Minor roof damage (1 Viewer)

[DesRes]

Arrived home yesterday after a week away in the van, split campsite run up to North Berwick then a couple of nights on the CC site at Borrowdale, South end of Derwentwater.
Good week all in all, weather excellent.
However, the trip was marred by a couple of events.
The first involved myself and a cyclist in Keswick, I'll recover from that but I was fighting mad at the time...:Angry:
The second was the result of hitting a low branch of a tree on the small road down to Borrowdale. There isn't much damage, very slight indentation to the Luton and a scrape in the polish over the top.
Some might call it a "life mark", it's what happens when you use these things. I might get used to it in time but was just wondering if any else bothers with getting these small knocks ironed out.
The van is in for it's first service this week, I'll ask what could be done when I put it in, short of putting a new panel on...

 

[Terry]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune but I''ll wager the repair bill ends in 3 zeros
terry

 

[DesRes]

I think I'll be learning to live with it if that's the case Terry...:thumb:

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[Silkcut1105]

its cheaper to stick a decal over it or an odd bit of sign sticker. the cost of repair could well be over a grand.

 

[scousebird]

Sorry to hear about your "mishaps". You know we had our bumper replaced, but that was very broken, we have however a dent on the habitation door, presumably made by a car door in a car park - we've decided to live with it :Sad:

 

[camocam1]

sorry to hear about miss hap but you are probably the only one that we notice the slight dent ( have a few on mine from low branches) the scratch I would certainly try and take out with T cut then silky to finish it off

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[duane0001]

Not as bad as this then?

 

[MHVirgins]

Not as bad as this then?

Ouch! That's enough to make you cry

We've had low branches scrape over the top of ours but, only lightly scuffed luckily.........apart from when a van reversed into the side of us when the van was weeks old. It was off the road for 3 months......needed new side panel, new window, new decals:Angry:

Bill

 

[DesRes]

sorry to hear about miss hap but you are probably the only one that we notice the slight dent ( have a few on mine from low branches) the scratch I would certainly try and take out with T cut then silky to finish it off

Absolutely, it's because you know it's there. I had heaps of bumps on the last van, the roof resembled a golf ball. It's because it's the first. I'll be having a go at the streak with the polish I think.

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[DesRes]

Not as bad as this then?

Err, not quite...
Not so much of "a narrow Escape" there.:Blush:

 

[rainbow chasers]

polish out what you can, and leave the rest. Just ensure you have no cracks in the gelcoat around the area.

 

[Fireman Sam]

polish out what you can, and leave the rest. Just ensure you have no cracks in the gelcoat around the area.

What can be done about cracks in the gel coat? I've got a few. Or rather my MH has.

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[DesRes]

What can be done about cracks in the gel coat? I've got a few. Or rather my MH has.

Possibly this? : http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0017YAX32/?tag=mhf04-21

Never used it on the MH but it was good for the epoxy built windsurf surfboards.
Would have to be sure that the surface is not penetrated though, the stuff eats polystyrene.

 

[DesRes]

Just seen this too...

 

[motor roamin]

Oh bad luck that, one thing I am always looking for is trees and road signs that stick out at 13' high I am aware it is sooooo easy to hit something overhead, leave it though as long as it is water tight, we all get a scratch or dink sooner or later no matter how carefull we are..........just look at JJ's Iveco

All the best Rick

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[rainbow chasers]

What can be done about cracks in the gel coat? I've got a few. Or rather my MH has.

There are two types of crack - a surface and a piercing. The surface crack is usually stress or age related, and is only on the gel coat itself. This is the easiest to maintain. Just a few drops of creeping crack cure to seal it - and then run a thin layer of gel coat repair over the top for strength and extra waterproofing.

The latter will need more work - this is where you can actually push the panel in and out and it separates as you do so. This has cracked or split the fibreglass beneath. This will need filling, sealing and rubbing down. Use a gel coat filler here, cut a 'groove' along the length of the split/crack to display a 'v' and then fill with gel-coat filler. Rub down to 1500grit level and then polish up with a paint buffer to a shiny new layer. There may be a slight difference in colour depending on the shade of your van - if you need to paint, then don't polish the filler up to a shine, and repray the area.

You can get a local paint shop to 'finish' the job if large areas need painting. Your main objective it to prevent leaks and keep it waterproof!

 

[DesRes]

Okay, T-cut and Autoglym polish has removed everything apart from the slight impact damage, it'll do.
Thanks for the input chaps, it's good to share...