On Jul 17, 11:22*pm, Matt Colie wrote:
Bill,
Git-Rot is little more than a laminating epoxy (very low viscosity) that
sets much softer than most epoxies you probably familiar to you.
Now, to your situation as I understand it.
You have a typical aluminum skinned RV. *You have removed a good portion
of the degenerated wood. *The 1/4 plywood paneling that supported the
skin is gone as well as some of the structural framing.
Repair processes:
You can safely use Git-Rot to recover the stability of small sections of
frames you choose not to replace.
Epoxies do not bond well to untreated (etched) aluminum. *Filling that
much volume inside the RV shell will not be simple. *I could do it and I
know how, but I would still not suggest it be done. *The heat of the
cure may discolor the skin and there are other considerations.
If it were my job, I would fit the paneling back in place. *In pieces if
I have to. *I would then use a urethane adhesive to bond the skin to the
plywood. *Finally, I would join those pieces with either more panel and
epoxy or glass cloth and epoxy. *You can then recreate the missing frame
pieces. *As you will not be able to nail the plywood to the new frames
from the outside, epoxy the frames to the inside.
Both West and System 3 epoxies will do most of what you need to do very
well. *Go to the West System site or a West (no relation) store and get
the books that company sells.www.westsystem.com/http://www.systemthree.com/
Which ever epoxy you choose to use. *Get the mixing pumps, a light
weight filler, a filleting blend filler and what ever other tools you
think you might need.
It sounds like you are doing a job that would probably cost 2k in a
shop. *They would rip the skin off replace all the bad wood, put new
skin back on and paint it all to match. *(And let you worry about the
water leaks that started the problem some time down the road.
Advice from a BTDT..... Don't try to save money on tools and material.
* *This job will be hard enough to get right even if you only have to
fight the repair.
Good Luck Guy
Matt Colie
Bill wrote:
I know this is a boating forum but most of the posts I've seen on Git-
Rot seem to be be in the boating arena so here goes.
Does Git-Rot harden without being soaked into wood like a normal
epoxy??
What I'm dealing with is an RV that has some rotted frame members in
the overhang above the cab. *I've removed most of the really bad wood
and will be drying out the rest over the next week or so with a
humidifier. *I was thinking of soaking all of the remaining wood with
Git-Rot to stabilize it then replacing the missing structural members
or sistering in new frame parts if the pieces are still there but not
as strong as I think they should be. *All this is well and good except
that the skin of the camper was placed over 1/4 paneling and nailed or
screwed through into the frame. *I had to remove much of the 1/4
paneling and now have a 1/4 inch gap between many of the frame members
and the aluminum skin. *What I was thinking of doing is filling that
gap with an epoxy so it will bond the skin to the frame and fill in
the gaps so I wont have holes if the skin gets pushed up by wind when
I'm driving. *My first thought was to use Git-Rot to soak the wood and
then another type of epoxy to do the filling, I'd have to find one
with a high viscosity so I can pour it into the cavities and let it
flow under the frame. *I figure that if I pour a 1/2 inch of epoxy
that is should do what I need. *I then got to thinking that maybe Git-
Rot might be all that I need, I could cover all of the bad wood and
then keep filling in the cavities until it stopped being absorbed and
puddled but I wasn't sure if it would cure hard enough or bond to the
aluminum.
Anyone have experience with something light this using Git-Rot??
Bill- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
I'm changing my thoughts on epoxying the entire bottom, what I'm
leaning toward now is using Git-Rot to harden up the questionable
frame parts then shooting some under the frame members where each
screw coms through from the outside. Even if Git-Rot doesn't harden
rock hard I'm thinking that it will flow/seep in and around the screw
shank and the hole in the aluminum skin and block up any water path.
Then I'm going to use expaned foam to fill in the empty area bewteen
the frame and the skin where I removed the water damaged panel. I'm
going to replace the missing pieces that the rot completely destroyed
and sister some new frame members along other questionable ribs. Top
the entire thing off with a 1/2 inch piece of marine grade plywood and
screw and glue the living heck out of it. The 1/2 ply should
structually strengthen the frame, maybe not as good as having a
continuous panel on top and bottom but close and the foam fill will
stop the skin from coming up off the screw heads and opening up
holes. I'm going to try the epoxy/foam on a small area first to see
how it works and if I run into problems your method or a variation of
it will have to do.
Keep in mind I've never done any glass work, how strong would a
sectioned panel be if I just glassed the topside of it right over the
frame down to the panel?? I could fill in the panel pieces like you
mentioned then basically lay a fibereglass layer over the entire frame
and panels making them basically one piece?? Just looking for
options. I like having different options so I can weigh the pros and
cons of each before making my desision.
I looked at the westwood and system three products and you're right
that they would do what I want but I'd need about 2 gal plus to do it
the way I was planning and that adds up quick and I'm on the tightest
budgest imaginable, think negative numbers, alse some people on the RV
groups have mentioned worries about the epoxy over stiffening the
overhang to the point that it might cause problems down the road.