Burro Headliner Fiberglass-Is this fixable?

[Crystal and Jason]

Hi! We are trying to purchase a Burro and found one that looks to have some issues with the fiberglass seam on the headliner. I have seen pictures of the fiberglass (on other Burros) without the carpeting and they didn't look quite like this. Does this look normal to any of you? Could this be mold? Should I be concerned about it or do you think it will still clean up nicely? If we purchase this one, we'd probably put some marine carpeting over it. Thank you for your help!!

[Kevin A]

That look is like the old glue we had under the headliner of our 1978 Burro. I scraped and removed any loose areas, and glued new carpet over it. Seemed to stick well.

[mary and bob]

I agree with Kevin about the old glue.You'll probably never get it all off, just scrape off what you can. Lots of options to cover that area. We used carpet that is made from recycled plastic bottles and used contact cement to attach it

[Crystal and Jason]

Thanks Kevin.
Did you glue the carpet right onto the fiberglass or did you put up any insulation first? Seems to be a lot of different thoughts on this. I appreciate your fast reply!

[DuaneQ]

Originally Posted by Crystal and Jason

Hi! We are trying to purchase a Burro and found one that looks to have some issues with the fiberglass seam on the headliner. I have seen pictures of the fiberglass (on other Burros) without the carpeting and they didn't look quite like this. Does this look normal to any of you? Could this be mold? Should I be concerned about it or do you think it will still clean up nicely? If we purchase this one, we'd probably put some marine carpeting over it. Thank you for your help!!

I tore off all of the old carpeting last fall (1978 Burro) before I went to Arizona for 4 months this past winter. I ran out of time to work on her but needed to get out of the cold just the same. I had cleaned off some of the glue etc before leaving but intended to put up some new "carpeting" this summer. I'm glad I waited because while in AZ it only rained 4 days in 4 months but found a couple of leaks coming thru. Circled them with magic marker. Very small leaks with a drip at a time but now I plan on cleaning, sanding and coating the entire surface with fiberglass resin to make sure the whole thing is watertight. I did read where you don't have to use cloth just the resin too for up there.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by DuaneQ

I tore off all of the old carpeting last fall (1978 Burro) before I went to Arizona for 4 months this past winter. I ran out of time to work on her but needed to get out of the cold just the same. I had cleaned off some of the glue etc before leaving but intended to put up some new "carpeting" this summer. I'm glad I waited because while in AZ it only rained 4 days in 4 months but found a couple of leaks coming thru. Circled them with magic marker. Very small leaks with a drip at a time but now I plan on cleaning, sanding and coating the entire surface with fiberglass resin to make sure the whole thing is watertight. I did read where you don't have to use cloth just the resin too for up there.

If you had a crack you would want to use the cloth. If you just have a small or hole or gouge or thin spot you can use epoxy putty. The kind that comes in a stick where you knead the inner and outer part together. The putty stick is a lot less messy than trying to paint resin overhead. If resin is put on the outside then you have to apply paint or gel coat over it since plain resin without tint is not UV resistant. Other than not being a color match the putty is OK without being overcoated. It is handy for emergency repairs and it keeps well even if you just use a small amount of it at a time. But if you do get a rock chip or other small bash in the fiberglass while traveling it makes a great filler that you can apply right away.

[mary and bob]

We had a leak through the roof of our Uhaul, which is same as a Burro. No visible mark on the inside, just a very small drip that appeared to come through the fiberglass. Don't recall if it was at the seam, but I did seal it on the outside with fiberglass resin. Later found seam flaws forward of the roof vent that I sealed with Proflex and then put the trim back on over it

[Kevin A]

I glued the new carpet directly to the ceiling without any insulation. There were lots of other places to lose heat/cool, so it didn't seem important to put insulation there.

[Burro Bill]

Looks to be glue. After I removed the old nasty carpet I
put Reflectix up before I recovered it.

[k corbin]

Heat rises so insulating a ceiling is a good idea. The sun beats down on the roof so insulating the roof does make a difference for keeping the interior cooler as well.

One thing people don't seem to realize about Reflectix.... It is meant to be suspended with air on each side of it. The product was created to be stapled in place to wood rafters. Originally used for chicken houses from what I heard. The people who put it into Airstream trailers for insulation do so by suspending it inside the wall cavity with an air gap between the outside skin as well as an air gap between the inside skin.

If you put glue on the shiny surface of mylar coated Reflectix or aluminum bubble plastic what will happen is the glue dulls the surface and then it can no longer will reflect heat. It has to remain shiny to work. Therefore you have basically ruined the product's ability to reflect heat wherever you apply glue to the surface. All you are left with then as an insulation factor is a double layer of plastic bubble wrap.

There is no real purpose to putting in Reflectix if you are going to put glue on it so don't waste your time and money gluing it to the fiberglass and then gluing any kind of ceiling treatment onto the other side of it.

You will get much better sound insulation and better insulating R value out of putting in a layer of closed cell foam against the ceiling interior. Landau (padding) foam is a product that is most often put on the exterior of a padded car roof and then topped with a marine type of vinyl. But this product also gets used to insulate the interior of car doors. The landau foam also makes a nice insulating layer on the interior of a fiberglass shell and you can spray glue headliner material to it as a finished ceiling surface. Because it is a closed cell foam it does not absorb water and it is mold and mildew resistant. You can purchase it from auto upholstery sources. I get mine from Seattle Fabrics as it is close by to me.

I use the 1/4" thick foam and then my ceiling interior is finished by applying with another thinner layer of closed cell foam product that has a vinyl surface on one side. I don't have an order source for that material as it was a lucky find leftover from a marine interior firm. If I did not have that vinyl coated foam I would source a different headliner material from the marine industry.

[Burro Bill]

Good info Corbin. It may not be the perfect solution
but it is still WAY better than before!
For what my needs are it will be just fine.

[DuaneQ]

Originally Posted by k corbin

If you had a crack you would want to use the cloth. If you just have a small or hole or gouge or thin spot you can use epoxy putty. The kind that comes in a stick where you knead the inner and outer part together. The putty stick is a lot less messy than trying to paint resin overhead. If resin is put on the outside then you have to apply paint or gel coat over it since plain resin without tint is not UV resistant. Other than not being a color match the putty is OK without being overcoated. It is handy for emergency repairs and it keeps well even if you just use a small amount of it at a time. But if you do get a rock chip or other small bash in the fiberglass while traveling it makes a great filler that you can apply right away.

I don't have any structural problems that I can see. I was just suggesting that I would never get in a hurry to cover up the ceiling until I was sure there were no possible areas that may leak after the "rat fur" was installed. I do have some areas (quite a few actually) that appear thin and you can tell by the amount of light that comes thru. I had repaired a couple of leaking (thin spots) last fall before going to AZ. After seeing a few more drips there I decided that I would cover the entire surface with fiberglass resin. I read where you don't have to use cloth unless there is a structural problem.

I know working overhead is not going to be easy but I think I'll mark off my progress with magic marker as I go along so I know where I left off. Nothing I hate more than to have to do a job over that I did hap haphazardly which I can say I did quite a few times in my life.

I have no idea what I will use to cover the ceiling when I am ready. Some say marine fabric of some sort?

[Burroman]

I used reflectix under my indoor/outdoor carpet.
I think the closed foam , 1/4" would be better.
About 18$ for a piece of carpet from Home Depot and the nice thing is Velcro sticks really well to it.
Hang those Luci lights anywhere you want, jus glue a piece of Velcro to it..