skinning over windows

[peterbylt]

I will be skinning over windows on a 96A3.

I have a question for those of you that have skinned over the windows.

I will be skinning over the 4th and 5th windows back from the front on both sides, mostly to cover the area where the Bathroom will be.

I have removed the rain gutter from the top of those windows and will be removing the windows and frames.

my question is how far up did you bring the skin, did you extend it up under the rain gutter and reinstall the rain gutter over the skin or did you bring it up to just below the rain gutter, just below the rain gutter does not seem to leave enough overlap.

I will be using one sheet of cold rolled steel to cover both windows, I plan on both gluing and riveting in place.





Peter

[Jeremy]

I haven't done the job on that type of bus, but looking at your photo my answer would be 'neither' to the two options you suggest.

It appears from the photo that the rain gutter is mounted on top of the roof panel, which in turn is mounted on top of the side panel; your new side panels (skins) should do the same thing as the existing side panels - ie., go under the roof panel. Gravity, water and metallic expansion and contraction is such that putting the new side skins on top of the roof panel, even if the join seems perfect and is clamped under the rain gutter, will be a very good way of ensuring yourself a joyful future life battling leaks and progressively gaining an intimate knowledge of every proprietary sealing product on the market

Jeremy

[sledhead]

I pulled off the gutter and installed 18 gauge satin coat galvanized steel under were the gutter is and at the bumper strip then re installed the gutter , bumper strip . it is a lot better to have the rain water run away rather then down the side of the coach

dave

[lvmci]

hi Peter, my MCI C3 had a sheet of the aluminum covering the 4th & 5th window also, wish I could post the pictures here. of the high and low window rubbers, the top one was removed the bottom loosened, I did sand and spray anti rust spray from NAPA, and filled in some rust corrosion with expanding spray foam, call Gary at B&B, 7028734415, he will give you the lowdown on the procedure, tom, lvmci...

[peterbylt]

I removed most of the rain gutter along the top of the windows, much to my surprise I found the rain gutter is what is holding the edges of the roof down.

So it looks like Jeremy has the right idea and the window sheeting panels will slide up under the roof panels, then be sandwiched using the screws that go through the rain gutter and the roof panel into the upper framing.

I will rivet it down the window pillars and across the bottom.

Any suggestions of what to use as calking, to get a good watertight seal?

[Oonrahnjay]

... Any suggestions of what to use as calking, to get a good watertight seal?   

     One of the best things I've found for panels is "butyl seal" -- it comes in strips that rolled with a layer of wax-paper-like strip to separate the rolls.  You can probably find it at any good builder's supply or a farm-supply store; I first saw it used to caulk metal panels in farm building roofs.  It comes in different widths of the strip of seal, the narrower, the easier it is to use in some places where you can't separate the sheets of metal easily; wider, it's easier to assure a full width of seal.  I'm not sure exactly how much access you have to the sealing edges of your panels but mostly a width of 3/8 or 1/2 inch will do you -- if you can get to just the flat surface of the edge, go with the 1/2".  Since I'm not familiar with the windows on your bus, others may have ideas.  (And of course, 3M has high-tech stuff but I've never found anything better than the butyl.)
     Second thing, be careful of the rivets you use.  Some rivet styles or manufacturers supply rivets that are watertight when installed when rivets that look exactly alike will leak water down the center hole/armature of the rivet.  Be sure your rivet supplier gets you waterproof rivets (and be sure you're getting a good seal when you install them.)

[Iceni John]

Any suggestions of what to use as calking, to get a good watertight seal?

I've used Loctite PL S40 polyurethane sealant when I skinned two windows on each side  -  it seems to be holding up well after a few years in Southern California sun, and it can be painted.   You can buy it at Home Depot.

John

[Jeremy]

I've used Loctite PL S40 polyurethane sealant when I skinned two windows on each side 

John

Yes, definitely a polyurethane sealant / adhesive - it's bomb-proof stuff, although if you're working in low temperatures it needs to be warmed-up before application. The original (large and very very heavy) double-glazed window units on my bus are held-in with polyurethane and nothing else, and 25 years later they are still the very devil to remove. Everything I'm doing myself body-wise is being done with polyurethane - it's just super stuff.

Jeremy

[chessie4905]

Keeping the sheet metal hot during installation will help avoid warpage of panel surface in hot weather. You could use a magnetic block heater to accomplish this.