Headlining Removal?

**Sunny43.5** · 11-06-2014, 10:57 PM

Good on you for doing this unaided takes some b%%^lls to cut a hole in your own car , now pity you had not asked first about sealant as butyl would have ben the last thing I would recommended . The main issue with butyl is it dries out with time its the most hated sealant by us mob . Next the reason we use neutral cure silicone is that it has a life expectancy of 20 years and it works very good as it glues the outer frame to the roof which keeps it from moving butyl will allow movement and it will grind out the sealant as it dries over time . But hey what do I know it will probably be ok for the time you own the van so keep it as it is for now .

**Gold Coaster** · 11-06-2014, 11:28 PM

Yes Sunny, I was a bit hesitant about what product to seal outside of the vent with but I felt, as a first timer, that using a flexible mastic seemed a better option than using a silicon product in case things went wrong. In other words, if there was a problem then I could more easily remove the mastic and replace it with a silicon based product rather than vice versa.

Hopefully it will last awhile.

**Transporter** · 11-06-2014, 11:53 PM

You could always use Sikaflex brand sealant it's for the automotive use. As for the hole in the roof and right angle corners Sunny is right, it will start cracking from the corners. But you could still try correcting it by drilling the holes in the corners to stop the cracks, the 8mm or 10mm diameter should be sufficient and you will need to use some sacrificial sheet metal from both sides to void the drill bit from slipping.

**Gold Coaster** · 12-06-2014, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by Transporter

You could always use Sikaflex brand sealant it's for the automotive use. As for the hole in the roof and right angle corners Sunny is right, it will start cracking from the corners. But you could still try correcting it by drilling the holes in the corners to stop the cracks, the 8mm or 10mm diameter should be sufficient and you will need to use some sacrificial sheet metal from both sides to void the drill bit from slipping.

As everything is in place now, including the wiring for the inbuilt fan, I’ll see things go over time. If I find that there’s a problem I’ll have a go at rounding out each corner a little as I would probably still have about 5mm that I could safely play with.

The manufacturer recommended a Sika product called Sikalastomer 712 but I couldn't find anyone who stocked it so I rang Sika. I was told that it's not available in Australia and the closest one to it was Sikalastomer 511, which was a mastic. Went to Bunnings to buy some but they didn't have any. The guy there rang Sika also and after speaking to him I chose the closest equivalent that they had which was Selleys Butyl Mastic. At $22.30 a tube I am hoping that it is a quality product as they other mastics there for around $7. I guess time will tell.

**Sunny43.5** · 12-06-2014, 12:24 PM

Selleys are good but its just the butyl is not so respected as other sealant types , you are partially right in saying its easy to remove as the silicone has to be cut with a Stanley knife blade . $22 for a cartridge is a bit steep in my opinion Sika products are premium and would be dearer but a Selleys at $22 no way . I would not get too concerned with cracking of the roof as you have not removed the roof braces and the hole is quite small but I would still check after 12 months or so and every now and then again after that , twisting of the roof on these vans is pretty rare unless the van had been used in extreme off road driving where you have one or two wheels off the ground crossing ruts etc .