Cracks in plastic

[Cornishsue]

Hi everyone,

Could anyone advise me please on what to do about two cracks in the plastic on the side of my 1997 Romahome Hitop - they're on the part above the cab and look like small spider's webs, with about five cracks radiating out from the middle of each. There are no obvious impact marks but the cracks are within a few inches of each other. They're very thin cracks - in fact, I only noticed them when I washed the van for the first time. The van is otherwise in almost perfect condition. What would you recommend?

Also, I wash it at a garage because I haven't anywhere at home where I can do it, and obviously don't use the final wax option. Is there anything I should be putting on the plastic after washing it?

Cheers
Sue

[Derek]

Hi Sue, this post seems to have slipped under the radar so I will try and answer it.

What you describe sounds like gel coat cracking which is very common on GRP products. I have clipped one of Ants replies from the old forum.

If the cracks are very small I'd leave them alone, the trouble
with repairing cracks is they need to be ground out in order
to get the filler or gel coat to stay in the crack this often
makes a relatively small crack into a fairly major repair. If
the crack is a surface crack and not too deep you can
sometime sand them out with some fine 1200 wet n dry then
polish the grp back.
If they don't leak and aren't getting any worse I'd leave them.

As for polishing etc, here are some more of Ants words of wisdom

If the van has an overall dull finish I use Farecla G3, this is
specifically designed for GRP and must be used on a wet van,
allowed to dry then removed. Having done that the shine will
be begining to look quite good but can be improved with
either a cream or soft paste silicone based wax polish, I have
mine made for me but Farecla G10 is quite good and easy to
get off properly. For dead flies across the luton I use another
finishing wax ( also made for me) that is very high in silicone,
the result is the flies don't stick and can be rinsed off.
Dancer is happy using "Mer" I'm afraid I don't like it as it is
very difficult to remove completely. It looks lovely just after
you've done it but a month or so later you'll find some patchy
blotches where the Mer has not been removed properly by
which time its very difficult to get off.
I think Romahome have a polish called "White Shark" that
they recommend, it is best used on a shiny van to maintain
the deep lustre and probably not as effective on a dull
oxidised van.

[Cornishsue]

Cracks in plastic

Cheers Derek for your reply - they are very hairline cracks and my inclination was not to touch them, so it's good to see the same advice. And the information on what to apply after cleaning is brilliant! Thanks once again.
Sue