Date:         Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:17:28 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 85 vanagon roof repair - fiberglass and the holes
Comments: To: Mark Carrig <stratmanx@yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To:  <vanagon%2012082011104329@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

    You should back any attachments to a Westie top.   The glass lay up
they used in them is not strong enough to mount things directly without
some support behind the mounting bolts.   Use some aluminum or SS in
perhaps about 1/8" thickness.  Make your backing plates larger or smaller
than the part they attach....Hard to explain, but if you size the backing
the same as the bracket or hardware, you create a "hard-hinge' that can act
like a shear and cause the fiberglass to fail at that common point where
both pieces end.  Also, you want to round the corners of you backing
plates....Square corners and stress don't work well...the sharp corner
concentrates the stress at that single point and can also cause stress.

   After you cut the plates and drill the proper holes you can simply use a
filler to patch the holes miss dilled by your "Expert"...I use chopped
fiberglass and resin to do the hole then fill over the smaller
imperfections with a bondo filler .
  Don Hanson

On Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 8:04 AM, Mark Carrig <stratmanx@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Sorry, that should be METAL plates, probably about 2" wide x 4" long.
>