A write off Motorhome repair

Hi there. I have just found this subject Vehicle restoration. So i am posting a video for anyone to watch. It is mostly of the rebuilding of Glass fibre parts. I had to make patterns for the moulds , which were made from Insulation foam & wood.

From taking ownership of the smashed vehicle to repairing , painting & completing.

It is something I had never done before so it was a challenge. This was from about 5 years ago, but only just got around to making a video.

Steve.

Well done you, a worthwhile job

the last time I worked with glass fibre it was pretty stinky horrible stuff that never did what you wanted it to do

Thanks Ady. It took a while but turned out far better than I expected.

Well impressed with that repair!

You claim it's easy, But I've done composite repairs in the past myself...

Making your own forms and mould, then getting them to successfully de-mould and match up perfectly with an existing (damaged) part, and integrate back into the whole (visually) seamlessly is impressive, that's some top-flight work.

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To Ady1's point, Epoxy has made glass-fibre work a lot less smelly (although I quite like the smell of styrene, for my sins)... But no less awkward to manipulate though, absolutely maddening when it doesn't go to plan!

On the horrible point more generally, Last time I did any serious composites repair work I shaved my arms in advance, so I could use packing tape to pull all the little fibres out of my skin at the end of each day, on the advice of a boat-builder friend... Whilst a bit weird, it was sound advice and saved many hours of constant itching.

Well done Steve, glass fibre is versatile material , I've done a lot in the past including making some moulds. 40 years ago, wife and I made our own solar hot water system. we made the boxes in which we installed the panels using GRP.

Steve,

As you've discovered the plug has to have a perfect finish, which lots more filler primer and sanding on the MDF would have given you.

Did I miss you reinforcing the back of the joins or is that bit magic?

BYW handling Matt with bare hands is kind of OK, but you get any resin on it and it gets in the skin it's a pig.

Edited By Dave Halford on 06/10/2022 17:51:18

Hi Dave. The side panel did not require any filler. I just gently rubbed down the stipply gel coat which was quite thick. The part came out very good with very little prep for paint. I guess making it from MDF was a mistake as it's a tad porous, hence the rough finish.

The reason i missed lots of footage of more work was the intention was not for a Youtube video. But just to show friends.

The reinforcing at the back was done with Stainless steel tube 25mm dia. This was held in place with clamps & then overlaid with single matt. Then once cured that was overlaid with around 5" deep , what i will call 4 ply matting. I know it's termed in Grams but not sure of the rating.

No magic, just hours & hours of tedious stippling resin from underneath. The corner post was just overlaid with 3 coats of matting until solid.

Hi Steve

MDF is fine, you just need spray on several coats of high build primer and keep flatting it till there's no orange peel. That way your mould gel coat is shiny, it takes wax better (I hated the PVA) and therefore parts easier.

I made a roller with pop rivet washers it's better for getting the air out of the matting.

Steviegtr

Nice work. I have done a lot of GRP and composite work in the past.

The best tip I got for avoiding the itch was to wash or shower with cold water. If you use hot or warm water, you open the pores and the go little fibres go straight in.

Tim R

Yes looking back it would have been much better to spend more time on prep. My problem was it is something I had never done before. So if I were to do it again i would follow what you advise.

Thanks for the info Dave.

Steve.

Yes i did get a bit on my arms. Luckily a neighbour had given me some oversleeve protectors. They helped immensely.

Steve.