Vagabound's Build-Out - 1993 Ford E350 Box Truck

[rvpopeye]

The JB epoxy will probably be the best for the holes but a little pricey and too thick for the wood rot.

I used to use a versionby another mfg. for marine applications that was two part putty sticks that all you do is cut off a piece knead it to mix and push it into the hole then smooth with a wet finger. It was white too !

Resin would probably be the thing for flowing into voids . The wood patches you have already done can be touched up around the edges with Bondo ! It might be good for wood rot too but not sure about injecting it or if it would flow like resin would.

I don't know of one single product that will work for everything though.

 

[BradKW]

You don't want to use caulking because it'll never look right... Other than that pretty much what Popeye said. Except Bondo is a moisture wicking... It'd be ideal provided the backside isn't wet...

 

[DannyB1954]

I think the best thing to repair fiberglass is fiberglass. A scrap piece of fiberglass insulation mixed with two part epoxy. Wad it up, stuff it in. You can mix in a white colloidal silica for color. If the holes are too small for the fiberglass, just use the epoxy with the Silica. I would go with the 24 hr version of epoxy. You don't need a lot of immediate strength, but the longer cure will be stronger eventually. When I lived on a boat, I mostly used West System Epoxy.

With epoxy, if it is still wet can be removed from your hands with white vinegar. I think it is the acid that does it. Much better for you than solvents.

 

[rvpopeye]

I used to use (are you ready for this?) baby wipes for cleanup of west resins , fiberglass and bondo too .
Not so much these days , guess they figured out it was a bit much for baby butts?

 

[Vagabound]

Danny:
White vinegar. Great tip.

rvpopeye:
The silver lining to the reduction of strength of baby wipe ingredients is that it helped me out of another problem. When I was sick basically for the last week of October and first half of November, I blew my nose so much that I just couldn't stand to touch my face with anything after the first week. On impulse, I bought some baby wipes from CVS with aloe and vitamin E. They turned into life-saving, face-healing substitutes for Kleenex.

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Gee Whiz Facts:
I discovered a few things about PL Premium as an adhesive.  First, it doesn't like the cold very much. Really slows down the curing process.  Second, it doesn't work that well when applied in a very thick bead, for example, to fill a crack.   I'm that type of application it takes forever to cure.  I think it's designed to be squashed flat between two surfaces and excels at that.

Tom

 

[DannyB1954]

PL premium will actually expand a little to fill a crack. I think it activates with moisture. try spraying it with a bit of water.

 

[SternWake]

I capture sanding dust from my belt sander and mix it into my epoxy designed for quickly wetting out fiberglass until it is the consistency of peanut butter. Spreads like bondo, but waterproof and strong and adheres very strongly and sands like steel when cured. Cedar makes a dark brown putty, pine is dark to medium tan. Takes paint well, just remove possible glossy surface by sanding.

I've linked this epoxy in a previous post in this thread, I believe:
http://www.fiberglasssource.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=88

If you want a white filler to mix into epoxy to make a putty, that is easier to sand:
http://www.fiberglasssource.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=97



The Apex epoxy is fairly thin, but not as thin as the system3 fixrot or the System3 clearcoat resin. Much thinner that West 105 with their 205 hardener.

I like mixing my Distilled white vinegar with some rubbing alcohol for cleaning tools, or my sticky Gloves. helps it cut a bit better, and evaporates quicker too. DWV on its own seems to turn the epoxy white and leave a residue on surfaces requiring another wipe, but with the alcohol does not.

Do NOT get Epoxy hardeners on your hands/Skin, but if you do Acetone is the worst thing you can use to clean your skin as skin presents no barrier to acetone, and it will take all those horrid Amines in epoxy hardeners right into your bloodstream.

Remember Epoxy sticks to fiberglass saturated with polyester resin, often called/labelled as fiberglass resin, but polyester resins do not bond well to Epoxy, and in some cases will not even cure atop it.

Epoxy's adhesive qualities far exceed polyester resins, but Epoxy resin and hardener must be mixed precisely for good results. 2 to 1 by volume on the above epoxy or 100:45 by weight.

HOw strong does epoxy bond to a substrate?

This is 4 oz fiberglass sticking to the edge of the shaving

Epoxy is not UV Proof, Needs to be covered in paint or with a UV filter if exposed to a lot of sun

The leading edge of my fiberglass roof was not attached well. Here is a threaded Brass insert I submerged in fiberglass rope i saturated with epoxy. the brown is the wood flour/dust I mixed in with the apex epoxy to make bondo. The Brass insert is to Pull the roof to windshield frame from below.

 

[rvpopeye]

I like the insert idea !

 

[Vagabound]

I like the insert idea !

I think the only person who can truly like the insert idea is the person who doesn't have to do it! 

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By the way, I think Brad nearly got his wish regarding the Bullet Hole method of covering up the screw holes in the side of the box. I decided to use JB Weld and that went well, except for the fact that it dries black. I guess that's what sanders and spray paint are made for.

Tom

 

[BradKW]

You might consider pricing white vinyl wrap...you could do one side with the expensive 3M brand for about $275, but google shows a wide variety of options...

 

[Vagabound]

Progress Update:
Snores For Floors

The replacement of bad wood from portions of the box walls is now finished. Man, that was tedious work!  However, I'm happy with the results because I no longer have to wonder what's going on inside the walls as I am now intimately familiar with them, and the renovated walls are now very firm.   By the way, the J-B Weld was a good solution, and not expensive at all. For one $5 tube, I was able to patch probably 50 small screw holes in both walls. If some of them need a second treatment, at most it would be 5 dollars more.

