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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => The Basement => Topic started by: Riley Casey on October 16, 2012, 04:40:19 PM

Title: Truck roof repair
Post by: Riley Casey on October 16, 2012, 04:40:19 PM
Every once in a while the prosaic side of running a sound company comes to the fore.  Two of our trucks have translucent fiber roofs on their boxes and over time, with the occasional corner Banging into an I moveable object the roofs have developed leaks.  Anyone have some pointers on DYI repairs that can be made?  The local truck body shops seem to have their pricing stuck at pre 2008 levels.

Thanks for any suggestions
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Bob Leonard on October 16, 2012, 06:45:42 PM
Riley,
Go to Home depot and buy some roof edging, the sticky black rubber shit that comes on a roll and is used around the edge of the roof under the shingles and over the drip edge. Cut it into squares or whatever fits and stick it on. Only good for 20 years though.
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Steve Hurt on October 16, 2012, 06:58:57 PM
Here's a link to what Bob is talking about.
It's sold in 36" wide rolls, resembles roll roofing, but it's peel and stick.
It's a very good water barrier on homes. 
Goes on roofs in the valleys peaks and edges before shingles.
If you drive a nail through it, it seals around the nail.  Good stuff.
Never used it on a truck, but it would probably work.

btw, They also sell it in narrow width rolls like 12"  for use around windows and doors.
I buy it at a roofing and siding wholesaler.  Home Depot may have a more limited selection.

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/wr-grace-36-in-x-75-ft-grace-ice-water-shield-5003002.html#.UH3myGennSg
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Bob Leonard on October 16, 2012, 10:27:40 PM
Thanks Steve.
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Jonathan Johnson on October 17, 2012, 01:20:38 AM
The fiberglass is actually glass fibers embedded in polyester resin. But you probably knew that.

You can get sheets of fiberglass fabric and cans of resin at most marine supply houses. Sand down the existing roof to expose clean resin. Then mix up some resin with the appropriate amount of hardener, saturate a piece of fabric in this, and stick it to the roof. You may need to run a roller over it to get rid of air bubbles. Pour a layer of resin over this to seal up the fibers.

The resulting repair might not be pretty, but it should be adequate.

That's the gist of it, but I'm no expert. Search YouTube for 'fiberglass repair' and you'll probably get better results.
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Geri O'Neil on October 17, 2012, 07:21:20 AM
For a quick and dirty idea (and who around here doesn't love those... ;D)...

I'm about to try the Flex-Seal stuff in a spray can and sold at Wal-Mart. It worked well on the roof of my house after a fallen tree limb knocked a hole right on the seam of my metal roof. It was intended as a temporary fix, but it has worked fine and shows no sign of deteriorating. I can report back, if you like...

Geri O
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Tim Weaver on October 17, 2012, 11:34:16 AM
For a quick and dirty idea (and who around here doesn't love those... ;D)...

I'm about to try the Flex-Seal stuff in a spray can and sold at Wal-Mart. It worked well on the roof of my house after a fallen tree limb knocked a hole right on the seam of my metal roof. It was intended as a temporary fix, but it has worked fine and shows no sign of deteriorating. I can report back, if you like...

Geri O

Will it fix my fishing boat? I accidentally installed a screen door in the bottom of it and now it won't float!
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: George Dougherty on October 17, 2012, 06:17:19 PM
Every once in a while the prosaic side of running a sound company comes to the fore.  Two of our trucks have translucent fiber roofs on their boxes and over time, with the occasional corner Banging into an I moveable object the roofs have developed leaks.  Anyone have some pointers on DYI repairs that can be made?  The local truck body shops seem to have their pricing stuck at pre 2008 levels.

Thanks for any suggestions
What kind of leaks?  Seams at the edges or across the surface?  I had leaks around the edges of mine. Grinder with a sanding disk took off most of the dried and cracking sealant in short order and a single tube of the grey roof caulking to reseal it all got it watertight. The grey caulking holds up well in the sun remaining flexible and lasts for many years. Probably much better than what first went on it.
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Scott Wagner on October 18, 2012, 12:28:58 PM
The fiberglass is actually glass fibers embedded in polyester resin. But you probably knew that.
Just to clarify, fiberglass is glass fibers embedded in resin.  That resin is usually polyester or epoxy.  Polyester resin is much less expensive than epoxy resin.  Here's the rub: epoxy resin will bond to epoxy or polyester; however, polyester resin will only bond to polyester.  When making a repair, the safest route is to use epoxy resin.  If you use polyester, you've got a 50% chance of the repair failing.
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Tim Weaver on October 18, 2012, 12:41:57 PM
Just to clarify, fiberglass is glass fibers embedded in resin.  That resin is usually polyester or epoxy.  Polyester resin is much less expensive than epoxy resin.  Here's the rub: epoxy resin will bond to epoxy or polyester; however, polyester resin will only bond to polyester.  When making a repair, the safest route is to use epoxy resin.  If you use polyester, you've got a 50% chance of the repair failing.

And this is the stuff to use.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17645


It's what all the boat yards use to repair hull damage.
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Cosmo on October 19, 2012, 11:40:49 AM

+1 on the Fiberglas (R) cloth and epoxy resin.  Growing up in Maryland we had 5 boats, 3 of which my dad built from scratch.  I learned about fiberglass (now a generic term) at an early age.  One word of caution: when sanding, wear tight-fitting goggles.  Glass dust in your eyes is very painful.

Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Scott Wagner on October 19, 2012, 01:18:34 PM
+1 on the Fiberglas (R) cloth and epoxy resin.  Growing up in Maryland we had 5 boats, 3 of which my dad built from scratch.  I learned about fiberglass (now a generic term) at an early age.  One word of caution: when sanding, wear tight-fitting goggles.  Glass dust in your eyes is very painful.
Wear a mask, too.  Glass dust in your lungs might even be worse.  Also, you need good ventilation when working with the epoxy.  With the epoxy resin, you'll need the appropriate hardener (based on temperature/humidity).
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Jonathan Johnson on October 19, 2012, 01:44:59 PM
Just to clarify, fiberglass is glass fibers embedded in resin.  That resin is usually polyester or epoxy.  Polyester resin is much less expensive than epoxy resin.  Here's the rub: epoxy resin will bond to epoxy or polyester; however, polyester resin will only bond to polyester.  When making a repair, the safest route is to use epoxy resin.  If you use polyester, you've got a 50% chance of the repair failing.
Thanks! I wasn't aware of the difference. Like I said, I'm not an expert. I just absorb stuff here and there and sometimes it's incomplete. That's when I have to fill in the gaps with inference and that's not always correct.
Title: Re: Truck roof repair
Post by: Gus Housen on October 23, 2012, 09:17:02 PM
This http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202077791/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=fiberglass&storeId=10051
and this http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202077814/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=fiberglass&storeId=10051

actually about a quart of resin would be fine, I ususally do a couple of layers- $50 a couple of hours and a chip brush, maybe a can of spray paint if you want it to look decent from 20 ft