So My Neighbor Shot a BB At My Camper...

If it were a bunch of kids I'd say, "Yeah right, and I have oceanfront property in Arizona," if they claimed it was an accident and unintentional.

I highly doubt this guy walked out the door, took aim at your camper, and fired. He was probably trying to take out a nuisance squirrel, and didn't/couldn't see what was past the squirrel if he missed.

Maybe he shouldn't have fired in the first place, but we all make mistakes and at his age he's entitled to make a few.

Since it's going to be covered up, rough up the area, fill with epoxy, and sand smooth. You'll forget about it after a while.

Gelcoat repair paste kits are available. Not expensive and not hard to do if the instructions are followed carefully.

http://www.spectrumcolor.com/Items.aspx?key=search&code=K&searchval=arctic+white&incl_m=T

Epoxy will stick better than bondo or Sikaflex. This is what I would do:

Carefully grind the loose and destroyed material out with a Dremel type tool, removing as little as possible to get to mostly solid material. Fill with thickened epoxy, Marine Tex and someone has mentioned is a premixed solution, another very good one is West Systems Six 10. Both are available nationwide at West Marine. Mask a small outline and squeegee into the damaged area with a hard plastic squeegee. Sand lightly, going into the paint as little as possible. Brush over with matching paint. You will only have an hour into the repair and it will be almost unnoticeable.

RV daytrader wrote:
You say you are installing an awning over the spot?...fill it with epoxy and be done with it!

^This!
And the dudes 92 years old! Some of these responses really show what type of people are out there....not like he sprayed it with an AR!
There's 3 or 4 easy ways to fix it permanently and aesthetically. Few more if you're covering it up anyway.
Caulk
Expensive caulk like sika or dicor
White 5 min epoxy
Expensive epoxy like 3M 5200
Bondo and paint
Bondo and gel coat touch up
Fiberglass resin and paint
Resin and gelcoat

If you can get to the hardware store and stand on a ladder for 15min then this is an easy repair.
And I'd still go biatch at your neighbor buddy and make him give you a beer. Then drink it with him and share a story or 2. His days are numbered and this is about the smallest problem/repair I can think of.

Bumpyroad wrote:
the only fiberglass repair that you could do yourself and look OK would be to use white bondo and smooth it out. sort of like that fake vent idea myself.
bumpy

x2
Over the years I use bondo for house wood repair as well.
It sticks to almost everything, relatively strong and with some practice not only you can apply it with good finish, but with good timing you can catch it in gelling stage, where all mishaps can be easily cut off with putty knife.
Get set of those for nice work.
BTW my father is 92, but he was always against the guns.
Leaving in Gdansk (Danzing) he was called to Wehrmacht during WWII but Polish native, was send to forced labor on farm instead.

ccxnola wrote:
...At 92, most (I said 'most', not all) folks that old should not have a gun of any kind!! JMHO

Ya know, someone 92 years old is just old enough to have fought in WWII. You are not going to get me to support restricting rights based upon age. These rights are guaranteed (not granted) by our Constitution. What is next..."That geezer is too old for free speech or freedom of religion"??? An adult's age should never be a factor when it comes to their rights.

As for the subject of this thread....

Get is repaired, and pay the bill. Present a copy of the bill to your neighbor. People that age have a much higher degree of honor & personal responsibility than someone half their age. No need to threaten with small claims, a lien, or anything like that. You don't need to be the alpha-hotel here just because you can. The only reason why he won't pay it is because he is financially unable to do so - and threats, court, and legal action will not magically produce the money.

-Eric

You say you are installing an awning over the spot?...fill it with epoxy and be done with it!

I've got an elderly neighbor and can imagine this same scenario.

My first thought is to confiscate the BB gun. The suggestion to take it in payment for damage sounds like a win-win situation.

To repair, I'd go with the Marine Tex too. I've used it in the past on other projects and it's held up well.

If you want to go expensive, file an insurance claim and hand over the information on how it was damaged. Most likely, the old man's liability insurance on his homeowner policy will cover the costs. It won't come out of the old guy's grocery or medicine budget. However, if you care at all about your relationship with this neighbor, I wouldn't do this personally.

I'm sure I'd not file a report with the sheriff though. (I'm not covered under any police department out where I live.) I might ask the general question of the sheriff what would happen if someone filed such a report. I wouldn't want to scare the old man. At 92, he's obviously not 100% mentally there or he wouldn't be in his situation.

If you have his family's contact info, you may want to let one of them know about this. A son or daughter would appreciate it I'm sure.

Marine tex is great on fiberglass. I've used it to patch stuff like that on my boat, and it works great.

Old guy was probably trying to get some critter out of his garden or something........

1 Loctite epoxy instant mix 2 Evercoate marine Gelcoat repair kit
quick easy cheap