I've shifted my focus now, to the degree that I have any focus, to the floors. My goal has been first to clean them, then to remove years of history stuck between the planks in the floor, and then to seal the floor.  That last part will be done with some caulking and deck paint. I'm not worried about appearance because all this will be covered up by insulation and flooring material soon. My goal is just to make the floor watertight and bug-resistant.

There was one additional task related to the floors. Apparently the corners of the box, especially the front two corners, have leaked for a long time. That caused rotten floor wood in a small area in the front corners on the floor. One corner had more or less been patched by the previous owner. That left one corner from me. In that case I just removed the bad wood, created a custom plywood sandwich to fit the space, and glued and fastened it in place. Sounds a lot faster than it was. That is now done.

A few pictures to see what I'm talking about:

The floor after caulking, but before painting ...




Before, but after the removal of the bad wood ...






After ...



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Of course, it never rains in the desert ... that is, until I decide to remove old corner bolts which temporarily cause the walls to separate from the box frame a bit. This is in addition to the roof leaks that already exist and are on the to-do list.  

So, for the last two days, at least the roof needed to be protected from the large rain storms that rolled through.   I managed to get the roof covered with plastic and duct tape just as the rain hit yesterday. You can see a photo below of my truck with its shower cap on ... and the reason for it up in the sky beyond the truck:



And the work continues ...

Tom

 

[abnorm]

" By the way, the J-B Weld was a good solution, and not expensive at all. For one $5 tube, I was able to patch probably 50 small screw holes in both walls. If some of them need a second treatment, at most it would be 5 dollars more."

You are welcome............doug

 

[Headache]

I think I'd much rather be where you are than up here! I can't seem to get anything done! Good luck sealing that roof. I highly recommend some type of insulative fiber seal coating. I've seen and felt the difference in the summer time as a box truck I was in was 10 degrees cooler. You'd have to clean the top really well though.

Depending on your funds it might be worth it to have an RV place do it because they have the ladders and scaffolding to make it a quick and easy job for them. I imagine your roof costing around $100 or so but only because my 26 feet was going to cost me about $250. As always YMMV.

 

[Vagabound]

 ....  I highly recommend some type of insulative fiber seal coating.  ...

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't know what that is. At present, I'm planning to paint the entire roof with that thick silver aluminized paint that is normally used for mobile home roofs.   Do you think there would be much difference between the two in terms of results?

Tom

 

[Headache]

Not really since both are made for mobile home roofs. I was thinking along the lines of this type:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/ANViL-RO...ite-Elastomeric-Roof-Coating-770001/204744377

or this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-0-90-Gal-555-Premium-Aluminum-Roof-Coating-HE555142/100095258

I see the sneaky size reductions have occurred with these as they are no longer a true gallon anymore. Sad.

 

[Vagabound]

Not really since both are made for mobile home roofs.  I was thinking along the lines of this type:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/ANViL-RO...ite-Elastomeric-Roof-Coating-770001/204744377

or this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Henry-0-90-Gal-555-Premium-Aluminum-Roof-Coating-HE555142/100095258

I see the sneaky size reductions have occurred with these as they are no longer a true gallon anymore.  Sad.

The Anvil product says it is not designed for flat roofs and must have a slope. Henry products I think are a good line. I've been trying to compare Henry to this other more generic choice in Home Depot - Roofer's Choice:

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Roofers-Choice-4-75-Gal-Mobile-Home-Aluminum-Coating-RC067870/202091019

So far, I can't find any difference except price.

Size: Agree about their sneakiness. The 5 gallon buckets are not 5 gallons either; it's 4.75 gallons now. On one hand, I think I need to remain constantly vigilant to that stuff. On the other hand, I think what's the point because you can't change it anyway and they're still going to reduce it anyway and you're still going to buy it anyway, if you need it.

Too bad that there is so little true competition.  That's one of the great fallacies about the free market economy, but don't get me started on that. ;-)

Tom

 

[Lafnbug]

Back when I looked into the aluminized roof coatings, I discovered that, like everything else, they don't make it like they used to (TDMILTUT?)

The better products have a much higher aluminum content than what you find in the box stores. More reflectivity, more durable. Unfortunately, I don't remember who the better manufacturers were.

 

[SternWake]

Consider eternabond tape over the leaky seams

 

[Matlock]

^^^^^  What SW said.

In my experience, the problem with any type of paint... Kool-seal or any of the reflective roof coatings,  fibered aluminum roof coating, etc. is they all say they resist cracking and peeling and some even say they are UV rated and all of them are fine for a while. If ... your going to remain stationary (mobile home that sits stationary in a mobile home park for it's lifetime). If you want to travel some then the twisting of the box on the frame will open up leaks, new and old that will be very difficult to find so you reseal the entire roof again.

Just my 2¢

 

[Vagabound]

Consider eternabond tape over the leaky seams

Thanks, SW.   Could be more, but I see two basic kinds:

1.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002R...82957355&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

2.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00F...82957355&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

Which do you all have in mind?

EDIT:. Also, would it make sense to run the tape all the way around the box perimeter on top of the roof? And if so, then stop there or paint over the tape and everything else with that aluminized paint?

Tom