I have just purchased an abbey county stafford 1996. Upon cleaning I noticed some small blisters/bubbles on the paintwork right at the bottom close to wheel arch. They definitely have water in them, can anyone advise on how to treat this and what the cause might be? On the same panel side on the inside (bathroom exterior wall) there is a soft patch which the previous owner states has not worsened in the 4 years he owned it. Roof rails were revealed in 2011.
pinhole corrosion in the metal under the paint causes the bubbles with water in.. often the damp problem stays in the wood sometimes it affects the metal skin on the outside..
i think it will be from the inside damp area corroding the outer skin from the inside.. if it is it needs fixing from the inside..
doing the outside it will only bubble up again.. what happens is corrosion on the inside eats into the metal.. tiny pinholes appear water then forces the paint to bubble.. its an electrolytic action..
The previous owner had the roof rails resealed in late 2011 so I would presume they would still be sound.
I have seen a note on here from him saying that the roof light in the bathroom was leaking late 2012, as the soft patch is on the bathroom wall I would guess this was a result of this and it is in keeping with where the bubbles are at the bottom of the van externally.
The shower tray is also showing signs of wear and the rubber is splitting around the plug hole so I wonder if combined these two things have lead to damp a under the shower tray which is creeping up the wall.
Is this a job I could tackle myself? I'm quite handy with the DIY element so would not be afraid of taking it on?
To cover the pin prick holes in the outer skin of my van, I bought a couple of orange reflectors from the local caravan shop and applied them with good old sikaflex (after fixing the damp problem of course)