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Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus
1) Since we have the interior skin off, it seems the best bet would be solid rivets. True? If so, are there variations of solid, & what would you recommend?
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Solid is probably unnecessary if it's only a few original roof rivets you're replacing. Getting yourself set up for pop riveting is going to be a lot more generally useful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus
2) For the appropriate rivets, recommend me a gun (please). I've got a compressor with a pretty large tank.
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Harbor Freight guns (3/16" or 1/4") work well as long as you get one that is working from the outset (I had to return my first one, although I think it was me screwing up rather than HF - they were gracious enough to accept the return). The 1/4" gun works well for 3/16" rivets also so it's probably more generally useful and it's not much more expensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus
3) Assuming solid rivets, is 'bucking' something my wife should be capable of? How much, if any, strength does it require? Also, is a bucking bar necessary, or something easy to improvise from common tools?
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Bucking is easy to do and doesn't require much strength. You're not relying on your own strength, you're relying on the mass of the bar to provide a backing for the multiple small impacts of the rivet gun, so you're basically just holding it in place. Nobody seems to ever improvise bucking bars so I wouldn't do that - you need something dense and smooth. The shapes they come in also make it easy to buck in hard-to-reach places.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus
4) 'Wet' installs... what sealant should I use?
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I use Dynatron-550. A little ring around the outside of the hole, pop the rivet, wipe off the excess sealant with mineral spirits. For pop rivets I also put a little dab of sealant over the center of the rivet - closed pop rivets are already waterproof through the center, so this is just for cosmetics.
Cheapest source by far for the 'Tron is Autozone, $15. Everywhere online is more like $20 plus shipping.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus
5) What do you use to seal roof patches with? Do you apply it all at once after drilling holes? Do you have to rush before it sets?
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I would also use Dynatron-550 for this. You do want to fit the piece and drill all the holes, and then apply sealant during final installation. If you use self-tapping screws instead of rivets for the roof patches (which is what I'd do because they're easier and you won't really care what it looks like) you'd seal around the edges, place the piece and then run the screws in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHubbardBus
6) clecos.... 'nice to have' or 'stupid to not use'?
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Stupid not to use. Clecos are fantastic and easy to use and really not terribly expensive.