My motorhome has an outbreak of spots! Help!
Hi, I was cleaning our M/H today a 1999 swift Kontiki , and noticed an area of spots that have developed on the outside wall panel. At first when washing it I didn't notice them, because they look like little droplets of water on the surface. Today when polishing the M/H the droplets were still there, but still fairly small in size. They are solid and cannot be pushed in, the actual panel has not become unstuck and delaminated in that area, nor has there been any damp or leaks inside the van.The pictures actually make the spots look bigger than they really are because it's a close up, the biggest spot would be less than 5mm (1/4")but hopefully you get the idea. If it's just an age related thing, or cosmetic, I can put up with that, or should I be worried that something else is going on? Anyone else encountered this?
Kind Regards Jonathan
Comments
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It looks like osmosis. Is it on a fibre glass/gell coat panel? If so there is a wealth of information on the internet, mainly relating to boat repairs.
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Thanks Dave, I am pretty sure it's a fibreglass/ gel coat panel. Osmosis is something I had not thought about, which being an ex sea cadet, a lot of our fibreglass hull boats suffered. I will take a look at a nautical web page, only I bet my wife will think I am looking at boats for all the wrong reasons!
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I had spots like that on the inner surface of my caravan bathroom wall. It was damp. One of the roof rails was leaking. It was professionally taken off and resealed. After two years when things get pretty hot during the summer I think it has dried out and the spots have reduced somewhat, I also managed to flatten most of them with a wallpaper roller. Thankfully my van is an old one so it isn't the end of the world having little dimples. Probably the next owner would not even see them. Get a thorough damp check.
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Agree it looks like osmosis. Do you cover the motorhome in storage? Or is there some other reason why this area would be very damp over long periods?. Unlikely to be of any consequence other than cosmetic.
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If ,as this is 'osmosis' ,,your best bet is to contact a yacht/boat repairer ,as they are very used to dealing with such an outbreak of deformations. 1
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If it is osomosis, it would make sense. The M/H is parked on the driveway at home, however the drive way is not perfectly level. I thought this worked in our favour, because the rain water will drain off easily across the top of the motorhome, as the water exit points are on the sides ( front behind Luton area and rear) I guess as this would account for the spots as they are under the locality of the water run off outlets. My other thought, is that maybe it is water between the paint? Looking at some boat websites regarding osmosis, the hull below the waterline is prone to spots or blisters. It occurs because the gel coat is permible and traps water overtime. This trapped water reacts with any uncured chemicals in the fibreglass, and causes a raised spot. The point is, my motorhome is never permanently underwater! So how can this happen, which makes me think it's paint. The spots are very hard, but I would love to pop one with a needle to see if a what happens.. if a vinegar smell arises from the use of a needle, it's osmosis. If it is paint that has been penatrated between coats I will be left with a flap of paint.
I do not cover the M/H, perhaps maybe I should. I guess I thought that it could cause more issues.
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