Old Crow
Searching....
When I bought my (used) Hawk in late 2014, I had many rusty screw-heads around the roof trim and the roof latches and under the cabover. I was having difficulty finding what to use as a replacement and of course looked to WtW for recommendations.
After seeing multiple posts about broken-off screw heads when trying to change out roof-latch screws, mixed results on the trim screws, and not much agreement on what to use as a replacements, I decided to try touching mine up rather than replace them.
Here's my touch-up kit....
(Click to enlarge)
The paint is of course the Rustoleum Gloss White, a perfect match for my siding and trim. The piece of metal with holes in it is a piece of aluminum flashing with holes which just fit over the screw heads. There are two of them as I found I also needed a smaller template to fit into tighter places.
The brass brush is this brass detail brush from Harbor Freight. The artist's brush is one I had lying around.
The brass brush does a good job of cleanup. Put the template over the screw-head, brass-brush it until you're happy with the result, remove the template and clean off the bare screw-head with rubbing alcohol. Put the template back on and paint with the Gloss White (in other words, I didn't use a primer). Try to keep the template tight against the background. Occasionally paint will get past the template but you can just wipe off the screw-head and template and try again.
I did have to do two coats and there's a bit of a technique to it, i.e., getting the right amount of paint on for best coverage and ensuring the screw-head is covered the whole way around. Also, it's a good idea to check the back of the template between screw-heads to keep it clean.
Probably the biggest difficulty in this was getting a good hole in the flashing and avoiding damage to myself while doing it. When the drill goes through the aluminum it wants to plunge through and spin the flashing.... not good for fingers. I probably should have tried clamping it between two pieces of wood for the drilling.
Those who replace screws or have newer campers may also want to consider touch-up. I believe one of the reasons they rust is the screw's paint often gets damaged by the driver used to put them in and they're bound for Rustville right from the beginning. You'd have to make a decision on whether the screw finish has degraded enough to use the brass brush or it just needs a dab of paint.
This subject comes up today as I see I have a few to touch up again.
.
After seeing multiple posts about broken-off screw heads when trying to change out roof-latch screws, mixed results on the trim screws, and not much agreement on what to use as a replacements, I decided to try touching mine up rather than replace them.
Here's my touch-up kit....
(Click to enlarge)
The paint is of course the Rustoleum Gloss White, a perfect match for my siding and trim. The piece of metal with holes in it is a piece of aluminum flashing with holes which just fit over the screw heads. There are two of them as I found I also needed a smaller template to fit into tighter places.
The brass brush is this brass detail brush from Harbor Freight. The artist's brush is one I had lying around.
The brass brush does a good job of cleanup. Put the template over the screw-head, brass-brush it until you're happy with the result, remove the template and clean off the bare screw-head with rubbing alcohol. Put the template back on and paint with the Gloss White (in other words, I didn't use a primer). Try to keep the template tight against the background. Occasionally paint will get past the template but you can just wipe off the screw-head and template and try again.
I did have to do two coats and there's a bit of a technique to it, i.e., getting the right amount of paint on for best coverage and ensuring the screw-head is covered the whole way around. Also, it's a good idea to check the back of the template between screw-heads to keep it clean.
Probably the biggest difficulty in this was getting a good hole in the flashing and avoiding damage to myself while doing it. When the drill goes through the aluminum it wants to plunge through and spin the flashing.... not good for fingers. I probably should have tried clamping it between two pieces of wood for the drilling.
Those who replace screws or have newer campers may also want to consider touch-up. I believe one of the reasons they rust is the screw's paint often gets damaged by the driver used to put them in and they're bound for Rustville right from the beginning. You'd have to make a decision on whether the screw finish has degraded enough to use the brass brush or it just needs a dab of paint.
This subject comes up today as I see I have a few to touch up again.
.
