Repair Crack In Caravan Window Acrylic Adhesive



Again this option had the disadvantage that the caravan would be without a window albeit for a short period of one week. (4) A DIY repair to the damaged window using either a specialist 2-part Structural Acrylic/Methacrylate adhesive or an acrylic “weld” cement. Work the adhesive back and forth across the crack, gently pressing it into the damaged area. Let the epoxy cure for at least five minutes. STEP 4: Remove excess epoxy with a razor blade and let. Step 1: Remove the plastic plugs to expose the screws behind. Step 2: Remove the screws. Step 3: Remove the window cassette and store in a flat, secure place. Step 4: Remove the window clips. This window required a Torx bit. Imtoo youtube video converter for mac. Step 5: Remove the window from the outside. If it’s stuck, use a flat blade to carefully pry it out by levering around.

DIY CARAVAN WINDOW DELAMINATION REPAIR

Many thanks to Tim & Cary for this great write up .

Whilst on holiday in Benodet, Brittany, this summer I was horrified to discover that the front, nearside window of our Bailey Senator Arizona had delaminated along the bottom and left-hand (viewed facing the caravan front) edges.I was concerned about whether the caravan was towable in this condition and posted on various caravan websites.The gist of the advice that I received was that it would be best to secure the window in some temporary way as there was a danger of it blowing out whilst towing at speed.In addition to such a mishap damaging other road users I was, also, warned that if the front window did blow out other windows might, also, be blown out by the resultant air pressure.

With these concerns in mind I temporarily secured the damaged window by running duct tape along the affected edges, folding it so that the tape’s width was half inside and half outside.With this temporary repair in place we were able to tow the caravan home safely.I did check that the repair was holding at every “comfort” stop on our 300+ mile journey home.

Once home, as is my way, I thoroughly researched the possible options to deal with this problem.I identified the following solutions, in descending order of expense:

Copy Photos and Paste to PCEventually, you need to copy the photos which you want to transfer, and then paste them to a location on your computer.ConclusionThere are so many methods about how to import photos from Samsung to PC, just choose one which you feel easy and practical to transfer your photos from Samsung to PC. Pictures from samsung to mac. We not only offer the ways of photos transfer from phone to PC, but also you can get tips from this article about transferring pictures from PC to Samsung device. Enter the folder, click ' Photos' and select the photos that you are going to copy.Step 4.

(1)A replacement window manufactured by “Polyplastic”, the makers of the original, window, and sourced via my dealer from their UK stockists “Miriad”.

This window would be identical to the original but the shade would probably differ from the other windows as they would have faded.It would have the screen-printed border but not the CRIS etching.This would cost c£450 with insured carriage.This window was available for immediate delivery and had the added advantage that it could be swapped with damaged window with a minimum time when the caravan was without a window.

(2)A replacement window made to order by the Exhaust Ejector Company.

Repair

I filled in the enquiry form on their web page and received detailed quotes for options (3) and (4).I would have had to send the original window to them and they would have made one in a matching shade but without the screen-printed border or CRIS number etching. This would take 2-3 weeks and would cost £297.60 with an additional £18.00 for a black painted edge.A total cost of £315.60.This option had the disadvantage that the caravan would be without a window for 2-3 weeks.

(3)A re-lamination repair to the original window by the Exhaust Ejector Company.EECO would only carry out this re-lamination on a “clean” window, ie, one which had not had a previous repair attempt.This option would mean that I would have the original window repaired and so it would, obviously, be a perfect “match” in every respect – border, shade and CRIS number.This repair would take approximately one week and would cost £95 for the repair and return carriage plus the additional cost of outward carriage which I estimated at £25.A total cost of £120.00.Again this option had the disadvantage that the caravan would be without a window albeit for a short period of one week.

(4)A DIY repair to the damaged window using either a specialist 2-part Structural Acrylic/Methacrylate adhesive or an acrylic “weld” cement.From my internet research I identified 2 suitable suppliers of these repair materials.

