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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
Comments: To: Vanagon@Vanagon.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

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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