Roof tent.

[joebongo]

Hi all.
My first tech question so please be gentle! I have searched all the other threads but cannot find any real info. The roof on our Bongo raises by 2 side mounted cantilever arms, both of which have lost their coating in small areas and along with the non stainless screws, nuts and washers, have developed some rust. The rust has then transferred on to the tent and has obviously stained it. There is also some serious discolour on the front of the tent where water has forced its way under the front rubber strip, even though there is an additional protective strip that should have prevented it. The tent itself is in really good condition so don't want to replace it. The cantilever arms and fixings I can replace without too much grief.
We have tried all the usual remedies such as stain removers, steaming and the really fun idea suggested by someone on a home help type forum of a nailbrush, lemon juice and some sugar. That's 3 days of my life i'll never get back!
We have thought about trying a fabric paint to cover it (after doing the remedials) but not sure which way to go with it so any suggestions would be helpful.

[g8dhe]

Can't say I have heard or seen any rust stains on the tent before, is it the lower plastic coated area or the upper area behind the netting that's stained ?

[Bob]

I'm guessing the roof is after-market, so the best way to try and remove the stains will depend on what the cloth is, plastic/canvas/???

Obviously you don't want to use something so powerful it eats away the material, and don't want a fabric paint chipping off.

[joebongo]

It's light grey canvas c/w side mesh panels and a front pvc window with a zipped cover. The arms are positioned approx. 2' from the back end of the roof towards the front and are painted/powder coated black which has flaked off in places.

[gilly99]

Surely, easiest to stitch some suitable grey material over the offending area?

[joebongo]

Tbh never considered that option. It's such a P in the A as the rest of the van is in excellent condition and obviously isn't noticed until the roof is raised. Thanks everyone so far for your help.

[maxi_77]

The yachting fraternity use italic acid to get rid of rust stains

[joebongo]

Hi all, hope you're all well.
An update re; the stains on the fabric roof section. Having now tried all the suggestions, including oxcylic acid ( thanks Maxi) and taken more advice, we are down to 2 choices*. Dylon fabric colouring(smoke grey) and a highly recommended fabric paint which I will patch test first, this coming weekend.
Fingers crossed and eventually i'll post a picture with the result, providing it's successful and not a Jackson Pollock/Salvador Dali type outcome!

*Option 3 being replacement of the whole tent but that's big bucks.

[Bob]

Thanks for the update.

Good luck with the next stage.

[joebongo]

Hi everyone, hope you're all well.
Apologies for the delay but just wanted to update you all with regards to our roof tent. As previously stated, we were left with few options to cover the stains etc but eventually after much sampling we decided to hand paint the tent using "Daler Rowney system 3 acrylic paint" in warm grey( and with decent brushes) which has absolutely done the trick and it looks brand new.
we have given it 3 coats( back at the end of summer when it was still warm and we could leave the roof up overnight) and have damp tested it and its fine. However we will be giving it a light spray coat of Fabsil to make double sure, again, weather permitting.
We did not coat the mesh for obvious reasons so a steady hand was all important. All we need to do now is replace the stud fasteners on the zipped covers but they need to be the next size up so are proving to be difficult/impossible to source so may just darn the holes and leave as is.

[Doone]

Its the first time I've heard of this being done successfully. Well done! We'd love to see photos of it.

[joebongo]

I'll make a point of posting some up this week Doone. It's genuinely not the easiest thing to do but patience equals results. I'm well skilled in various disciplines after a lifetime in the construction industry "on the tools" so that has helped massively even though painting was not my particular skill.
However, as campervan owners are generally extremely practical, I would think it's doable by most.

[joebongo]

Hi all,apologies as its a busy time to be a plumber.I still haven't figured out how to post some pictures of the roof tent so if someone could advise i'd appreciate it.
It seems I have to join smugmug or photobucket or similar then load the images on to that type of site then set a link so hopefully a younger relative can teach me where i'm going wrong sometime over the holidays so bear with !
Merry Christmas to you all and a prosperous new year.

[Doone]

Its been simplified. See this link:viewtopic.php?f=42&t=77380