Removing, Cleaning, and Reattaching J-Rail

Haven't had much time lately to work on Lil' Chick - this pesky cancer thing sorta reared it's head and demanded attention, so some free time that would've been spent on the trailer was spent having immunotherapy infusions and laying low afterwards (see my other blog if you want the deets:  www.lymphopixie.blogspot.com).

But this weekend and last, I was finally able to make a little more progress.  Yay!

I started removing some of the exterior trim, also known as "j-rail" because it looks like, well, a "J"!  You sorta feel like you're taking a plunge off a cliff any time you remove anything from your trailer, but it has to be done!

The j-rail had to be removed in order to apply new putty on the seams, to better seal the Chick from water.  I was afraid the 50 year old rusty hex screws would break off when I tried to remove them, but they all came out just fine with the hand socket.

Lil' Chick's bent and bumped streetside rear j-rail.
Actually, MOST of Lil' Chick is bent and bumped, poor thing!

 

First section off! (Small victories, but I'll take 'em!)

This is most likely the reason why the interior back corners had water damage:  the putty under the j-rail was cracked and dried and non-existent in some places.

Um yeh, that's gotta go.....

I easily scraped off the old putty with a putty knife and flat-head screwdriver, then cleaned as best I could with acetone (fingernail polish remover from my linen closet) and a scrubbie sponge, to remove any adhesive residue.  After 50 years, there wasn't much.

I got out the trusty caulk gun and laid down a bead of clear, waterproof silicone caulk along the vertical seam, just for a little extra waterproofing.

Then I set out to hunt down the putty.  Apparently in the vintage trailer world, it's called butyl tape, or Tacky Tape - and I learned real quick that Home Depot doesn't carry it, by the totally confounded look on their faces when I asked for it.  I sort of figured as much, but since I was there anyway to get stainless screws (for reattaching the j-rail), I figured I'd give it a shot.  So I was off next to the actual bona fide RV supply store.

My very first roll of butyl tape.
I feel like such a big girl now!

I assumed butyl tape would be gawd-awful expensive, but it wasn't really - it was less than $11.00 for a 30-foot roll.  I started off with one roll, and will go back for more when this one runs out.

Before applying the butyl tape and reattaching the j-rail, I wanted to scrub the j-rail a little to get some of the half-century of corrosion and road grime off.  Since I already knew I wasn't going to get back to a shiney polish, I grabbed a can of Barkeeper's Friend, a wire brush, and a bucket of water and went to town.

Before elbow grease.....

.....and after.

I just realized by looking at these two photos that, even though it's the same piece of j-rail, the first photo is of the underside (where the putty was) and the second photo is the outerside, the side that actually shows when it's on the trailer.  But you get the idea.  Looks MUCH better!

The butyl tape was super-easy to apply.  Since one side is sticky, you just peel back the paper and start laying it down where the old putty used to be.

First length of butyl tape on.  Progress!

You'll notice at the top I left a couple inches with paper attached to both the top side and under side.  I didn't want the seam of the butyl tape to be level with the seam in between the two sections of j-rail, because I figured that could let water seep in, right?  So I allowed for a little underlap beneath the next section of j-rail.  When I take that section off, the seam of the next section of butyl tape won't be right at the seam between the two sections of j-rail.

My hope is that with the old putty gone, new silicone caulk and butyl tape applied, and the j-rail reattached with stainless screws, I can get another 50 years of life outta the Chick before having to do this part again!

I think it turned out OK, don't you?

I ended up doing both the streetside and curbside rear portions of j-rail; I'll tackle the remainder as time allows.

We're eyeball deep in summer right now and months away from any rain.  But, wouldn't you know it, we've got a tropical storm brewing off the coast and we may get hit with some moisture in the next day or two.  The front of the Chick has been in sad shape since I brought her home:  her lower front skin panel was bent out from under the seam of the upper panel, leaving a big gap.  Since I just had the interior front floor fixed by Denny, I want to protect that from the possibility of this alleged moisture we allegedly might get.  I'm not ready to do any real exterior skin work on the Chick - and actually, I'm not going to be doing a whole lot anyway (I love her bumps and dents and shotgun holes and want to keep them!) - but I needed to cover that gap. 

So it was back to Home Depot for a solution.  I prowled the aisles until I found something called vinyl gutter covering that looked like it would work.

I needed a total of 82.5" and it came in 4' sections, so I only had to get two (and only $3.96 each!).

I took a pair of snips and cut off the rail part on the right, so I was left with two pieces of flat vinyl about 5" tall that I cut to the width of the Chick.

I tried to wedge the bent piece of lower skin back under the upper skin but just couldn't do it by myself, so I screwed the vinyl right over the buckled skin, bulge and all.  It may not look good, but it's only a temporary patch for protection, so I think it'll work just fine.

I love making progress on Lil' Chick!