and the quick drying stuff invariably leaked over time .the long cure araldite will still be good today
I used PU18 polyeurethane sealant on my pin prick holes. Much like sikaflex but cheaper. If the aluminium is cleaned properly it will stick very well and can be smoothed with a wet finger.
It's also flexible so less likely to crack and leak than polyester resins (bodyfiller/bridger).
Cledry - I'd be interested to know what you found best please. We have a couple of breach marks, where the caravan is oxydizing from the inside due to damp. So will be good to know what to use when or if we get to that bit.....eeekkk
I had to get rid of the caravan. It was too rotten. I didn't like the glass resin though. It seemed designed for bigger holes. I was about to try sikaflex.
If you had it stripped down already the best plan would be to use Sikaflex to bond a second skin inside the area with holes in, then smooth it and fair it up outside. Any alu. offcut would do inside and the finished job would last forever.
we have just returned with our van and have found these pin holes we had a repair done about 5yrs ago so excuse me for being a bit thick but do I presume you can buy some filler or some type of sealent and fill the holes and sand them down?
If the repaired area is still sound there will probably be a wooden spar behind the holes. Clean up the damaged area, degrease with meths then force some Sikaflex into the holes. Clean the excess Sikaflex off with white spirit before it cures, so you just have the Pinholes filled and none on the surrounding area. This should result in a repair that is almost invisible from a short distance away.