(a)“Bondrite Ltd” who supplied “S1220” and “S1225” methacrylate adhesives or “WC102” acrylic “weld” cement

(b)“Trade Grade Products Ltd” who supplied “Tradeweld Crystal” methacrylate adhesive in a fast or slow setting formula.

http://www.thegluepeople.co.uk

I ascertained that these products would cost approximately £30, including carriage, for 50ml.The “Tradeweld” product was slightly cheaper. Both companies offered online ordering and postal delivery. Men of war vietnam cheat mod.

After reading that other caravan owners and dealers had carried out successful DIY repairs on delaminated windows I decided that I too would attempt a DIY repair.If this proved unsuccessful I had the “back-up” of one of the replacement window options.The DIY option meant that there would be little time when the caravan would be windowless, and needing to have the aperture sealed against the weather, and the window would, obviously, match the others in the caravan in every respect.

I am no expert, but from my internet research I ascertained that the acrylic “weld” cement would give an excellent join between the delaminated window panes but as it chemically “melts”, fusing the acrylic of the 2 panes, it would possibly cause the screen-printed border to “run”.I, therefore, decided to use one of the methacrylate adhesives.The “Trade Grade Products Ltd” appeared to be the cheaper of the 2 companies but I was put off by their website stating that their products needed to be used with a dispenser “gun”.After I had ordered the “Bondrite” product a trade user of the “Tradeweld” product said that that product could be dispensed without a dispenser gun but by then the “Bondrite” order had been processed.

Repair Crack In Caravan Window Acrylic Adhesive

I had originally ordered the thicker 'S1225' (50ml) adhesive from “Bondrite” but a very helpful guy from “Bondrite” emailed me to say they were out of stock and offered me 2 x 25ml of 'S1220' instead for the original price. I phoned the guy at “Bondrite” and he recommended the “S1220” for the job I was doing and, also, pointed that it had the added advantage of being in hand-dispensing twin cartridge syringes rather than the 'S1225' which was designed for use in a dispensing 'gun'. I, therefore, opted for the “runnier”, medium viscosity, “S1220” product.The 2 x 25 ml cartridges complete with nozzles cost a rather expensive £25.62 with an additional £6.00 for carriage.Even though that was for next day recorded-delivery it still seemed pretty “steep”.

Before removing the window I need to remove the duct tape I had used as a temporary repair.This, unfortunately, was easier said than done.When I tried to remove the tape the adhesive layer and fibre backing adhered tenaciously to the window’s surface.As I had read that the acrylic windows were susceptible to damage from solvents I tried to remove this adhesive residue using a plastic scraper and soapy water.That method was very unsuccessful and so I had to resort to another one.

I knew from previous experience that petrol was very effective in removing this residue from caravan bodywork.In desperation I decided to use petrol to remove the adhesive residue from the window.To limit the possibility of the petrol damaging the window I removed the residue in small sections by rubbing it with petrol on a cloth and then immediately wiping the petrol traces off again with another soapy cloth.This method successfully removed the adhesive residue without any apparent damage to the window surface.

I was then ready to carry the delamination repair itself.The adhesive cartridges arrived the following day, bubble-wrapped inside a padded envelope.The adhesive arrived early in the morning and as a fine day was promised we decided to get straight on with the job.Assisted by Cary I unscrewed the window stays and then we lifted the window above the horizontal and it unhooked from the hanging rail. Thanks are due to those on the forum who explained how to do this when I asked.On a previous caravan I had slid the windows off the hanging rail sideway when resealing the rail but that was not possible on this caravan as the front windows are recessed into the bodywork.

Results

The adhesive came with 5 A4 pages of rather scary 'Safety Data' and another 'Technical Data' sheet. I followed “Bondrite's” advice contained in the Safety Data sheets and we wore safety gloves and eye protectors whilst actually using the adhesive. The adhesive came in 2 x twin piston dispensers which mixed the 2 parts of the adhesive when the piston was depressed.

