Front window rock guard refurbished

[Lode]

Shopping list…
1 roll of padded doubled sided tape
2 cans of textured spray paint
1 can metallic spray paint
1 bag of replacement screen spline
13 stainless screws for the aluminum ribs to attach to frame
2 tiny stainless bolts to replace the drilled out rivets
I use the 3M marine sealant on every hole that penetrates the shell as I do mods… and not nearly as much plumbers putty as they did in the factory construction!


I started by removing the stone guard for the window and then the hinge guide that mounts to the camper.




I ended up taking some pliers and breaking off the bolt that has the wing nuts on the slides to keep the cover raised. The wing nuts had rusted and froze to the bolts so they weren’t doing their job anyways. 2 small C clamps will replace the wing nuts, we won’t use it much anyways.

There were 8 rusty screws that hold the cross-section aluminum grid together and to the outer frame for rigid support of the cover and frame. Once I pulled all the screen spline thread that holds the fiberglass firmly into the groove, I took apart the frame of the cover by drilling out 2 pop rivets on the aluminum bridge that joined the frame, this released the fiberglass sheet from the groove. I used an automotive eraser and drill to get the cracked and faded vinyl decal off the original and cleaned everything with simple green and a brush and hose. The hinge rail mounted to the camper needed a good scraping of plumber’s putty before it got washed.

I used GooGone and then Black Streak Remover to clean the mounting area around the window on the front of the camper.


I spray painted everything after it dried from washing… the backside of the fiberglass, the frame and hinge rail got a metallic black and the front of the fiberglass took 2 cans of 3 color ‘stone finish’ textured paint. The texture stuff took a long time to dry(few hours each coat/can) until I was confident I could reset the cover into the frame groove without ruining the finish on the front.

Before painting


After painting


Remounted




Thanks for looking,
Take care,
Jason

[JohnB]

Nice Job Jason.

I see you too really get into this. Looking good.

Keep em coming.

John