Hi, I wonder if anyone can help or advise us. My wife and I took delivery of a second-hand 2000 Swift Challenger 490Se caravan at the weekend. We drove down to Somerset from Surrey to pick it up. We had a great buy, and we are SOO delighted with it. It has many extras including a power touch mover. It been owned by an elderly couple who had owned it for 7 years and had only used 3 times in all that time. Inside it is as new, if a bit dusty! The only thing wrong with it, is that it had been stored under trees for most of that time without a cover, so you can imagine the state that it was in externally! But all it needed was a very thorough clean. We took it to a car/ caravan wash on the way home, and for just 15 quid, they did a great job and presented it back to us absolutely gleaming and in pristine condition. The only problem is that in the process, one of the guys accidently touched the caravan with the foot of his step ladder, which pierced the skin and made a hole in the skin about the size of a 20 pence piece. We were gutted! Naturally they waved the charge for the clean, and fortunately judging by where the hole is, I am sure that I can deal with it by covering it with an amber reflector and it will be as good as new, but in order to be absolutely sure, I would like to seal the hole with some kind of filler. Can anyone recommend what filler I should use to fill a hole in an aluminium skin before covering it with a reflector?
What a shame. They do say you shouldn't use a pressure washer on the caravan due to it removing the mastic, so I hope they haven't done any more damage that can let the water in.
On ours I filled the hole with bathroom silicon sealant, I then stuck a sign over it due to where the hole was, but if it's in the right place for a reflector (colour depending on location of course) then that will do the job.
We used mastic,then put a piece of tenacious tape over it, it was at the back above the reg plate, you could not tell unless it was pointed out,we did keep an eye on it we never had a problem,we cleaned the van as normal the tape is still holding now after 2 years.
Quote: Originally posted by Rune Caster on 24/8/2010Do not use silicon mastic!
Fill the hole and dent with Sikaflex 512 or Tigerseal and put the reflector on the top.
What's the thinking behind saying not to use silicon sealant? It's been there for 5 years and no sign of any problems.
I've used both Sikaflex and Tigerseal and they are very good products - but if it's only a small hole most people have some bathroom sealant to hand whilst buying Sikaflex or Tigerseal is quite costly.
Great Guys, Many thanks for all your your advice. I'm now armed with a tube of Silkaflex 512, a roll of tenacious tape and an amber reflector. Guess what I'm going to be doing this weekend! Once again Many Thanks for the valuable advice. Megards. Mike
Quote: Originally posted by Grad Sailor on 24/8/2010
Quote: Originally posted by Rune Caster on 24/8/2010Do not use silicon mastic!
Fill the hole and dent with Sikaflex 512 or Tigerseal and put the reflector on the top.
What's the thinking behind saying not to use silicon sealant? It's been there for 5 years and no sign of any problems.
I've used both Sikaflex and Tigerseal and they are very good products - but if it's only a small hole most people have some bathroom sealant to hand whilst buying Sikaflex or Tigerseal is quite costly.
Most bathroom silicon sealants, that people have lying around in their homes, now have so much filler in them they are virtually useless for sealing as they no longer stick to anything permanently - the last tube of decent silicon sealant I bought to seal around the shower cubicle in the caravan cost more than a tube of Sikaflex.
Bear in mind that the fact that you have used silicon sealant and it is still there after 5 year is not proof that it is still waterproof - even in the non-flexing world of a home bathroom, silicon sealant begins to peal and leak before 5 years has passed
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
Quote: Originally posted by mike147 on 24/8/2010
Great Guys, Many thanks for all your your advice. I'm now armed with a tube of Silkaflex 512, a roll of tenacious tape and an amber reflector. Guess what I'm going to be doing this weekend! Once again Many Thanks for the valuable advice. Megards. Mike
You won't need the tenacious tape sikaflex is a waterproof adhesive sealant which means you can use it to hold the reflector on as well
------------- Caravanning is a way of getting a cheap holiday out of an expensive hobby
Well now I know - I guess there must be silicon and silicon 'cos the stuff I used on the 'van I also used on one of my boats self-bailers and if anything is going to leak it's those things. And many years on it's fine so I'm leaving well alone.
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Topic: Fill a hole in the skin of a caravan
