Visit our Popular Forums

Becky B. · 12-25-2006, 11:54 AM

I spent a night in Bessie last week. She has a crack in the end cap up front. The temperature was about 30 degrees when we got there and the crack was about 1/4 inches wide. After warming her up, it shrunk a bit. I've ordered Por 2 part epoxy to fill the crack, but am wondering if I should fill it when she's cold or warm. Any advise? Thanks in advance.....

**moosetags** · 12-25-2006, 01:04 PM

It would seem to me that you should epoxy it cold so that when it warms, it would compress. If you were to fill the crack warm, when it got cold, it might pull the crack open again.

Royce · 12-25-2006, 01:12 PM

Epoxy cures exothermic. It may not generate enough heat to cure in lower temperatures. The good news is that it will cure once it has warmed sufficiently. Trick is to keep it from running out while you wait for it to cure.

wahoonc · 12-25-2006, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

I spent a night in Bessie last week. She has a crack in the end cap up front. The temperature was about 30 degrees when we got there and the crack was about 1/4 inches wide. After warming her up, it shrunk a bit. I've ordered Por 2 part epoxy to fill the crack, but am wondering if I should fill it when she's cold or warm. Any advise? Thanks in advance.....

Becky,
A couple of things to do, first is to drill a small hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading, two is to reinforce the back of the crack with something prior to repair. IIRC the endcaps in our units are fiberglass, the best repair would be from the back side using an 'glass repair kit with the mesh. I am not familiar with the POR epoxy so I can't say what it will or won't do. Good Luck and lets us know how you make out on it...pictures are always nice

Aaron

peegreen · 12-25-2006, 04:07 PM

What size hole should I drill, and how do I access the backside in order to reinforce?

overlander63 · 12-25-2006, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peegreen

What size hole should I drill, and how do I access the backside in order to reinforce?

The size of the hole depends on the size of the crack, but a 1/8" hole should be enough.

Becky B. · 12-25-2006, 06:06 PM

Good question, peegreen, how do you access the back? Also, I thought the endcaps in a 1976 are plastic & not fiberglass (I thought I read that in previous threads). Would fiberglass bond with plastic?

Janets Husband · 12-25-2006, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

Good question, peegreen, how do you access the back? Also, I thought the endcaps in a 1976 are plastic & not fiberglass (I thought I read that in previous threads). Would fiberglass bond with plastic?

Take a very close look at it, you will probably see the weave of the glass mat. I believe it should be fiberglass. Yes fiberglass resins will bond with most plastics. I have reinforced a A/C cover for my roof and also fixed the Fresh Water Filler with it, works great. Don't use casting resin, you know the type people put on tables and the like. It is not suitable for this purpose. The issue of temperature, you should always follow the instructions on the material you are using, the manufacturer should know how to use there product. As for the expansion I think you pretty mush up to the whims of the material used originally. I don't think it would matter that much, but you pay your money and take your chances. Of course it would be best if it were at a constant room temperature. However, it will be exposed to freezing and extreme heat in the normal life span of the product.

wahoonc · 12-25-2006, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peegreen

What size hole should I drill, and how do I access the backside in order to reinforce?

to access the back side you will have to take it down...or at least partially down, the good news is I think they went in after the aluminum panels so they should be the first piece to come out...

The hole size is not too important as long as it is a tad wider than the crack itself. IIRC I was out of 1/8" bits at the time and was using something around #36 which would be close to a 7/64" I certainly would not want to go any larger than the 1/8"

Aaron

thecatsandi · 12-25-2006, 08:04 PM

Drill the ends and put something flexable on or in the crack.
Putting something hard in it when it is open will stress the metal. THis will cause the crack to get bigger.
Clear or grey silicone would be my choice.

Becky B. · 12-26-2006, 05:30 PM

The PO put silicone in the crack and it doesn't look too great. The crack is open again, but has been drilled on the end. I'm not sure how silicone would look if it's painted over. I know I read a previous thread that said Por 2-part epoxy worked well and could be sanded and painted. What metal will be stressed if I use epoxy? I wouldn't want to make things worse.

wahoonc · 12-26-2006, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beckybillrae

The PO put silicone in the crack and it doesn't look too great. The crack is open again, but has been drilled on the end. I'm not sure how silicone would look if it's painted over. I know I read a previous thread that said Por 2-part epoxy worked well and could be sanded and painted. What metal will be stressed if I use epoxy? I wouldn't want to make things worse.

Becky,
No metal...I think Michelle thought you were talking about a metal endcap not one of the interior fiberglass ones

.

Aaron