pulsar dome damaged by thieves.

[Nigella Bryant]

Hi all, some sad news. I moved house in November but left my dome where I lived till I could sort out moving this. Covid-19 put a delay on this too. Planned to move that in April so didn't happen. We'll my neighbor informed me that the dome was attempted to be lifted by thieves and there is damage to the dome fiberglass. Don't know to what extent,going now to collect it on Wednesday. Hopefully it isn't to bad. Any advice about repair of fiberglass would be nice.

[Merlin66]

Bumma!!!!

I hope all is well.

 

[carastro]

Bar stewards!!

Guess you won;t know how bad until you get there.

Carole 

[Nigella Bryant]

18 minutes ago, Merlin66 said:

Bumma!!!!

I hope all is well.

 

Yeah, bumma.

[Nigella Bryant]

15 minutes ago, carastro said:

Bar stewards!!

Guess you won;t know how bad until you get there.

Carole 

No, unfortunately not. Yeah, deffinetly bar stewards Apparently the dome part was so precarious my old neighbors lifted it all off onto the garden to stop more damage. Just glad I emptied the dome of equipment.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Nigella Bryant

[ollypenrice]

Really sorry that the dregs and scrapings of humanity have done this.

The good news is that fiberglass is the most repairable material known to man. There are all sorts of ways of doing it but you'll find lots of information in the car and boat world. When fiberglass cars have a shunt, for instance, the body shop will measure how far up the shell the damage goes and order a partial shell from the manufacturer, so if the front left is smashed they just order the front left part to be moulded and they can feather it into the existing part invisibly. I'm sure that with a bit of patience and internet instruction you'll be able to make good.

Always remember that the perpetrators will never know happiness or fulfillment. They know what they are.

Olly

[Nigella Bryant]

9 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

Really sorry that the dregs and scrapings of humanity have done this.

The good news is that fiberglass is the most repairable material known to man. There are all sorts of ways of doing it but you'll find lots of information in the car and boat world. When fiberglass cars have a shunt, for instance, the body shop will measure how far up the shell the damage goes and order a partial shell from the manufacturer, so if the front left is smashed they just order the front left part to be moulded and they can feather it into the existing part invisibly. I'm sure that with a bit of patience and internet instruction you'll be able to make good.

Always remember that the perpetrators will never know happiness or fulfillment. They know what they are.

Olly

Thanks Olly, just upsetting, when you work hard and save for things but you're right, they'll never know true happiness or fulfillment. They just exist on a certain level of humanity.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Gutted for you. It gets me really ,mad when stuff like this happens and I am sure you feel the same. Trouble is you then suffer twice for the damage or loss of the property and then feeling like that.

So easier to say than do but try not to get upset that way they only hurt you more. I hope the damage is repairable. I would not know how to repair but maybe a boatyard or boat builder could help as it would be something they do ???

Steve

[Peter Drew]

Hello Nigella.  So sorry to hear of this, as a past victim of this sort of thing I can identify with your distress.  Fortunately is seems that you had already removed your expensive equipment.  As Olly has said, fibreglass is one of the easiest materials to repair, you may even be able to buy a replacement component from the manufacturer.  Oddly, once the issue was come to terms with I actually started to feel a little sorry for the perpretators knowing that this is the best that life offers them.  

[DaveL59]

17 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

 They just exist on a certain level of humanity.

below the level I'd say

As above tho, fibreglass is repairable, you can buy kits with matting and resin for not too much. I rebuilt the top edge of a rusted away inner wing years ago after it fell to bits when I unbolted the front wing, passed several MOT's no issue and probably stronger than the original. Just be careful working on it to wear good gloves and a mask + eye protection. Nasty stuff when it gets into your skin or worse your eyes/lungs.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Sorry to hear about this, time, money and hassle you could do without. At least it sounds like it can be repaired from the tips above. Can the neighbour send you a pic so you have some idea of what to expect?

Edited May 18, 2020 by Knight of Clear Skies

[x6gas]

Really sorry to read this... what scumbags... but an odd thing to try to steal so I wonder if they were actually just trying to get inside to try to nick what they thought might have been inside?

As Olly and others have said, fibreglass is very repairable.  I have a couple of Lotus cars and the bodies are all made of GRP and Olly has described accurately how they are repaired and it looks seamless and if done properly is no less strong than when the fibreglass was originally laid.  Halfords used to stock a patch kit with matting and resin that was good for small repairs...

Really hope the damage is not too bad...

[AdeKing]

Really sorry to hear this Novella, but thankfully your equipment had already been moved and is safe.

From the advice above, it does sound like the damage could be repaired though.

Good luck and I hope the perpetrators get their come uppance.

[carastro]

Sounds to me like they were just trying to get at what was inside, and having made a hole realised there was nothing in there and abandoned it.

Carole  

[RT65CB-SWL]

Sorry to hear this news. It gets me so angry! 

There are a few things I would do to them; but cannot. All because of 'Human Rights' etc.

[Astro-Geek]

I'll second (or third or fourth) 🤓 all the comments about fibreglass being easily repairable.

