Finally, someone who knows what they’re doing, professional. Too many out there making videos that are just UA-cam owners but don’t really know what they’re doing
Good comprehensive caulking instruction. Refreshing to see someone on UA-cam, instructing, who has the right to instruct. Too many not so smart people giving not so good tips...."hacks". Don't hack life, man...live it and do it right. Put that on a T shirt
I got rid of all the factory screws that rust and replaced every one of them with stainless steel screws I picked up at the hardware store, and used clear silicone on them as I replaced each one.Thanks for the video.
I did mine. Scraped out the old stuff. Cleansed it gasoline. Stinky but works well. Gave it a final clean with glass cleaner. The used painters tape to make a crisp edge. Worked great.
Thank you for the great video. Nice Job. I worked as a seal inspector for several years. Your techniques are used industry wide. A+ Couple of things. Many cleaners leave a residue. Wiping with the dry rag before the cleaner dries is essential to proper seal adhesion. Clean, clean, clean. Cleaning is the most important part of the entire job. Your cleaning was great. Leaving the cap off the mineral spirits is a no no, for starters it evaporates, but the big issue is when it accidently gets knocked off the bumper and spills all over. That stuff is not cheap. I could go on and on about little kids finding your open bottle of mineral spirits and drinking it or dumping it all over the place, etc...but I won't ....oops, where did that cap go? Darn, now you have to use a rag as a cap....bummer. I pour some mineral spirits into a smaller bottle with a flip top that can be manipulated with one hand, and if it does get knocked over, when open it, won't glug glug glug all over. If your concerned about absorbing chemicals through the skin of your fingers, wear very tight thin latex gloves. But if your just a weekend fixer of your RV, it won't be enough to kill you. Do it every day? might consider the gloves. And finally, spit, yes spit on a bare finger gives the nicest seal and appearance of all. But avoid this practice, your introducing all kinds of stuff into your seal, and your ingesting seal and bacteria. It's just gross. Not to mention that in applications that are industrial and require inspection, spit is NOT APPROVED for any applications. But........if you have an tight area that the rag is making a mess of...............spit on that finger!!! smooth it out....tap that corner down perfect.....wash your hands..
Great informational video Randy, as all of yours are. One of the reasons why we are happy we bought our RV from you. No matter what questions we asked, you took the time to explain and show us,even long after we bought in 2012.
You Rock!! Great lesson 😊👍🏻I just bought my first small 1997 sportsman and I need to seal the outside. I found two areas inside where the wallpaper is bubble but not stained. I’m going to go buy the products you mention today and start the sealing lesson just in case. I live in Florida and we get a lot of rain. I’ll be slowly and doing what you said in your AWESOME video. Thanks so very much. A happy camper student 🥰🙏🏻
You caulk the same way I did back when I remodeled houses. Buy some interior stuff for all the cracks in your house. Any crack where roaches can breed should be sealed up. Cabinets especially. When I did this there was no need to call pest control 4 times a year at our rentals. There was a time caulking contractors advertised for this, then the pest control industry lobbied congrerss to make it illegal to do so. I read this years ago in a Handyman book and it did wonders and it was one of the best gems in the whole book
Thanks Randy for the great video , going to tackle this tomorrow, hopefully get rid of my leak that I developed last weekend ! You made it look relatively easy! Thank you again pal
Great video with good instruction. I've wondered how it's done the right way. I tried last year and didnt do so great. Thankfully I only had a small section. Will tackle all when warmer weather comes. Probably next Spring. Thanks for the tips
Yeah Buddy, yes he is. Thanks again Randy for another exceptional how-to. I have always used water to set the bead but that mineral spirit looks like it does much better. And definitely keeps your finger cleaner. I am clear over on the other side of the country or I would definitely stop by. Thanks Man, I am Grateful.
Very skilled.Very good👍 my little rv has got some water ingress,aluminium body ,leak seems to be comming from central sky light and running along to rear bathroom area.No water ingress around sky light but i hear the water running along ,could also be leaks where rear ladder's joined too.
vegasdavetv Hey there Dave! If there is anything you would like me to make a video on, let me know. I will see what we can do. Thanks for the continued support my friend! Randy
That was a great demo thanks for sharing! I do t know what the problem here in Canada when I ask for mineral spirits. Every answer is “huh?” I did this work thousands of times when I was in the RV industry but used acetone successfully. But the breathing of that ship is horrible. I don’t really like this part of maintenance but I gotta tackle my roof this spring..
