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Old 02-14-2017, 09:34 AM   #1
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Sealant issue

So I am doing all the sealing and caulking associated with my motorhome. For the cap to sidewall I am using sikaflex 221. Polyurethane adhesive. I have more than one area where the previous owner used silicone. Any hints on removing it. been a tough part of the job.
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Old 02-14-2017, 09:54 AM   #2
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As you have discovered, silicone caulk is NOT a good product for RV applications. It fails and it next to impossible to remove for application of a proper caulk.

You might try a product like this:

Silicone Removal

or this:

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...ductId=2151182

You could also try removal mechanically with razor blades, scrapers, etc. Soaking in mineral spirits, citrus based solvents, can cause the silicone to swell a bit and allow for mechanical removal. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers can also help.

Good luck.
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Old 02-15-2017, 06:50 AM   #3
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Thanks Bob and Donna. Appreciate the help
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Old 02-15-2017, 02:33 PM   #4
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Not safe by any means but try a small amount of gasoline on a rag. Do a small area to see how it works. My redneck body shop guy suggested it to me. Or be safe and use something else.
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Old 02-15-2017, 08:59 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wstalker View Post
So I am doing all the sealing and caulking associated with my motorhome. For the cap to sidewall I am using sikaflex 221. Polyurethane adhesive. I have more than one area where the previous owner used silicone. Any hints on removing it. been a tough part of the job.
wstalker,
Well, the subject of whether or not to use Silcone on any section/parts/areas of RV roofs has been discussed just a few thousand times. But, I won't go into any detail here other than to say, we have a coach, almost a sister ship to yours. It's a 2004 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT. It "had" some cracking of the roof-to-gutter seams, about 4'-5' from the front cap, towards te rear, on each side.

I contacted a company called 3 Ts, here in Lake Havasu City AZ about what product to use to re-seal that area. Yes, I know all about the Winnebago call out sheet for all the sealants. Got it in my documents. 3Ts is and has been, in very close ties with the Winnebago factory for years. So, I figured that since they're that close to the factory heads of state, I'd rely on what they recommended for that area question.

So, I asked. They're recommendation: SILICONE!!!! I said, "are you sure"? "Yep, Silcone". I didn't bother getting into any form of details of "but, ........", I just said, thank you and headed out to Home Depot. Now, if I may suggest, you look at this video from Lichtsinn RV. If you don't know them, is an RV repair and sales outfit, about one city block away from the Winnebago factory. They too work extremely close with the factory on repair. In this "Roof cove maintenance" video, you'll see what they use, that's told to them by WINNEBAGO for the various applications of roof-to-gutter seam.

I'm suspecting that, if your coach is as ours is, A FULL BODY PAINT coach, you'll see what they recommend. It will interest you.
Scott

Roof Cove Maintenance, Recorded with my Android Mobile Phone. LichtsinnMotors on USTREAM. How-to
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Old 02-15-2017, 10:00 PM   #6
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I soaked mine in just regular caulk remover and then went after it with a removal tool and a plastic scraper. It's a pain and a lesson learned the hard way. Now it's proflex only....love that stuff and it's leaps/bounds ahead of anything else I've used.
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Old 02-16-2017, 12:53 PM   #7
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In the FIW dept, Fireup is correct. I contacted Winnebago as well as Lichstein after messaging with Fireup and all of them told me to use Silicone. I bought the product Lichstein recommends in their video and applied as directed. First trip is March 3 so will see how it does.
I used brake Cleaner, putty knives, scrapers, goof off and acetone to clean the old product out and off the chanel. . Lots of elbow grease also.
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Old 02-16-2017, 08:45 PM   #8
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I was lucky that my used '02 Journey did not have multiple applications of caulking along the roof edges so I had nothing to clean up, but I wanted to do something, which did not involve any caulking at all so I used Eternabond tape to avoid it.

