Bathroom bellyband trim redo

[SeaDawg]

So, the chrome bands in the bath fell off. 

Paul took the chrome strip to his workbench, and scraped the single band of vhb tape off the middle.

We applied two new strips of narrower vhb, top and bottom.  

We left the strip in the sun for a few hours. I cleaned the belly and area with 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol three times. After 15, minutes, we applied the belly band trim with the new tape, ripping off the backing every five inches or so. I rubbed the whole strip, back and forth, with a towel, five times, with special attention to the ends, and the curve.

We're camping, so I  didn't have painter's tape. I ripped half strips of duct tape, and used pieces of paper towel to keep the duct tape adhesive from sticking to the chrome band. 

I removed the duct tape 18bhours later. 

Hoping this will work better, as the original had adhesive over primarily the convoluted surface where the hulls meet. 

This may not apply to newer trailers. Ours is 12 years old. 

Sherry 

 

[Mainiac]

10 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

So, the chrome bands in the bath fell off. 

Paul took the chrome strip to his workbench, and scraped the single band of vhb tape off the middle.

We applied two new strips of narrower vhb, top and bottom.  

We left the strip in the sun for a few hours. I cleaned the belly and area with 70 per cent isopropyl alcohol three times. After 15, minutes, we applied the belly band trim with the new tape, ripping off the backing every five inches or so. I rubbed the whole strip, back and forth, with a towel, five times, with special attention to the ends, and the curve.

We're camping, so I  didn't have painter's tape. I ripped half strips of duct tape, and used pieces of paper towel to keep the duct tape adhesive from sticking to the chrome band. 

I removed the duct tape 18bhours later. 

Hoping this will work better, as the original had adhesive over primarily the convoluted surface where the hulls meet. 

This may not apply to newer trailers. Ours is 12 years old. 

Sherry 

 

So you are saying we can only expect the tape to hold for 12 years or so?

In SOBs (Some Other Brands) there might not be anything for the tape to be reattached to. 12 years sounds pretty good.

[SeaDawg]

1 hour ago, Mainiac said:

In SOBs (Some Other Brands) there might not be anything for the tape to be reattached to. 12 years sounds pretty good.

You're right there, Mainiac.

What I  meant was, the trim Oliver uses now may have a different adhesive.😃

[Overland]

The trick with VHB tape is in the prep, so maybe your new band will last even longer. 

I do wonder about the longevity of VHB though, especially with people using it for exterior items like solar panels. I had an old Saab 900 though that had trim items glued on with either VHB or something similar, and I kept that car for 20 years, never covered, and I don’t remember any of the trim coming loose. 

[Mike and Carol]

2 hours ago, Overland said:

I had an old Saab 900 though that had trim items glued on with either VHB or something similar, and I kept that car for 20 years, never covered, and I don’t remember any of the trim coming loose. 

The Saab 900 came out in 1979, we were living in Germany.  I bought one of the first 900 Turbo’s, black with the Inca wheels.  Thought I was pretty cool.  It did well on the autobahn.  We kept it until sometime in the 90’s, it turned out to be a nice car to own for the long run and over 100K miles.

Sorry for the hijack.  Back to chrome bands and VHB tape.  🤓 Mike

[DavePhelps]

My trim in the bathroom also started coming off after a year or so. It's a difficult area due to all the moisture, etc.
If you want to go the extra mile when it comes time to reattachment, I would also highly recommend using this 3M adhesive promoter:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RY8L9U6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

After you clean the area with isopropyl alcohol, just wipe this stuff on before applying the trim. It has worked very well for me.

Dave

 

 

Edited July 30, 2020 by DavePhelps
misspelled word

[Overland]

Thanks Dave, I’ll have to order some of those to keep handy. 

I wonder if that might help with attaching the flexible window gutters. 

[SeaDawg]

Thanks, Dave. I see that 3m makes a couple different products, for different  surfaces. This one, 6396, gets great reviews for plastic to trim, exactly what we're doing here. And, probably helpful for those having difficulty with ez rv gutter trim, too.

I'll use that next time. Hopefully,  it's another 12 years til I need it. 

I'm wondering if any of the auto parts stores sell it in smaller quantities?

Sherry

Yes, they do. $2.84 each at my advanced auto if purchased ahead on-line for pickup. 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2020 by SeaDawg
Addition

[mossemi]

Thanks Dave for the great idea.

Dang, it looks like I’m in 3rd place this time.  I also found it at NAPA for $2.69 and that puts me in 1st place😊

Mossey

[Fargoman]

Does the belly band trim in the bathroom seal the gap between the upper and lower inner hulls to prevent water intrusion, or is the belly band trim only cosmetic?

[SeaDawg]

The chrome belly band trim  is cosmetic.