Aussie import bay window pop top problems.................

Hi - just bought this 1975 australian bay window camper - it has what i believe to be a "supro" pop top - the sort only found on the australian vans. The mechanism is all fine and obviously the canvas needs replacing.

The first issue with it is that the paint has cracked over the whole surface - it appears scaly - see pic



There are leaks where it appears that the fibreglass has gone thin.
So is there a product available where you can seal the fibreglass from below (some sort of silicone spray??) - I suppose if the paint is sorted out then it`ll be watertight again??!!

Also from the inside of the van it looks hideous! No headlining or anything - see below



Any ideas on how to tidy this up - is there any pop top refurbishment people in the midlands (i am in gloucestershire)

On the plus side this is a very straight, solid, unmolested bus and when its all sorted it`ll be great. 2 litre flat four fuel injection engine and higher ratio gearbox too so better cruising than in my 72 bay!

 

i had a go with some 120 gauge sandpaper earlier on - probably need some a bit coarser really - looks like it`ll be a nightmare to remove all that.................................

 

Are you sure that is paint? Looks like a thin gel coat to me. If where it breaks up you can see the strands of GRP then that is a gel coat in which case a flatting over and another coat needs applying to seal it against water. Sometimes it is possible to seal off using a 1K synthetic enamel but whatever happens it must be really dry as the GRP sops up moisture.

 

Hi there,
give us a bell we can do one off headliners and pop top canvas replacements, got 3 in for same treatment at the mo.
Based just outside Ashby de la Zouce.
Keith 07790 903748

 

Aslo be able to help with getting it watertight.

 

Wow cheers lads excellent answers - Keith that sounds good for when I'm at this stage - who would be applying this gel coat stuff - the bodyshop?? You can't see strands where the cracking is - do u not think that it's hard paint that couldn't deal with the flex of the fibreglass?? Probably worth a blast with the orbital sander??? Keith - do u do new seals etc as well??

 

If I were you, I'd look up a GRP specialist in your area... that gel coat is kippered, and you need someone who knows GRP to look at it!!

 

That gel coat looks bad and the fibreglass underneath will go soggy.

If it was a boat it would be shotblasted or scraped and then the bare fibreglass would be dried out before a new coating would be put on.

The problem with getting a good final finish is that the original gelcoat would have been the first thing painted into a mould and that mould would have been polished to make the gelcoat smooth. The rest of the fibreglass would have been laid up on to the gelcoat.

If you paint on thick gelcoat it will tend to stay blobby, as there is no mould to shape it, and it may even run and make a mess in general.

Otherwise, on a boat hull a lot of coats (6 to 10 ) of 0.1mm thick (epoxy or twopack) paint are painted on to build up a smooth layer about 0.6 to 1mm thick , with sanding to flatten it, which replaces the gelcoat.

If there were only small holes then you could have just filled them. But as it looks totally knackered, lots of scraping and chipping to get rid of the gelcoat, followed with filling, sanding and painting ...


It may actually be easier to simply surface fill and smooth the roof you have (skipping getting yourself covered in glass fibres) , fitting internal stiffening wooden ribs so it doesnt loose shape, then cover in fibreglass mould release wax and use this as a male mould to make a female mould out of fibreglass (not forgetting to reinforce the female mould with wood) then using the female mould to lay up a new fibreglass roof.

All of these routes are time consuming. It could easily be hundreds of pounds of labour if you dont DIY. And quite expensive on materials anyway.

 

^so bearing that in mind, I'd look for a replacent roof. It doesn't have to be exactly the same.

 

Ok so I know u can get a brand new westfalia style rear hinged fitted for 2800 - anyone know of any other (cheaper) ways of doing this cos this is gonna blow my budget !!! I originally thought a grand would sort this existing pop top out ( headlining, respray, new canvas and new seals ) . Merry Christmas to everyone and thanks for your help

 

Our body guy knows his stuff when it comes to GRP but if your a bit put off try your local boat yard or GRP expert for an opinion. Failing that ive got an OG Westy roof for sale including the hinges and lifting gear. Was going on my bus but gonna keep the sunroof now.
Keith.

 

Flatting down by hand using a 60 grit aluminium oxide paper and painting the lot with a synthetic enamel, it dries slowly to a gloss finish and can blur the edges of cracks etc. it also can be applied by roller, paint pad or brush. Avoid acrylic as it is very touchy with regard humidity and temperature. As for the underside...a clean off with sugar soap and a couple of coats of bathroom emulsion paint in the colour of your choice will work wonders.
You will not achieve a factory finish on the outside but at least it will be quite presentable and more importantly the GRP will be kept dry. Merry Christmas to you too.

 

Artex or super fresco.


you're welcome.

 

Ok so I spose if there's no guarantee of the finished article I'll be better off doing the new roof from scratch - this begs the question - is the orefice gonna be in the right place???!!!!