repairing cracks!

Hi All,

Please can anyone advise or share experience.
We have discovered a crack in the vanity unit in the bathroom of our Mark1 Nuevo. It is on the left hand side near the mirror. and about 1.5" long. We have not knocked it with anything hard and are careful about what we put in the bathroom when we travel so don't know how it happened - whether it is just heat / cold and age and goes more brittle ?? I understand there is a solution you can squeeze onto it but don't know what it is or where to source it. Any thoughts please.

Also my husband found a crack on the roof when cleaning by the screws that can be used for roof bars. It was just small but has grown a bit. Mark at AS tells us it is just superficial and wont cause probs (but that was without seeing it). Any thoughts advice here please.

Many thanks.

HH

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure is possibly the squeezing stuff you may be thinking of.

I notice you've put this in 'classic' section. I don't think a MK1 Nuevo is yet a classic, be better in 'coachbuilt section' if mods agree perhaps they could move it.

Thanks. Yes you are right was in that section by mistake. How do I go about moving it?

Roli, Gromit or Peter Brown will move it, won't you mods?

Thank you.

All these 'plastic' mouldings are extremely thin. Can the section involved be removed so you could fibreglass a repair from the back or is it part of the whole wall?

Hi Hh , motorhome mouldings are extremely thin as PM says and do go very  brittle with age . I have successfully repaired a sink basin mould in the past with the same damage using fibreglass mat  and resin or even araldite and glass mat to brace over the cracked area and stop it running further.
     Assuming you can remove and access the rear of the damaged area. If you can roughen up the surface with some sandpaper to key it so much the better. Aim to overlap the crack by at least 25mm all round with fibreglass mat to brace and reinforce the damage  Please try a little of the mixed resin or Araldite in a small inconspicuous area first as some resins may react with your plastic and make the small crack turn into a gaping hole! Some materials also generate heat during curing and this can lead to distortion of the moulding being repaired as many are vacuum/ heat formed when made. As I say dab some of the mixed repair resin on a hidden area and if it hardens ok with no 
damage you should be able to repair quickly and successfully with no further trouble. Best of luck..

It is a 2007 Mk1 EK Nuevo and the vanity unit above the sink up to the ceiling with a mirror in it. The place the crack is, is on the left hand side and couldn't go any further because of the mirror and the side of the unit. Hadnt thought of removing the whole unit but could look into that. Due to go away soon so would have to wait til we return. Looked up the Captain Tolley creeping crack cure mentioned by PaulM which sounded good. Has anyone used that? Its not very expensive. Still pondering what to do and also about the roof. Mark at AS said just grind the edges to stop it spreading but a bit unsure about doing that.
Thanks

HH

Hi Helen, I think capn tolleys  is just a very thin liquid that penetrates cracks to stop water seepage in cracks and seals that are breaking down. I dont think it provides any real  mechanical means of repairing the material it is applied like a glue or adhesive with reinforcement. In grp boats and cars we used to drill out the  end of the crack using a small diameter drill bit to stop the crack propagating any further then fill or reinforce the area as explained above. I have seen tolleys used as an emergency fix to stop water ingress until a permanent repair could be done and it appeared to be ok in that situation. Hope this helps..

I have had some success repairing vanity units with plast aid. Getting a colour match takes a bit of time adding acrylic paint as it mixes up on the yellow side.

Best results have been when I have been able to repair from behind and then lightly fill a crack

I repaired our unit similar cracks in several places, used Plastic Magic AD077 glue it bonds ABS, Styrene, Acrylic plastics. Bought a sheet of acrylic plastic from modelling shop cut it into strips and applied to reverse side of cracked areas using the plastic weld. 
Very effective repair.

I was told if you have a creeping crack it is a good idea to drill a tiny hole at the end of it before repairing then it will creep no more.. not proven by personal experience but logic says that might just work...

I had a few splits appear, I think due to age, as suggested by others drilled small hole at each end, took the unit off, be careful it could be double sided taped to the wall as well as screws. Duck taped the back of the split and then used flexible sealant. Seemed to work.
Replaced the sink by making a mould and fibre glassed a new one

Damn, the mould was upside down, or was it inside out?