In addition to the adhesives syringes I had assembled a toolkit of:

·A metal-bladed Pallet knife to use between the window panes during the repair

·Eight wooden blocks sawn from 1cm square section timber and approximately 2cm long, to keep the panes apart whilst I applied the adhesive

·Paper kitchen towel

·Cary’s hair dryer to dry the interior of the window panes

·A Stanley knife for trimming the finished window

·A selection of abrasive cloths for “sanding” the edges of the repaired window

·Eye protection goggles

·Rubber work gloves

·Several old clean cloths to remove any excess adhesive and/or adhesive spills

We placed the window, inside pane down, on our kitchen table which we had prepared with a covering of newspaper topped with a polythene sheet. I carefully cleaned the inner faces of the window panes along the 2 delaminated edges by wrapping the pallet knife blade with kitchen towel and sliding it between the 2 panes along the delaminated edges. I then wedged the 2 panes of the window open with the 8, pre-prepared wooden blocks. To ensure that there was no excess moisture trapped between the panes I played Cary's hair dryer, on a low heat setting, along gap between the delaminated panes.

Repair Crack In Caravan Window Acrylic Adhesive Capsulitis

I then removed the twist cap from one of the piston dispensers and fitted the narrow dispensing nozzle to the, now, open end.I squeezed a small amount of adhesive out of the end of the nozzle, onto a piece of scrap paper, to ensure that the 2 parts were mixing correctly.I then, very carefully, ran a thin bead of adhesive along the inner layer of the lower, inside, window pane. Immediately I had finished dispensing the adhesive I quickly removed the wooden blocks.Then, whilst holding the panes apart with the pallet knife, inserted further adhesive where the wedges had been. I then quickly joined the 2 panes together and clamped the edge with plastic clamps. I carefully wiped off any extra adhesive with a cloth.

I then replaced the sealing cap on the dispenser, ensuring that it was fitted the same direction as it had been fitted prior to its removal.This prevented further mixing and hardening of the 2 parts of the adhesive at the cap leaving it available for future use.

Caravan Window Repair - Caravan & Motorhome Windows

After 10 minutes curing time I trimmed off any hardened adhesive which had exuded from the edges of the joined window panes with the Stanley knife.I then gently sanded the joined edges to get rid of any remaining adhesive “bumps” using the 3 abrasive cloths in order of decreasing roughness.

We then cleared up and left the window adhesive to harden for the afternoon and then in the evening we replaced the repaired window in the caravan. This proved to be quite difficult as it was hard to keep the hinge bar hooked into the hanging rail. As I mentioned earlier it was not possible to slide the hinge in from the side because the windows are recessed into the front of the caravan.

I began to think we would have to unscrew one end of the rail from the caravan, however, after removing the rubber plug from the outer end of the rail we managed to get the hinge correctly seated. I then quickly screwed the window stays back in place and the job was finished. Well I thought it was finished, but I then realised that I have left out the rubber plug! As it was by then dark we decided to leave this until another day when it was light!!

We are very pleased with our efforts. I will replace the window rail plug, and may do a little more sanding along the joined edges, when we have another dry day.Other than that the job’s complete.We will not be using the caravan for the few days and so the adhesive will have plenty to time to reach its full strength. The “Bondrite” chap said it would reach full strength in 8 hours.

Cracked A Window - Caravan Accessories & Equipment - Caravan Talk

We actually only needed one 25 ml adhesive dispenser and we have only used half of that. Even with the cost of the unused adhesive we have saved ourselves £70+ on the £100 cost of a relamination repair by “EECO” and £400+ on the cost of a replacement window from “Miriad”. In addition our repaired window is, of course, a perfect match for the other windows both in shade and printed border and has the CRIS number etched on. In addition we were able to remove, repair and replace the window in one day. This negated the need to seal up the window aperture against the weather whilst the window was out or for the caravan to be out of use for an extended period.
Author Tim & Cary





Comments are closed.