Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1998 20:04:24 EST
Reply-To: CarlMarin@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Carl Turner <CarlMarin@AOL.COM>
Subject: Smelly Skylights
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Vasili wrote:
<<<<<<<<
I bought an '85 Westy about 3 months ago and the skylight was cracked
and had been repaired with some kind of epoxy goop I suppose but on a
hot day it is really funky smelling. I'm embarrassed to have anyone
ride in the van with me. It's not so bad after you get up to around 55
on the highway. hehe
.vasili
<<<<<<<<
I fixed up the cracked, crappy skylight on one of my westies as I was too
cheap to buy a new one at the time. I repaired the crack in the outer
(Polycarbonate?) layer with common fiberglass resin and cloth sold for auto
body work down at the Pep boys. Worked great. Very little smell once cured.
I did paint the skylight white as it was badly crazed and looked like crap
even besides the crack fix. Anyway, to the smell. I cut out the inner
plastic layer with a Dremel tool and routing bit, then cracked off the rim
where it was glued with a chisel. Ewwwwhee! Thats were the funky smell was,
that plastic they used for the inner in combination with whatever adhesive
they had used made some foul smelling stuff. Every chunk I broke out released
some more of the smell. I set the remains outside until trash day. After I
cleaned up the outer shell and gave it a good scrape to get rid of the last
remnants of adhesive, no more smell. I did paint it all like I said, inner
and outer, then fabricated a new inner layer for insulation out of some thin
plywood, also painted good for moisture resistance, glued in place with
silicone sealant. Painted the inner side then with Krylon Dark Bronze, looks
really nice I think compared to the before picture. I drilled two small holes
in the plywood, BTW, so it could vent and breath a bit. Alot of work I guess
but it was basically free, so what the heck. Its solid and sealed and stinks
no more. I think the reason most people don't smell this smell is that their
skylight inner to outer seal is still intact. Its the skylights that are
cracked like mine where the smell starts getting out. As an experiment, maybe
some list members with good skylights can drill big holes through their
skylights and take a sniff. Inquiring minds want to know.
I also restored the yellowed and cracked plastic cover that goes over lift
mechanism, found the perfect paint match and a way to reinforce this piece.
If anyone is interested I can dig up my notes and describe how I fixed the
cracks and painted it.
Later,
Carl Turner
84 and 85 Westies
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