Light and roof rail sealing

Awning rail and roof rail resealing job.

I have already resealed the rail which joins the fibre glass rear shell to the front section of the roof of this model and due to the fact I had only stepladders and a scaffold plank for weight distribution on the roof I did not photograph the progress as my cameras are worth more than the van and the thought of tumbling from the roof with Nikon in hand was the decider for me, however, it was an easier job than I anticipated.

The main reason for doing the roof joint was that the previous owner had liberally plastered the ends of the rail and as far as could be reached with silicone sealant, which upon inspection, seemed to be trapping more damp and water than it was supposed to be channelling away, so I decided to tidy this up with mastic strip under the rail, the same as all rail resealing jobs, but for extra protection as it’s a roof joint, along the outer edge of the rail, each end and along the screw channel I have filled with Sikaflex 512 caravan sealant.

Now this stuff is the bees knees for this sort of job but it’s expensive so I try to use it sparingly. Now the cheaper silicone stuff is OK but it doesn’t last, is too rubbery and “lifts” over time in our poxy climate so allowing water to penetrate, so, if you decide on some critical sealing job, splash out on this Sikaflex, it’ll last longer and do a better job overall.

One thing about doing seals on rails etc that few seem to mention is the mess, cleaning the old goo from rail and caravan completely is imperative to getting a good reseal. The cleaning operation is tedious to say the least and don’t even begin unless you have a lot of white spirit for mastic removal then Methylated spirits for white spirit removal as the residue from the WS will prevent your new mastic seal doing its intended task, sealing.

Also to hand you will need copious amount of rags, and, in my case, many Asda carrier bags and at least a week’s worth of old newspapers, all for wiping the old sticky crap on as you scrape it from the channels in the rail. Prepare to be in a mess, wear old clothes or coveralls which you want to bin later as they’ll be of little use for attending that family wedding after job completion, you have been warned, very messy.

The hi-level rear light sockets that caused the water ingress to the vans rear end have also now been re-glassed, basically I followed the instructions for glass fibre work. Make sure you have everything ready, sanded down and cleaned of dust before mixing resin, also have plenty of the matting cut to complete the job. Use cheap brushes for stibling the resin, making sure you have no air trapped between the matting layers, if the layers look transparent after application the jobs a goodun.

Mess however is a prerequisite of the job, use takeaway meal plastic trays to mix just enough resin, and wear gloves, I used Marigold, dish washing type in pink, but whatever turns you on will do as they are for the bin on job finish.

When mixing the resin and hardener use 1% hardener to resin, as the more you add the quicker it will solidify, depending on temperature and other factors, my job was on a nice sunny day, probably around 70 deg and this mix at 1% (rough measure) went hard as a rock within 45 minutes.

Acetone is used for the cleanup operation if you want to remove this stuff, so, you can then wash dishes with the gloves, paint your house or re-use your old chinky/indian cartons but I slung the lot in the site’s bin, where, no doubt, the owners will be sifting through, recycling the waste to keep the Greenies happy, seeing as how I upset the whole planet with my 4x4 this little extravagance should be ignored.

Last, but not least, once you handle this stuff, either resin or matting, take care not to scratch your face, eyes or those sweaty little places we all have, as the matting will act like itching powder, it’s also glass, so it will blind you, rinse/wash this crap off first or get someone else to rub the itchy bits. The resin poses other problems as it hardens, it gets hot, so keep it off bare skin and you won’t find yourself in the local burns unit being treated for chemical burns, remove immediately from skin on contact.

Till cured completely it will generate heat, the burn will be similar to an acid burn which continues till its nullified, wash it off straight away. I shoved my hands in it at first forgetting my gloves and used meths to remove and then washed away with soap and water for several minutes and no harm done, however photographic chemicals are toxic, also acidic and I’ve had my leather mits dipped in these several times over the years so suspect my skin is akin to Rhino hide now, for those of you who push a pen or computer key for a living follow the above instructions or you’ll suffer from the effects of contact with this stuff.

Don’t say you weren’t warned but don’t be put off either, it’s easy to work with and finishes off lovely with a gel coat, get stuck in.