Exterior Cracked roof under flexible solar panel.. suggestions to repair.

[XpandaOwner]

Hi Everyone,

I recently discovered that my flexible 100w solar panel sikaflexed to my expanda roof had stopped working, I managed to get it off quite easily and now have the job of removing the remaining sikaflex. However, the issue of concern is that due to the panel being glued directly to the roof surface with no space for ventilation clearly the heat has been too much and I now have a rectangle area directly under where the panel was which is full on tiny hairline cracks over the surface.

Besides never ever glueing a solar panel to a caravan roof again without proper ventilation.. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to fix or at least reduce the appearance of the cracked section of roof ?

My thoughts are to clean it up and then put a white paint or sealer over it... and then mount a replacement solar panel (on proper brackets for ventilation of course) to atleast hide it out of my sight.. but if anyone has a better suggestion to repair it would be appreciated.

Thank you

Chris

 

[Drover]

Yep that sounds like the way to go, a good clean up and paint job, can't recall the name of the paint though....A couple of rails from one side of the roof to the other to brace things can screw down on the edge or just sikaflex it down, many have had success with just glueing down, about 45mm for air flow.

 

[XpandaOwner]

Thank you Drover, much appreciated mate.

 

[dirtdiggler]

Hmmm.... Might have to rethink my plan to sikaflex a solar panel directly to the roof!

 

[chartrock]

I had cracks in the roof of my van, put it in for repairs under warranty. Apparently what they did was repair the cracks and paint the area with a white two pack which sealed it nicely.

 

[Drover]

Hmmm.... Might have to rethink my plan to sikaflex a solar panel directly to the roof!

Panels whether solid or flexy must have air flow around them, too hot and they don't work well, the heat from them is pretty high and needs to dissipate asap. (Heat is from the sun)

 

[dirtdiggler]

Yeah i knew they wouldnt perform optimally, but it makes getting the cover on/off easier if there's nothing to snag on, and you can make up for loss in performance by installing a bigger panel.

Damage to the van roof though? Don't want that!

 

[Drover]

I like your idea but loss is pretty huge to try and recover. With hard panels on roof you can fit contoured corners to the panels and the covers shouldn't get caught.

 

[NoWorries]

I hear your pain, I found out the hard way with exactly the same problem.
I took mine to a fibreglasser and he re-gelcoated the area and you would be hard pressed to ever find the spot.

 

[Boots in Action]

Hmmm.... Might have to rethink my plan to sikaflex a solar panel directly to the roof!

Not a good idea to glue directly to roof WITHOUT some sort of space for ventilation. Lots of posts on this forum and the results.

 

[dirtdiggler]

If its a gel coat surface repair, then I'd be getting some flowcoat from Whitworths and using that. Best repair for gel coat is gel coat!
Mix with catalyst, apply with brush or roller, and then cover with acetate sheet to cure (you have to cover it to allow the surface to cure and prevent from remaining sticky) easy on a flat surface that no one can see.