roof/seam caucking for early 90's Coleman

[cruiserpop]

have early 90's coleman (non abs roof). what would be the proper caucking material?

[flyfisherman]

My previous Coleman/Fleetwood had the infamous ABS roof so that limits my experience there. However, now have an aluminum roofed Starcraft that I've re-calked awhile back and I should think popup roof caulking would be pretty much standard.

My Starcraft owner's manual called for using Dow silicone sealer #999A, which I used, and the material was real easy to work with and did a good job of re-sealing the roof. I think the advantage of using the silicone sealant is that the material remains flexible for a substantial amount of time all the while being exposed to a lot of direct sunlight. Plus, you know there's got to be a lot of "flexing" as the camper goes tooling down the road. Another advantage of the silicone is that it's quite easy to remove - I used a plastic putty knife to break the bond between the old silicone and the aluminum and plastic roof componets, and then cleaned up the old silicone residue with 70% isopropyl alcohol (bought this at Wal-Mart, real cheap) and the advantage of the alcohol is that it did not damage the painted surface of the camper roof. When I went to re-apply the new silicone sealant I used masking tape to section off precisely where I wanted the area to be sealed and then removing the tape about half way through the curing time of the sealant so it would not become "a part of" the silicone. Turned out to look just like "factory" and that was three years ago and is still going strong.

The advantage of the silicone is it's sealing qualities, remaining flexible and if need be, removal should there have to be a roof repair made for some reason in the future. The disadvantge with silicone is that it cannot be painted ... paint and silicone are incompatible, so if you wanted to re-paint the camper roof you'd have to remove the silicone and clean off any it's residue first before painting.

No doubt there are other stronger and more permanent sealants that could be used, but the question would be about removing them should it be necessary in the future.




Fly

[wavery]

Fly is correct. However, on an older PU, you may want to consider a more permanent caulking.

3M 5200 is the strongest caulking that I have ever seen. It is not effected by the Sun and it does stay flexible. It can be cleaned up with mineral spirits and it can be painted (after curing for 30 days). It takes about 5 days to cure to the point of being usable. After 30 days, it is 100% cured and pretty well impenetrable.

It comes in different colors but the white matches the standard white camper material pretty close. I've used it on my (aluminum) roof to patch holes that were punched in it from the awning flopping over the top. You can't tell where I patched it.

The down side is that after it cures, it is extremely difficult to remove and would probably end up in damaging the roof if you tried.

[austinado16]

There's also that neat self leveling caulking and it comes in white and tan.

I did Starcraft roof like Fly suggests, although I didn't tape (too lazy).  I did my seams where the aluminum roof skin or side skin meets the metal edge trim with tan silicone from the RV store.  After laying down a thin bead, I go back with a cup of water, dip my finger in the water, and then smooth the caulk out to make it look nice.  I used the self leveling where the center strip runs down the middle of the roof.

[Popdawgie]

The wet-finger trick will not werk with 3M #5200. As a MOF, you will need acetone or min spirits to clean up. So pre-taping is critical. But the stuff is by far the best sealant you will find out there. It's primary usage is in the marine industry. It is used as an adhesive sealant for thru-hull fittings and motor mounting. It is impervious to UV, totally waterproof, and does not turn brittle with age.
The stuff is like werkin with caulking compound --- on steroids. It's hard to get an even bead, as it does not self-level.
I can think of nothing better tho. I had a problem with the awning cover's stitching trim (a 1"wide strip of some sort of HDPE material) that had totally deteriorated due to UV.
I just got a caulking gun and a $9.00 tube of #5200, and covered the entire strip with a thick bead of the stuff. It's kind of pricey, but well worth it. The color matched perfectly, but it is lumpy (the self-leveling issue in play).
I am no longer afraid of loosing the awning on the interstate. It is "good to go" forever now.

[wavery]

The wet-finger trick will not werk with 3M #5200. As a MOF, you will need acetone or min spirits to clean up. So pre-taping is critical. But the stuff is by far the best sealant you will find out there. It's primary usage is in the marine industry. It is used as an adhesive sealant for thru-hull fittings and motor mounting. It is impervious to UV, totally waterproof, and does not turn brittle with age.
The stuff is like werkin with caulking compound --- on steroids. It's hard to get an even bead, as it does not self-level.
I can think of nothing better tho. I had a problem with the awning cover's stitching trim (a 1"wide strip of some sort of HDPE material) that had totally deteriorated due to UV.
I just got a caulking gun and a $9.00 tube of #5200, and covered the entire strip with a thick bead of the stuff. It's kind of pricey, but well worth it. The color matched perfectly, but it is lumpy (the self-leveling issue in play).
I am no longer afraid of loosing the awning on the interstate. It is "good to go" forever now.

Actually, the "Wet-finger trick" does work with 5200. The difference is, you use mineral spirits to wet the ol' finger   . It works really well. You can level or shape the stuff better than you can with the silicone. It also has a longer working time.

[Popdawgie]

Actually, the "Wet-finger trick" does work with 5200. The difference is, you use mineral spirits to wet the ol' finger   . It works really well. You can level or shape the stuff better than you can with the silicone. It also has a longer working time.

Good stuff...By far, the best choice I could think of. But on the "wet finger", i was cautioned by a Hewes boat jobber not to use any type of solvent on the applied bead, as it would alter final cure (cure sticky,or not fully-cure)... So i never tried it. Have you ever run into issues with it not curing properly with the "wet finger"?
I'll try to u/l some pics of the awning trim job when i get home today.
It didn't turn out too shabby. :!

[wavery]

Good stuff...By far, the best choice I could think of. But on the "wet finger", i was cautioned by a Hewes boat jobber not to use any type of solvent on the applied bead, as it would alter final cure (cure sticky,or not fully-cure)... So i never tried it. Have you ever run into issues with it not curing properly with the "wet finger"?
I'll try to u/l some pics of the awning trim job when i get home today.
It didn't turn out too shabby. :!

Yep!!  I did it for years on my yacht. Never had a problem. I used it on my PU roof to fill a couple of holes, a couple weeks ago. I used the ol' wet finger to work it in with the texture on the aluminum roof. You can't hardly tell where I did it. It cured just fine.

[austinado16]

Clearly.......I need to buy a tube of this magic sauce and ad it to my arsenal!  Mmmm, what to use it on first!

[wavery]

Clearly.......I need to buy a tube of this magic sauce and ad it to my arsenal!  Mmmm, what to use it on first!

One caution here. If you buy a tube to try, buy a small tube. Once you open the tube, you must use it within 3-5 days. The entire tube will continue to cure once any of it has been exposed to oxygen. In 30 days, the entire tube will be solid.