Kingham
LIFE MEMBER
I recently posted this on an owner's forum, but not yet found anyone with a similar experience and thought I'd try a bigger audience.
When the van's not in use at home, I keep all of the blinds closed, to prevent prying eyes and also to keep the heat and light to a minimum. On several occasions now, when I have gone to open the windscreen blinds, I have found that they have bonded together, I'm assuming with the heat and I've had to use considerable force to prise them apart. The force is enough to make me think I'm not far off breaking them.
There are magnetic strips held within aluminium extrusions, which form the joining face of each blind. When the blinds are closed, the magnets touch together and keep the blinds closed. In my previous two vans, the magnets have barely been adequate and I've resorted to using elastic bands to help keep the blinds closed.
This issue is not 'over strong' magnets, as they easily release if I open them shortly after closing them. It is only after a few days of heat and it's as if the faces of the extrusion are melting and fusing together. Once forced open, there is nothing on the faces to suggest they have been stuck together.
When trying to open them a few days ago, the force caused the handles to fall off ! I've got a short video of that, but it won't load due to being too large ??
I have managed to fix the handles back on and coated the faces of the magnets and extrusion, with French chalk dust, hoping this would solve the problem, but they were still firmly joined together today.
A tape on each face, or a thin coat of Vaseline are my next options.
When the van's not in use at home, I keep all of the blinds closed, to prevent prying eyes and also to keep the heat and light to a minimum. On several occasions now, when I have gone to open the windscreen blinds, I have found that they have bonded together, I'm assuming with the heat and I've had to use considerable force to prise them apart. The force is enough to make me think I'm not far off breaking them.
There are magnetic strips held within aluminium extrusions, which form the joining face of each blind. When the blinds are closed, the magnets touch together and keep the blinds closed. In my previous two vans, the magnets have barely been adequate and I've resorted to using elastic bands to help keep the blinds closed.
This issue is not 'over strong' magnets, as they easily release if I open them shortly after closing them. It is only after a few days of heat and it's as if the faces of the extrusion are melting and fusing together. Once forced open, there is nothing on the faces to suggest they have been stuck together.
When trying to open them a few days ago, the force caused the handles to fall off ! I've got a short video of that, but it won't load due to being too large ??
I have managed to fix the handles back on and coated the faces of the magnets and extrusion, with French chalk dust, hoping this would solve the problem, but they were still firmly joined together today.
A tape on each face, or a thin coat of Vaseline are my next options.