DETACHED VINYL

Hi All. New to this forum, but we are looking for a solution to a recent problem. The vinyl (?) covering to the door to the storage space above the cab has completely detached. It doesn't look as if it has ever been stuck on with adhesive, but if not, how? it just looks as if it has dried out or shrunk. Now we look more closely we can see the same problem occurring in other areas. Auto Sleeper tell me that they bought the doors in. I'm sure we can glue the covering back on, but is this a known problem?

Graham
Buckingham

Hi Graham (and welcome again)

I presume your Trident is the T5 model. The interior is a more modern than mine which has wood door to the overhead storage. If the wasn't glued on then I presume it would have been heat shrunk on. I reckon gluing it back in place would be OK as long as the correct type of glue was used - we had a thread on here where superglue caused the carpet lining material in a Trident to start smouldering ! Then use a small roller (like the ones you use on the joins when wallpapering) to get rid of the excess glue and air bubbles
Some pics of the problem would useful - and as I see you're a filmaker that should be no problem !!

Cheers

Stevo

Hi Stevo
Thanks for the response. Heat shrinking seems likely. The door looks like mdf, very clean and smooth. Once I source the right adhesive I can stick the covering back on. Thanks for the tip on the wallpaper roller - good idea. I did approach Auto Sleeper direct with this problem, but they seemed to get a bit defensive. Perhaps it's a problem they are aware of? As the van is five years old I didn't expect them to take any responsibility, but a suggested solution might have been good! I'll refix the locker door and address the other doors if the same thing occurs.
Thanks again
Graham

vanwinkle 2 wrote:Hi Stevo
Thanks for the response. Heat shrinking seems likely. The door looks like mdf, very clean and smooth. Once I source the right adhesive I can stick the covering back on. Thanks for the tip on the wallpaper roller - good idea. I did approach Auto Sleeper direct with this problem, but they seemed to get a bit defensive. Perhaps it's a problem they are aware of? As the van is five years old I didn't expect them to take any responsibility, but a suggested solution might have been good! I'll refix the locker door and address the other doors if the same thing occurs.
Thanks again
Graham

Hi Graham
I have a t5 trident '07 and the edge on the fridge door is peeling. It looks as if ifs heat shrunk. Did you solve your problem with glue and if so what type.
Thanks for any advise.
Al

Has anyone found a suitable glue to re-attach the vinyl trim?

Richard

We've thought about it, but it's a difficult problem to solve.

If ours is typical, part of the problem is that the covering tends to shrink, so it looks like it won't go back properly.

I think a good contact adhesive stands a chance of working, but the difficulty there will be applying it thinly enough to achieve a (relatively) smooth finish while still retaining adhesion.

We have had the same problem with our 'van - the wood effect vinyl started to peel in several places. I think it's "sticky backed plastic" and what's happening is that the adhesive is drying out and allowing the sheet to detach. 

We've tried a load of different ways to stick it back on, someone suggested UHU, but this caused the plastic to distort and bubble. We've tried Copydex, which is a pain to use, tends to make the vinyl lumpy and then came unstuck after a few months. 

In the end we gave up with trying to use glue and took a completely different approach, buying a large sheet of very thin plastic that has adhesive on both sides. We simply cut a section to the right size and shape, peeled off the paper backing on one side and stuck the sheet to the wooden surface. Once it was in position we carefully peeled the paper covering off the other side and pressed the vinyl back into position. 

So far it's worked really well, it isn't lumpy, it's easy to apply and the wood-effect vinyl has stayed stuck on.  

Somewhere I'll have details of what we bought - I'll have a hunt around and see if I can find more information.

Ah, here it is - info about the stuff we bought to reattach our peeling vinyl. The stuff isn't particularly expensive, but the P&P added a bit to the cost.

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Some others, including myself, have used two-part epoxy glue with some success. After thoroughly cleaning the area to be stuck and applying the glue to both sides of the area to be stuck, I used a wallpaper seam roller to evenly spread the glue. After wiping the excess glue of I then used masking tape to hold down firmly the edges of glued vinyl trim. I left it until I was sure the glue had set. A few days in my case. Its still stuck after three yrs of completing the task and visibly you cannot tell it has had a repair.

Slow-Lane wrote:Ah, here it is - info about the stuff we bought to reattach our peeling vinyl. The stuff isn't particularly expensive, but the P&P added a bit to the cost.

Interesting, bit unfortunately the vinyl on our Trooper fridge is not flat, and it's just lifting. I might try some rubber based spray adhesive. Thx for taking the trouble to reply though, perhaps useful advice for others!
Richard

Melb - which epoxy glue did you use? I can only think of Araldite.

Richard (Readings) - take care with the spray adhesive: we tried some an aerosol can of the stuff and it managed to go everywhere and make things horribly sticky, but still didn't do a good job of sticking the vinyl down.

The vinyl sheet we used was extremely thin and I'm sure it could be cut to fit a non-flat surface.

Slow-Lane wrote:Melb - which epoxy glue did you use? I can only think of Araldite.

Its so long ago I cannot remember which epoxy adhesive I used, could have been Aradite. I do remember however using an abrasion method first to the surfaces to be glued, so that the thinly applied adhesive would stick more firmly and securely. And also using a long thin match to apply the adhesive into the difficult to reach corners and pockets of the vinyl strip that had lifted from the locker door. Will of course take on board your method for solving the problem, looks more easier and cleaner and than what I did.