Here's my blog post about the work: Roof Edges...
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Old 02-17-2017, 01:54 AM   #9
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Winnebago now recommends NuFlex 640, but our Winnebago dealer was not up to speed and did not know that. Some other shops are unfortunately still using silicone. Another dealer is using Profex which looked good. But, after all this research we are going with the Sikaflex UV in black. When applied properly (not by me) it looks great.
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Old 02-19-2017, 02:58 PM   #10
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I just got back from Home Depot . They no longer have Stone Mason sealant Yes there is an old add on google that it can be ordered for $8 . I tried to but NO !
In reading the net ,, as Garrry737 , said Winnebago now uses NuFlex 640 .
I will try to get that it should not be an issue .

On another note , there is a product by DAP , Dynaflex 230 that I have used many times that I like and has held up outdoors for me for years Although it is a Latex product and easy to clean up .

Now off to find or order on line Nu Flex
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Old 05-20-2017, 12:13 PM   #11
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Has anyone used eternabond over the sikaflex products? If so does it stick well?
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Old 05-20-2017, 10:49 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wstalker View Post
Has anyone used eternabond over the sikaflex products? If so does it stick well?
I've used over 100 feet of Eternabond on the roof of 2 RV's now and it sticks very well. Difficult to remove. If you're interested, here's a link to my blog posting of the roof work on my Winnie: Roof and Roof Items....
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Old 05-20-2017, 11:31 PM   #13
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You know, I keep hearing horror stories about silicone. But I used it on my last MH with no problems at all. After a few years, I reapplied silicone on a few areas that needed updates, with absolutely no problems at all. I keep hearing that new silicone won't stick to old silicone... That has not been my experience at all.

I have purchased dicor, both self leveling and non-leveling, for my new (to me) rig, but I really wonder if it was necessary. Silicone served me well for the previous 28 years.......
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Old 05-21-2017, 07:22 AM   #14
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I'm not advocating the use of any particular sealant, just an observation. Keep hearing "Don't use silicone! It will eventually failed and have to be replaced." Well the recommended Winnebago sealant obviously failed as well or we wouldn't have to clean it out and reseal. I assume Winnebago used the same sealant as they're recommending. Not sure if there is a sealant that when exposed the sun and elements long enough won't fail.
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Old 05-21-2017, 07:44 AM   #15
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Ok, so after 40 years, 5 moho's and house and garage with steel roofs I recomend for front and rear caps, ROOFING TAPE! There are several brands out there. Etrnabond is one brand. Home Cheapo carries a foil top brand or $17 a 25foot roll that I have used in many different applications. Amazing stuff!!! It comes in different widths, I like the 6"!

USEAL USA 4 in. x 66.7 ft. NonSkid Roof Tape USEAL-8872NF4 - The Home Depot

I buy the 6" wide stuff and cut it in half for my vents and other roof stuff. I use the full 6" wide on my caps. I use this stuff on my house roof, house rentals and cars. I keep finding all kinds of uses for it. You put it right over your existing roof cap caulking!!!

Ok, HD also carries something called Tropi-Cool roof coating and caulking. Not cheap, but the very best stuff. The paint is liquid silicon. You paint it on and it self levels to a certain degree. I've seen folks seal the edge of the "tape" with caulking, you don't need to do that but I would use this stuff if I were going to do that. This is a 100% silicon roofing paint. They coat entire roofs with this stuff. It has a lifetime warranty. Getting the roofing tape back off is next to impossible. Fastest way is to cut it, so it is not a temp fix! I just did a 35 foot pace arrow with the tape and Tropi-Cool. Temp inside dropped 15 degrees from the sun. Removing silicon is best down with carb cleaner, small brass brush, chizel with dulled corners and your clawing finger nails! There may be a better way, but I have not found it yet!!!
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Old 05-21-2017, 07:58 AM   #16
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Here a few more. FB friend just did a roof similar length. New rubber. $4300. Mine, $250, don't get me wrong, it is hard work, but saved $4k. The rear cap is busted up from folds stepping on it when climbing on the roof. drilled holes at the end of each crack, caulked with the tropi-cool caulk then covered with the 6" roof tape. Pix is of the front cap. I didn't pull the silicon, just covered it with tape. In my opinion, silicon caulking is used for 2 reasons. One as a compression gasket, two to make it look pretty.
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Old 05-21-2017, 08:08 AM   #17
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Meanwhile at Fleetwood...

