Carapark ‘toaster’ journey and temp roof sealing

[langleycello]

Greetings all,

We have almost finished restoring an old Hunter Junior interior. Like all ‘toaster’ Caraparks, the van leaked like a sieve and the interior was in poor shape, but resurrectable. Over the past 18 months we carefully rebuilt the furniture as original whilst replacing the panelling with some lovely old 2.4mm Blackwood panels. The plan is to use the van as a teenage pad / spare room for some time and eventually bring it back on the road, but this may be decades away. With a large family I simply don’t have the time to delaminate the van and undertake a full restore with sikaflex at this stage. I did take the measure of neutralising the inside frame surface rust where possible and repriming it before putting in foil board insulation and the the new ( old) panelling :-) 

In the interim, we have found a cosy spot in the yard and I may eventually put a roof over it to protect the exterior which is entirely original. 

My query is to ascertain any means to protect the roof and reduce any potential for water ingress now the interior is almost finished. As I have mentioned, I don’t have the time to do the external job properly at this point in my life, but the van will be covered either by tarps or eventually a laserlite roof. Alas, I’m still keen to explore any other measures to temp seal the roof and protect the interior. I notice some have used acrylic paint-on membranes and / or bitumin strips etc over the joins? I would be keen to hear of any temp schemes to moisture proof a Carapark rather than delaminating. Processes which are potentially reversible would be more of interest - I know that silicone is poison to aluminium vans and cannot be easily removed. Other products may not be quite as drastic however.. 

Thanks so so much for any thoughts and there is a pic below of one of my daughters (Beatrice) undertaking some detailing a few weeks ago. In the ensuing month(s) I will upload some further pics of the restored interior as we fine tune things :-)

Before the restoration, I made up a Flickr page detailing our association with the van and it’s sad demise in more recent years. Thankfully we were able to enlist the help of some very dedicated friends to assist rebuilding the interior and maintain most of the interior fittings. It was a huge learning curve!!   Eventually, I would like to delaminate / restore the van properly, but that would probably be a retirement project in about 20 years or perhaps something one of my kids could take on. In the mean time, we would like to enjoy its restored vintage interior with a protected exterior awaiting full emancipation!

flic.kr/s/aHsm4hcFXP

Kind regards,

Stephen

F6589972-2F80-4E3D-9E2F-BED9D0325EAE by Stephen Langley, on Flickr

[Mustang]

Your Quote"
"In the interim, we have found a cosy spot in the yard and I may eventually put a roof over it to protect the exterior which is entirely original."

If its worth doing its worth protecting, you need an under cover area to successfully restore a van, its simply too hard under tarps unless the tarps are placed over a framework above the van. Tarps retain moisture when placed directly on the van.

[langleycello]

Thanks - yeh...I will prioritise a proper laserlight canopy to protect the van when relocated (this coming spring)

Cheers,

SL

[mel]

Hi Stephen, I had an aluminium van that leaked, despite taking off each aluminium sheet, removing the old putty and resealing. We ended up painting the entire roof in a clear two part Norglass product, that we purchased from Whitworths. It didn't leak after that.