Totem Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 I am thinking I may want to adhere some things to the roof of the sunrader without using screws so I was wondering if anyone knows what type of fiberglass was used or if a epoxy, polyester two part glass etc has had good results. Essentially I think I may want to glue some boards like poly decking or glass some fasteners into the roof. Anyone ever do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 I've done a fair amount of boat fiberglass work and you can adhere fasteners to the roof if you want to. You'll have to gently sand through the white gel coat to get to the actual laminate, then you can lay up some glass cloth or mat around the fastener. I'd use epoxy resin but the choice between epoxy and polyester is yours. Polyester is easier to use and a bit cheaper. If you just want to stick something to the roof, try using 5200. It comes in a caulking tube but I forget who makes it. Most boat shops have it and some of the big box stores carry it as well. It a polyeurathane based goo that's almost impossible to remove and will definitely stick to the roof. What are you trying to attach to the roof? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted April 7, 2012 Author Share Posted April 7, 2012 Like Dennis, I am thinking of putting a couple racks for kayaks for a trip to yellow stone. My original plan was to use a small 2 place snowmobile trailer in tow, but I am worried that the extra drag might hurt the transmission so the roof would be the goal then. I had thought about using some pop up levers mounted to the side but really don' want to drill holes in the glass and not sure it would be a good thing to do so the roof is looking like the best place for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Good plan not to drill any holes and glass your racks in place. Agree with John on having to get past the gel coat to the actual fiberglass to fasten whatever it is you're looking to attach. John suggests "gently sanding", tho I'd grab a disc sander and GRIND! The 5200 stuff John referenced sounds like something worthwhile to investigate into. So is that a material used like glue? I've only welded fiberglass with more fiberglass (cloth or chopped etc). Sounds like a solid bonding agent without as much work and will have to check out. For carrying stuff on roof like kayaks: the tubing prob doesn't have to be as heavy duty as we tend to think, but the attachment points definitely need to be a worry free super bond. We've glassed some ABS pipe atop a few campers in the past to tote around a stack of surfboards with success. The ABS pipe was an extremely solid bond with fiberglass cloth as would be expected with similar materials. petroleum products seem to want to adhere to similar products quite well. ABS pipe has somehow crept into a lot of things on the camper: bike racks, mirror posts, gutter above door, interior studs, surf racks...and more. Planing on rebuilding the overhead bunk hatch this summer as the metal hinges are rusting. ABS & PVC will probably be used instead of the metal hinges and wood framing. Cheap too btw... Just shooting out some ideas. Will be fun to check out what you come up with. You seem to be very fond of wood. There are a lot of really nice wooden surf racks in Hawaii. Don't ever see anything like that here tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 3M makes the 5200 sealant. Only use the stuff if you want something to be permenant. It does not come off. I used some on my fiberglass camper and it STICKS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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