Posted some details of the early stage of my fix to an '05 s-type 104 late last year. Other things have got in the way but here is a quick update.

All deck graphics, pads, non-slip and failing top glass layer removed.







Preparation and reglassing of sanded timber is next task. Vacuum bagging equipment created to assist with this step.
Manual pump (think massive bike pump working in reverse).







Vacuum reservoir with gauge and control valves (and yes, bottle is empty of gas)

Hey Terry, do you need to glass over the wood or just put on a couple of coats of epoxy or poly

That was the original plan Haggar but I got a bit concerned about the strength of the wood after sanding was done. Better safe than sorry so a layer of glass seemed the best bet and it gives me a chance to test the vacuum bagging setup

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TerryF said...
That was the original plan Haggar but I got a bit concerned about the strength of the wood after sanding was done. Better safe than sorry so a layer of glass seemed the best bet and it gives me a chance to test the vacuum bagging setup

You don't need a vacuum bag if you're just glassing over the wood..

As far as the vacuum bag is concerned, it's also pretty hard to pull a permanent vacuum on a bag. Think I would prefer the old Fridge pump, rather than stand next to the bag pumping every ten minutes.

If your attempts at vacuum bagging are like mine, even with a pump going, you spend a fair while chasing leaks before the bag will suck down. I even made up an adapter to use a vacuum cleaner to draw the bag down initially, as a normal pump takes forever.

I can't imagine doing it with a manual pump, and by the look of it, your pump needs to be drawn up to pull a vacuum, which looks a lot harder than if you were pushing down on the pump.

While I am at it, the level of vacuum you are going to be playing with, a gas cylinder won't hold much. I ended up using 5 metres of 100mm PVC tube as a reservoir, so its probably similar, and it makes a difference, but that's with an electric pump and prevents it cycling as much.

Vacuum pumps aren't that expensive off of ebay, and make it so much easier, although my attempts haven't always been that successful either

Thanks all for the input, I was hoping to get a good enough seal on the bag that the vacuum loss would not be that great - so I could use manual pump each hour or so. Will try a test and if that fails I've got a mate I can borrow a vacuum pump from.