Restoring roof and fiberglass on Penthouse top

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Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I would think any primer would be fine. I have done a couple tops and random small parts with Raptor Liner ordered from Amazon and it sticks great to fiberglass as long as you sand and scuff the surface a bit. I've just used rattle can primer when I've used it at all.

As for Raptor over Monstaliner I haven't actually used Monstaliner yet but what I do like about Raptor is it comes in 4 bottles so you don't have to mix a whole gallon at a time. It's about the same price, I'm sure they all are, but also my local paint guy has gotten me almost a perfect match on tint base for Raptor Liner using Dupont paint products. I went with the cheaper Nason base once and it wasn't as good of a match. I emailed Monstaliner about their tintable product and they said use only PPG tint base, which I don't have access to here.

Very good info. Have you ever rolled the Raptor liner?

Separate question: Is it safe to remove all the top bolts at once for replacement? Is it not with the same bolts that the top scissor mechanism is fastened to the roof?

[86Scotty]

I have not but am about to. Give me a week and I'll know how it rolls.

You can lift the top and remove all bolts with no problem. The mechanism will 'rest' in the up position and the canvas will hold it just fine. It would be hard to spray or roll this way though and if you put any weight on it it might shift or slip-slide to the side. I would recommend tethering it somehow in the down position if you're going to do this with the top on the van, then remove all bolts and it will rest in the down position and you can get around it and work on it much easier. I've done two and it is much simpler to remove the top and work on it on sawhorses but removing and reinstalling canvas is no party. I did it because I was doing lots of other work. Also, it's pretty easy to remove the little black pins all the way around and remove the weatherstripping. Both are reusable. You can lift the top a bit and put drop cloths around it under the edge and then lower it, completely masking off the van at once. The weight of the top will hold the tarps or drop cloths in place.

Here are some pics of the texture of a top up close with the Raptor provided sprayer. You can see on this one, the first one I did, how I left the big washers in place and put some smaller washers and bolts in the holes just for the spray, then those were replaced with fresh stainless hardware. I did redo the butyl under the big washers. I saw no reason to replace those since they are expensive and I was keeping them from ever rusting by coating them with Raptor Liner.

[Flyview]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I have not but am about to. Give me a week and I'll know how it rolls.

You can lift the top and remove all bolts with no problem. The mechanism will 'rest' in the up position and the canvas will hold it just fine. It would be hard to spray or roll this way though and if you put any weight on it it might shift or slip-slide to the side. I would recommend tethering it somehow in the down position if you're going to do this with the top on the van, then remove all bolts and it will rest in the down position and you can get around it and work on it much easier. I've done two and it is much simpler to remove the top and work on it on sawhorses but removing and reinstalling canvas is no party. I did it because I was doing lots of other work. Also, it's pretty easy to remove the little black pins all the way around and remove the weatherstripping. Both are reusable. You can lift the top a bit and put drop cloths around it under the edge and then lower it, completely masking off the van at once. The weight of the top will hold the tarps or drop cloths in place.

Here are some pics of the texture of a top up close with the Raptor provided sprayer. You can see on this one, the first one I did, how I left the big washers in place and put some smaller washers and bolts in the holes just for the spray, then those were replaced with fresh stainless hardware. I did redo the butyl under the big washers. I saw no reason to replace those since they are expensive and I was keeping them from ever rusting by coating them with Raptor Liner.

Again, great info! Didn't the large washer move when you removed the bolt to put in the other washers? I've got a set of Gooseberry's custom T-bolts I'll be using. Now I'm wondering if I should spray on top of them and not under. I feel like under would be better for the future if I ever need to undo them, and they're stainless so they shouldn't rust.

I am definitely not up to removing the canvas so I'll have to do it with the top in place and mask off the van. I think my strategy will be as follows:

Pop top a bit
Remove weatherstripping, clean up dirt
Completely mask up van below gutter line
Lower the top
Remove old bolts and washers, clean up old gunk (this is where top needs to stay in place on its own)
Sand entire top
Spray/roll top
Put in new custom bolts from Gooseberry with new butyl tape
Raise top
Mask off canvas
Sand roof/gutter
Spray roof/gutter

Can you see anything wrong with that sequence?

At first I thought the top would have to be slightly popped while spraying the top so I can get the bottom edge, and I was afraid of it moving with the bolts removed, or worse the crossbars springing completely out of place with the bolts removed. However then I realized that the bottom edge doesn't have to be perfect since there's the rubber "seal" on it anyway. The one advantage to having the top popped a bit would be that I could then spray the top and the roof at the same time, but again, not sure how well the top would stay in place. Having it popped up all the way isn't really an option either as I would then need a huge ladder to even be able to reach and spray.

Where do you guys get 3" butyl tape (aka seam seal tape)? I was told Sportsmobile can send you some but they appear to be closed today.

