If anyone has the misfortune to have a failed solar panel and need to remove it from the roof .. I used a multi tool with a fine tooth blade which very quickly cut the sikaflex between the panel and the roof with no damage to the roof , as on my install I bonded the panel on the side edges and front so sika was accessible to ‘cut’ out.
Once the panel is removed .. you can quite easily cut away the high left over sections of sikabond very carefully with a sharp Stanley knife ..
I made sure the new panel dimensions were bigger then the original to hide the sika residue not removed .. bonded again with sikaflex… hopefully not to be repeated again..
My original had failed only due to the bike rack retaining arm falling backwards as I hadn’t tightened to the rack to stay in position .. when the tailgate was lifting , wedging against the PV panel ‘take-off’ cable connector and pushing it off the panel… a bit of bad luck ..
Once the panel is removed .. you can quite easily cut away the high left over sections of sikabond very carefully with a sharp Stanley knife ..
I made sure the new panel dimensions were bigger then the original to hide the sika residue not removed .. bonded again with sikaflex… hopefully not to be repeated again..
My original had failed only due to the bike rack retaining arm falling backwards as I hadn’t tightened to the rack to stay in position .. when the tailgate was lifting , wedging against the PV panel ‘take-off’ cable connector and pushing it off the panel… a bit of bad luck ..