Author Topic: ceiling covering bubble repair  (Read 1429 times)

Jeff Johnson

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ceiling covering bubble repair
« on: May 21, 2020, 02:09:48 AM »
I believe I have discovered after much searching on how to repair the nylon short nap ceiling headliner in our coaches like my 1996 Pt. I had a number of sagging(1/2") bubbles ranging from 12-18  inches long and 5-8 inches across. I came up with the premise I absolutely did not want to cut a slit in the headliner and spray 3m 77 or 90 in there. So I got the idea of getting a large bore livestock needle and syringe and injecting some sort of adhesive into the bubble area. I tried contact cement in a jumbo syringe    & needle and it was ok but not great for holding. So I sat there staring at the local building supply place (Diamond in this case) and it caught me! Quit using the syringe but use the one provided and there was another shazzam moment. Devcon 1500psi two part clear epoxy, part number 20445,  with a nearly perfect mixing tube to attach to the aluminum needle head, Ideal #9328 16g x1-1/2" secured to each other by a 3/4 wide Gorilla tape. I went in to the headliner at a very flat aspect angle around 20 degrees to get in between the fabric and the wood.Then to support the gluing process I used a 2x2 and 1/4 inch ply wood cut to very close to roof height to act as a press as the glue dries. The only bummer of all this is that the you may only get two or three bubbles done with each mixing tube and needle as they start harding up after 5 minutes. So it would also be good to have more than one 2x2 & plywood support. Try it in a inconspicuous place like in a closet, under the vent or AC unit trim piece.  This is only what I found to work for me, BE CAREFUL! I'm not recommending this for anyone else to do.......only what I found worked for me.
NOTE THE NEEDLES ARE EXTREMELY SHARP and UNFORGIVING WITH CURING EPOXY You could possibly die if injected! If you don't have a steady hand or are unsure of your motor control, get someone else to do the entire process or not at all. Wear heavy duty nitrile or other gloves (leather ?) for protection.
Hope this helps.
Jeff
1996 Patriot Savannah
CAT 3126B
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