Fixing old water damage

Finishes, paints and coatings

Fixing old water damage

Postby DaveWeinstein » Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:14 pm

My apologies if this is the wrong forum.

A previous owner (not the one we bought the trailer from, the one they bought the trailer from a year or so ago) had the roof professionally sealed up.

There is what appears to be old water damage that was painted over around the vent:

119385

It isn't soft, it's as if the top layer of plywood split but nothing deeper. My thought was to cut out that top layer, and then do a thin layer of wood putty to even it out, and then paint over it. Is that the correct course of action?

Eventually we want to replace the vent with a Fantastic Fan, but I'll need to put 12v power to it (there is 12v nearby, if necessary I can do a surface wire), and that isn't going to happen immediately.
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Re: Fixing old water damage

Postby 48Rob » Thu Apr 24, 2014 7:10 pm

Dave,

It might work, but a "patch" is a patch, no matter how you go about it.

The thing to keep in mind before convincing yourself that a patch will correct everything, is that the water that damaged the paneling had to go through/around the framing first.
The framing might be just slightly damaged, and still be plenty strong, or...
Water damage in old trailers ( and new ones too) is rarely just surface damage.
If you plan to replace the fan, that will give you a good opportunity to check the framing for unseen damage.

Rob
Waiting for "someday" will leave you on your deathbed wondering why you didn't just rearrange your priorities and enjoy the time you had, instead of waiting for a "better" time to come along...
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