Techs at the Decatur, IN., technical service center told me this month silicone has essentially been banned from the REV production floor.
Geocel is the sealer of choice there for the moment. About $12 a tube.
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Old 05-21-2017, 10:42 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lonfu View Post
Ok, so after 40 years, 5 moho's and house and garage with steel roofs I recomend for front and rear caps, ROOFING TAPE! There are several brands out there. Etrnabond is one brand. Home Cheapo carries a foil top brand or $17 a 25foot roll that I have used in many different applications. Amazing stuff!!! It comes in different widths, I like the 6"!

USEAL USA 4 in. x 66.7 ft. NonSkid Roof Tape USEAL-8872NF4 - The Home Depot

I buy the 6" wide stuff and cut it in half for my vents and other roof stuff. I use the full 6" wide on my caps. I use this stuff on my house roof, house rentals and cars. I keep finding all kinds of uses for it. You put it right over your existing roof cap caulking!!!

Ok, HD also carries something called Tropi-Cool roof coating and caulking. Not cheap, but the very best stuff. The paint is liquid silicon. You paint it on and it self levels to a certain degree. I've seen folks seal the edge of the "tape" with caulking, you don't need to do that but I would use this stuff if I were going to do that. This is a 100% silicon roofing paint. They coat entire roofs with this stuff. It has a lifetime warranty. Getting the roofing tape back off is next to impossible. Fastest way is to cut it, so it is not a temp fix! I just did a 35 foot pace arrow with the tape and Tropi-Cool. Temp inside dropped 15 degrees from the sun. Removing silicon is best down with carb cleaner, small brass brush, chizel with dulled corners and your clawing finger nails! There may be a better way, but I have not found it yet!!!
That is a very interesting product, I've seen it in HD but I've never met anyone who used it on a RV so I've not tried it. It looks like it might not be strong enough at first glance. I'm always on the lookout for good roof products so your opinion is valuable. Your pics are nice, but where do they show that tape product? Do you have a pic of it sealing an end cap? Or I should say that I can't really tell if it's been used on that roof. Can you describe where it was used?

Thanks.
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Old 05-22-2017, 06:42 AM   #19
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That is a very interesting product, I've seen it in HD but I've never met anyone who used it on a RV so I've not tried it. It looks like it might not be strong enough at first glance. I'm always on the lookout for good roof products so your opinion is valuable. Your pics are nice, but where do they show that tape product? Do you have a pic of it sealing an end cap? Or I should say that I can't really tell if it's been used on that roof. Can you describe where it was used?

Thanks.
I don't have one of the rear cap. The whole point of the roof tape is that it is low profile and barely shows. Look at the pix with the sat dome. that is the front cap and trim. I covered the front cap seam and trim with roof tape. you can hardly see it unless you get a close up. Look closely at the shower skylight before and after pix. you can see the silicon caulking in the first pix then silver roof tape in the 2nd pix. The nice thing is after the tape is installed, I can coat it with roof coating filling in any small pin holes I might have missed. You can see that in the after pix with roof coating.
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Old 05-22-2017, 06:55 AM   #20
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Using caulking under the lip of the vent in a compression gasket to be mounted makes sense. Dumping it along the exposed edge is a waste of money. Technology has changed!!!! Clearly the "new" way is to use roofing tape. Question is???? why are manufacturer's still stuck doing the old thing when the materials are available to do it once and do it right! I can tell you, instead of a one step process, it is a 3 step process. If I were to buy new again, I would install roofing tape on all my vent seals and then coat the entire roof.
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