It can be tricky to get a concours finish cosmetically, but very easy to make a fairly neat but very strong repair.

I've used glassfibre quite a lot in my other money pit (boats) and the basics are:

1. The resin and hardener are available with a Polyester Base, or an Epoxy Base. Polyester base is cheaper, and is what is normally used from scratch when "laying up" a complete structure in a mould.
2. Epoxy base is more expensive, but much stronger, and sticks like s*it to a blanket when repairing things.  Useful to know if the damaged parts of the dome are under stress, like hinges or bracket fixing points.
3. The reinforcement material is either glassfibre mat or woven tape, or also more exotic materials like Kevlar.
4. Glassfibre mat has a dissolvable "binder" in it that holds it together as a mat while you cut and lay it.  When you start to apply the resin, this dissapears, so that the glass strands form into whatever shape they are pressed against.  (so with a dome, you need some temporary convex or concave  former underneath for it to "mould against".  If you use a temporary former, you need to cover that with a "release agent", or cling film will do.
5. Make sure your mat or tape has the correct binder for whatever resin you're using, Poly or Epoxy, or it won't dissolve when you stipple the resin into it.
6. Practice an some scrap wood or something first.
7. Remember to follow step 6...  🙂

[barkis]

Nothing turns my stomach more than a common thief. Especially when they do so much damage
trying to get at something they probably have no Idea what they may be stealing, and likely  to pass on to someone for a meagre 
fraction of the value of the item/s. true worth. In this case, they got nothing, but the wreckage they often leave behind them can be soul destroying
to the property owner/s. 
I would deport all guilty thieves to an Arctic Island prison for 10 years, regardless of nature of the theft or ensuing damage.
Pickpockets, fraudsters, all of that Ilk to be likewise cold stored. 

Brutal?, of course it is, but there are enough bleeding hearts to prevent such punishment,s being introduced, so the plague will continue.
Ron
 

 

[JeremyS]

Really sad new Nigella: so sorry.

[bomberbaz]

basket cases, boils my blood this kinda thing. Hope it isn't too badly damaged

[maw lod qan]

I know you've, not sure of the best term to use,  come to see things differently than some of us over here. Sometimes, an example just needs to be set.

Wearing a scarlet letter is no longer enough. With too many it's become a fashion statement.

Need an occasional public hanging.

[Carbon Brush]

Well I hope the thieving wotsits breathed in the fibres while cutting and they stuck in their lungs. I hope they got splinters in their hands, eyes and worse. I feel the anger.

On a practical note. If you think the repair goes beyond what you are happy to do yourself, have a chat with a car or boat repair shop.
As you are into using a trailer or similar to transport the dome, it is easy enough to drop it at a repair shop.
We (the uneducated and unwashed) know how to bodge something using a pack of materials from Halfords.
Those who earn their living at this work should be more familiar with the different materials, pitfalls and techniques.
They can even do you a 'good as new' spray job.

I hope it all works out well for you.

David.

 

[Craney]

17 minutes ago, barkis said:

to an Arctic Island prison for 10 years...

and get them to try and nick some food off of the polar bears....

[Rob]

Sorry to hear this. I would chat to pulsar in the first instance for advice, just hope its not to bad for you.

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, Astro-Geek said:

I'll second (or third or fourth) 🤓 all the comments about fibreglass being easily repairable.

It can be tricky to get a concours finish cosmetically, but very easy to make a fairly neat but very strong repair.

I've used glassfibre quite a lot in my other money pit (boats) and the basics are:

1. The resin and hardener are available with a Polyester Base, or an Epoxy Base. Polyester base is cheaper, and is what is normally used from scratch when "laying up" a complete structure in a mould.
2. Epoxy base is more expensive, but much stronger, and sticks like s*it to a blanket when repairing things.  Useful to know if the damaged parts of the dome are under stress, like hinges or bracket fixing points.
3. The reinforcement material is either glassfibre mat or woven tape, or also more exotic materials like Kevlar.
4. Glassfibre mat has a dissolvable "binder" in it that holds it together as a mat while you cut and lay it.  When you start to apply the resin, this dissapears, so that the glass strands form into whatever shape they are pressed against.  (so with a dome, you need some temporary convex or concave  former underneath for it to "mould against".  If you use a temporary former, you need to cover that with a "release agent", or cling film will do.
5. Make sure your mat or tape has the correct binder for whatever resin you're using, Poly or Epoxy, or it won't dissolve when you stipple the resin into it.
6. Practice an some scrap wood or something first.
7. Remember to follow step 6...  🙂

Thanks all and Astro-geek, appreciate all your comments and advice, plus what to do to them if they get caught, lol. I expect they had no clue but wondered how they knew to lift the dome part and not try the door area, me thinks they must have some sort of knowledge about dome. My dome was tied down inside too so it must have been some effort.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Nigella Bryant

[DAVE AMENDALL]

The Pulsar dome I think is still made in sections. If one section is holed ,maybe Pulsar would supply an odd section as a one off. ........Dave

Edited May 18, 2020 by DAVE AMENDALL
typo