[86Scotty]

Butyl is much cheaper on Ebay. There are come camper specific Ebay stores that sell it. I saw it there first but I think I ended up just ordering mine from an online RV supply store. No history of it in my Ebay purchases. You don't need it as wide as the washers. Butyl tape is like chewing gum. Just put a small ring of it around the center of the washer and it will squeeze out as you tighten the bolts. I used Gooseberry's hardware on Twogone's van and was very impressed BUT!!!!......use the supplied thread lube he provides!!! It's a must for stainless, especially with these long bolts which you have to trim off once you're done. He makes them long so you have plenty to work with depending on your van, thickness of ceiling, etc. You'll see what I mean. Trimming the excess bolt off once you've reinstalled hardware is the hardest part of the job.



Your sequence looks good to me. Cheap, thin drop cloths shoved under the lip of the top to do the masking of the van are quick and simple.

Lots more pics of how I did the top on Twogone's van here:

Sportsmobile Forum - 86Scotty's Album: 86Scotty2

Sportsmobile Forum - 86Scotty's Album: 86Scotty2

[Flyview]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Butyl is much cheaper on Ebay. There are come camper specific Ebay stores that sell it. I saw it there first but I think I ended up just ordering mine from an online RV supply store. No history of it in my Ebay purchases. You don't need it as wide as the washers. Butyl tape is like chewing gum. Just put a small ring of it around the center of the washer and it will squeeze out as you tighten the bolts. I used Gooseberry's hardware on Twogone's van and was very impressed BUT!!!!......use the supplied thread lube he provides!!! It's a must for stainless, especially with these long bolts which you have to trim off once you're done. He makes them long so you have plenty to work with depending on your van, thickness of ceiling, etc. You'll see what I mean. Trimming the excess bolt off once you've reinstalled hardware is the hardest part of the job.


Your sequence looks good to me. Cheap, thin drop cloths shoved under the lip of the top to do the masking of the van are quick and simple.

Lots more pics of how I did the top on Twogone's van here:

Sportsmobile Forum - 86Scotty's Album: 86Scotty2

Sportsmobile Forum - 86Scotty's Album: 86Scotty2

Awesome, didn't realize it would squeeze out that much. That makes it simpler to find something on eBay or Amazon!

[Flyview]

Things are slowly moving ahead. I just ordered these off Amazon:

U-POL Raptor Tintable Bed Liner 4L kit w/ Spray gun - $90

U-POL Etch Primer #8 - $19

2"x42" Butyl tape - $9

50ft Marine grade Polyester Shock Cord - $22

New question:

I've been looking through different top threads and it looks like when they're new they sit nicely within the gutters on either side. Does mine hang over the edges (slightly on both sides even when centered) because it's bulged out over time? I'm guessing there's no way of shaping it back within the gutter? This is why I'm also spraying the Raptor liner on the gutter rails.

[AKSeeker]

I will soon have to tackle a restoration the fiberglass of my penthouse top, though not leaking yet ("knock on fiberglass"),.. the gel coat is peeling, some "spider-web" cracking, and the bolt heads and washers are rusting pretty badly,.. and there are also the screw holes and glue damage from the crappy job that SMB West did when installing the now defunct solar panels (sheet metal screws right through a number of solar panel cells, breaking the panel seal, eventually leading to water damage and failure). Any suggestions for filling these holes and replacing the big bolts and washers would be appreciated.
As far as rubbing down to bare metal around the edge of the penthouse (particularly at the corners), I found a great, durable DIY solution! The product is called Rust Bullet, first sand and clean the area, then treat with their liquid rust conversion product, then paint with a couple coats of their Automotive "Rust Inhibitive Protective Coating", followed by a top coat of their "Black Shell" industrial grade rust inhibitive paint. If you don't have much rust yet, you can skip the first step and just san, clean and paint. Also, you can get a smoother job by using a foam brush. I did this job several years ago and so far there is no sign of the rub-through areas reoccurring.

[Flyview]

So I'm finally moving forward with this project. What grit sandpaper did you guys use on the fiberglass? My sander came with 120 pad and it seems to be going pretty slowly (picture below) and it still feels about as smooth as before sanding! How far down do I need to sand? The edges are easily going down to the fiberglass but the flat parts not so much.

What should I do about holes like the one in the second picture? Is that a hole in the gel coat or a layer of fiberglass?

Thanks for all the input everyone!!!

[86Scotty]

I have never used the acid etch or the specific primer, just any auto primer will do fine and save you a buck. I usually sand any fiberglass to about 220 before I put any coating on it. Seems to be fine. I use rattle can Rustoleum auto primer on just about everything. Good stuff. As for that hole you just need to patch it with fiberglass.

https://www.amazon.com/272-Bondo-Gla...ds=bondo+glass

It's only about $12 at Walmart or similar stores. Fun stuff to use if you never have. 2 part mix, spread, let dry and sand down.