Fiberglass top repair advice sought

[Scota4570]

Has anyone experience with the replacement gutter?

https://www.coolcruisers.com/raingutwitvi.html

I placed an order for one. The salesman told me I could braze it together. When I study the picture I think I see a butt joint on the front piece. Brazing will not work for that situation. I also see they predrilled the rivet holes. Are the holes located the same for every top?

I am thinking of canceling the order and working with my old gutter after all.

Thanks,
Scot

 

[coinoperated40]

Have any pictures of old gutter?

 

[Pierps]

+1. Let us see how bad your current gutter is. It might be worth saving.


My advice (I'm repeating myself from my prior post a bit, but I feel strongly about this):

(1) definitely spend the money on a two part self leveling seam sealer. The one part stuff is just not as good. The chemical reaction that occurs in the 2 part systems makes for a much stronger and durable material. Yes, it's expensive and you have to buy a special dispensing gun. But it's definitely worth it, IMO. Get this stuff:

Amazon product

(2) don't worry about the gap between the edge of the fiberglass and the lip of the metal drip rail. The seam sealer will completely fill and seal that and it won't be visible. It's not a structural issue.

(3) a few of my rivets holes were too close to the edge and blew out like the one in your picture. No big deal. Just drill a new hole through the fiberglass and the drip rail. If you end up re-using your OEM drip rail, you can just weld up the unused hole and grind if smooth.

(4) I have no experience with the CCOT kit, but those overlapping tabs don't seem like a problem to me. The most important thing is that the bottom of the drip rail is flat, so that it gets a good seal on your weather stripping. I doubt the overlap on the top side of the drip rail will be an issue when you rivet the roof cap back on, and any minor gaps will be covered and sealed by the seam sealer.

 

[Scota4570]

Attached are photos as requested. The spot with holes is the worst of it. The rest is like the other close up. I made a frame to secure it to for handling. I found a local who does blasting for the automotive restorations crowd locally. He if confident he can get the rust out and not warp anything. I will jig it precisely to the wood frame based on the bolt holes. If it goes wrong I will buy the gutter kit and jig it to the frame the same as the old. A local body shop will TIG it together for me. As for the nasty part of the frame I can repair that with fiber reinforced bondo. The build up on the inside will be invisible once the top is reassembled.

Thanks for the advice and insights. I think I have a plan.

 

[coinoperated40]

Soak the bolts that broke off and I used vise grips to unscrew to the top side. Drilling and tapping is second option.
Sounds like you have a good plan.

 

[Malleus]

+1. Let us see how bad your current gutter is. It might be worth saving.

My advice (I'm repeating myself from my prior post a bit, but I feel strongly about this):

(1) definitely spend the money on a two part self leveling seam sealer. The one part stuff is just not as good. The chemical reaction that occurs in the 2 part systems makes for a much stronger and durable material. Yes, it's expensive and you have to buy a special dispensing gun. But it's definitely worth it, IMO. Get this stuff:

Amazon product

(2) don't worry about the gap between the edge of the fiberglass and the lip of the metal drip rail. The seam sealer will completely fill and seal that and it won't be visible. It's not a structural issue.

(3) a few of my rivets holes were too close to the edge and blew out like the one in your picture. No big deal. Just drill a new hole through the fiberglass and the drip rail. If you end up re-using your OEM drip rail, you can just weld up the unused hole and grind if smooth.

(4) I have no experience with the CCOT kit, but those overlapping tabs don't seem like a problem to me. The most important thing is that the bottom of the drip rail is flat, so that it gets a good seal on your weather stripping. I doubt the overlap on the top side of the drip rail will be an issue when you rivet the roof cap back on, and any minor gaps will be covered and sealed by the seam sealer.

I don't have any personal experience with Sikalfex or the 3M sealer, but I'd love to see a side by side long term comparison. I've heard great opinions of the 3m sealer, too.

I totally agree you want the right product; you don't want to do this twice.

 

[Pierps]

@Scota4570 Your gutter looks to be in REALLY good shape. That is absolutely worth patching. I patched mine and it was way worse.

 

[Slapshot]

For clarification, I used the Sikaflex in between the fiberglass and metal gutter. Then used a 2 part self leveling sealer to fill in the gutter.
I had good luck with Eastwood 2 part epoxy seam sealer. Uses a regular caulk gun. You’ll need 2 tubes

 

[sggoat]

Update!

Problem solved....

https://www.coolcruisers.com/raingutwitvi.html

Please be aware you will need to some major fitting with these--grinding/rewelding. I ordered this option from CCOT several years ago--the parts were far from being equal on both sides, the mating notches were of by 3/16ths , the side lengths were off by over 1/2"--I would have had to weld new 1/2" extension pieces to get the sides equal--unless they have re-tooled their jigs for these, the parts will prob have the same flaws-(the side parts were also warped by >1/8")--this may not be an issue given the availability of some seam sealers- but I would have expected these to be FLAT--not bent.
I decided to just return them and make my own--Local metal supplier had 16 ga. stainless for $50--just waferred out the shape--the rivets were not oem-just got some closed-end stainless 1/8 rivets from MSC, and 1/2" Alum angle from ACE--followed all the glass top holes and drilled thru the outer plate-(same for the inner mounting to the cab){stainless M-6 bolts}--The 1/2" alum angle is easy to bend around the corners on the edge of the roof(just notch it on the bottom side) push the rivets up from the bottom of the new drip channel-once that is secured, tape off the bottom of the channel and pour fiberglass resin all around the top channel, sealing up any leak points where the rivets went thru--it's not OEM, but there are no leaks.--wish I had pics to show the progress, but I didn't take any--only have the final product-
Attch'd are pics of what I got from ccot--the ones I fabbed actually had a bend DOWN on the outer edge--not up--these are like a boat--the upper sides are bent upward--any water wicking into the seal from a small leak in the top sealing media will simply drain and collect into the little boat-like channel--guaranteeing rust formation

 

[Scota4570]

Thanks for the first hand experience. I got cold feet on the replacement gutter kit. The vendor did not demonstrate first hand knowledge about it. His answers do not reflect what is documented in your pictures. He also did not seem sure of himself.

I think my gutter will be OK. At least it will fit.

The fiberglass is now ready for primer. It was gouged up from driving under oak tree branches. I have a large box of parts from Specter on the kitchen table.

The body work on the top sides is minimal. I do have a question. I do not want to remove the glass. I need to patch some holes near the glass. There are gunracks I intend to remove. I was thinking of dimpling the holes a bit then filling with JB Weld. After than normal paint prep procedures. I am afraid to braze or weld close the glass or rubber. Good or bad idea?

 

[coinoperated40]

I would think small hole should not be a problem to repair with your choice. You are not talking rust in the window area, so you should be fine. Just be sure to tell next owner all the details. 😃

 

[Scota4570]

I got my frame back from the blaster. It looks good. 100% of the rust is gone. It is super rough. IT is not warped. I filled the rough areas and holes with fiberglass reinforced Bondo. I was able to work down the patches to make repairs that matched the original profile. I bought the fiberglass Bondo by mistake, I am glad I messed up, it is much stronger than pink Bondo. JB Weld epoxy steel putty would be easier to work with though. The worst of the rough from the blasting comes off with a light sanding. The rough finish should help the Bondo stick. I will buy paint and primer tomorrow.