Painting ceiling or something more (1 Viewer)

[movan]

Don't know if this photo shows problem.. I have a dark mark showing on ceiling of van along the metal strip. First thought was that there was a leak but it appears to be dry. Second thought is that maybe last owner tried to glue the metal strip even tighter to ceiling and made a mess.

Can I paint the ceiling and, if so, what with please?

 

[Just smiffy]

Do you know what the ceiling is made of Joy, ? Is it plastic coated or papered hardboard ...?

 

[vwalan]

possibly eggshell finish or bathroom paint usually works .

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[movan]

Do you know what the ceiling is made of Joy, ? Is it plastic coated or papered hardboard ...?

I would say papercoated hardboard but it seems better finished than that so maybe a plastic type paint .. sorry, I am rubbish at this.. think it hardboard with grey sort of paper on it.

 

[DavidG58]

I am really sorry to say Joy, my fear is that it is damp, or at least was

personally I wouldn't paint it, research changing the roof panels first, it could look every bit as bad painted badly

have you asked Terry what he thinks yet?

 

[Just smiffy]

I would say papercoated hardboard but it seems better finished than that so maybe a plastic type paint .. sorry, I am rubbish at this.. think it hardboard with grey sort of paper on it.

Although @DavidG58 is right in saying that a replacement panel is best rather then painting I don't think it is damp, I've seen glue go like that before and turn a horrible brown colour.
Painting will be cheaper but it will look painted and once painted will need painting more frequently... But if you do then as mentioned an eggshell would be best ....

Good luck...

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Jaws]

Me being a natural born bodger, I would look at covering it with a bit of decorative trim tape..
Advantage being it is cheap, easy to do and if it does turn out to be a more serious problem can easily be removed

After thought..
Have you tried just cleaning it ? Perhaps use a drop of pure alcohol ( I use the stuff for all sorts nowadays after buying a bottle to clean off some tree sap.. It seems to work on all sorts of stuff ! )

 

[rb62]

The problem with most modern paints is that they are water based and are very poor at covering staining.Ther are some good stain blockers available but they give off nasty fumes! so you would need somewhere to sleep for a night or two.I did the ceilings in mothers bungalow with this.But you would need to check you could use it on plastic covered panels.

you can put it on with a roller

 

[movan]

Me being a natural born bodger, I would look at covering it with a bit of decorative trim tape..
Advantage being it is cheap, easy to do and if it does turn out to be a more serious problem can easily be removed

After thought..
Have you tried just cleaning it ? Perhaps use a drop of pure alcohol ( I use the stuff for all sorts nowadays after buying a bottle to clean off some tree sap.. It seems to work on all sorts of stuff ! )

Hi John, Yes I tried to clean a little area ........... and made it look even worse, dirtier. .. Will think about the tape idea .... or better still just not look upwards

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[trophychap]

I don't want to scare you Joy but if it was me I would have someone with a damp meter check that out, it looks suspiciously like damp staining to me from your photo. I hope I am wrong.

We had a new Bessacar in 2009 that had a leak round one of the roof lights it was picked up by the dealer and fixed, the stain looked very similar when it appeared. But those nice people at Swift insisted we took it back to the factory and they re papered the roof, we were finding splodges of wallpaper paste on the cupboards for weeks after we got it back LOL.

Its some type of Vinyl wallpaper that's used.

 

[movan]

I don't want to scare you Joy but if it was me I would have someone with a damp meter check that out, it looks suspiciously like damp staining to me from your photo. I hope I am wrong.

We had a new Bessacar in 2009 that had a leak round one of the roof lights it was picked up by the dealer and fixed, the stain looked very similar when it appeared. But those nice people at Swift insisted we took it back to the factory and they re papered the roof, we were finding splodges of wallpaper paste on the cupboards for weeks after we got it back LOL.

Its some type of Vinyl wallpaper that's used.

Thank you. Will get my damp meter on it when I get back home before I decide what to do.

 

[Just smiffy]

Its some type of Vinyl wallpaper that's used

I think the vinyl paper route is a good one, I didn't think of that earlier..

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Allanm]

Check it's not damp first, then how about covering it with vinyl wallpaper from somewhere like B&Q. I just re papered the bedroom in our van, nothing wrong with it, just wanted a plain colour. About £12 a roll from the above mentioned shop.

 

[Terry]

I will be 3 mm ply covered with vinyl paper Joy -Don't do anything until we meet and I will investigate it for you
terry

 

[movan]

Hi Terry .. It is the same stain I already showed you and you said ignore it. . But it grates me when I clean up so I thought I might paint it. I will put my damp meter on it and then decide if I can live eith it. I don't want to do anything that makes it look like a coverup job.. would rather just avoid looking at it

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jockaneezer]

If, starting at one end, you prise out that central plastic strip, that will give you access to the screws that hold the half round moulding on. Take that off then have a better look at things. The trim just covers the junction between the fabric type headlining in the cab area and the 'papered' ceiling of the hab area, they may even have run a couple of cables through it too. I doubt it's damp related though.

 

[Terry]

If same stain and I was not concerned. Then I will give it another look in a couple of weeks
You can always stencil flowers there to blend in with you're Hippie mate's
Terry