This is great. I just bought an older trailer house that has a relatively new roof, but I found a couple of seams on the sides where the old caulking was really poorly done and is leaking with heavy rains. This looks like it will work just as well for my application as for an RV, so off to Home Depot I go!
Petey Pete’s peeps. You should tell beginners to put tape down. Both sides. Or buy the pinstriping tape. You can peal middel strip of tape out. And calk. And peal tape away after you’ve wiped it with finger. Then they learn . Slowley lol
He removes it if it is loose, and depending on what it looks like. He mentioned using a razor blade I think. Best to pull the old stuff off, then clean it, then go the whole length with new stuff and make it nice.
If the old caulking flakes or peels off with a gentle yet firm swipe of the finger then I recommend removing it all first otherwise both the old and new caulking will flake off eventually due to bad adhesion.
I spoke with dicor the other day because I'm trying to remove all the crap the previous RV owner did which is literally everywhere and they recommend using mineral spirits to remove their product then to use Dawn and dish soap and then use denatured alcohol to remove the residue of the mineral spirits. What I don't understand is if you're putting mineral spirits before you were caulking the mineral spirits is going to leave a residue. How is that going to stick??
Ive heard mineral spirits can destroy an rv roof? T or F? Also😂😂😂😂 You just reminded me WHY a few spots Look like my RV went through an earthquake.....it did & I WAS INSIDE. It was Terrifying i thought a massive truck had hit me but went outside & no one. Was completely freaked out till my friend told me it was an earthquake 😂😂😂
Randy, names Jim and I just bought a 1978 Tioga 2 16'6" camper and need to reseal the front overhead sleeper window, it has a lot of old calk that I need to remove (they just piled it on over the years) to take the window out and reinstall it and calk it correctly. Can you give me an idea of how to completely remove all the old calking? I thought about using an eraser wheel to take it all off but im not sure if it will work, the shell of the camper is all fiberglass and I can see light coming through the bottom of the window along the edge between the window and the cut out the window that the window sits in.
Take the window out completely. If you can see daylight under the window, then it's too small for the opening. Get some epoxy or fiberglass and build the bottom up to where it should be in order for there to be no light seen. You can use a single edge blade window paint scraper to remove the caulk. Maybe even a good pocket knife. Correct the window before you attempt to caulk anything.
It's not delam. Keystone used to use a hung wall on the rear of their RV'S. In 2019 they started using a solid wall on the rear. Nothing wrong with the wall.
Somone caulked the transition trim where the rubber roof meets the trim piece along the sides of my grand design. Seems to me there shouldn’t be any there. Am i right? It’s all cracking loose. Should I clean and redo it? I just finished the front lap joint with self leveling. Looks ok. Not as smooth as the oem job.
Randy, thanks for the video. I have a question. Is there a way to not use your naked finger if you're allergic to caulk/mineral spirits? Any glove you might use, or...?
I buy the nitrile disposable gloves, the thicker ones. I cut up a bunch of old t-shirts into small pieces( 12X12" or so) and use a clean section of the rags (dry) to clean the gloved finger, then thrown em out after I cannot find a clean spot on the rag. No need for solvents, cheap and clean.
Hey there Steve, I have never used a glove but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work the same. The glove will need to be tight fitting and solvent rated. Let me know how you make out. Thanks for watching! Randy
hey there Edward, great question! I will remove the old calking if it is not adhered to the coach well or flaking off due to age. If it has good adhesion and just needs a touch up, I will clean well and coat over just like in the video. Thanks for watching!!
At the risk of sounding like I am stomping your channel, I see this silicone fail constantly. One of the reason I can see here is the cleaning with mineral spirits. MS has petroleum distillates which leaves an oily film. That film will prevent a tight bond. It would not surprise me that the RV industry does this process since they seem to design the coaches to fail...like recommending Dicor for instance. Trempro recommends cleaning with alcohol such as acetone and even scouring the surface to ensure a tight. bond. Personally we never tool the caulk, although Trempro recommends tooliing...we don't use Tremco products or any products labeled for RV. If you can use a gun well you shouldn't need to. Prior to using any product read the tech data sheets. Cheers.
Just to clear things up a little for our viewers. The calking used in the video was supplied by Keystone RV. It’s what they use on the products they build for the most part, as I was sealing a Keystone Cougar. It’s always best to use like products when overlapping for better bonding when you can. Alcohol and Acetone will soften and or remove solvent based paint like the enamel found on RV’s where as mineral spirits will not. If you noticed I mentioned multiple times to use a clean dry rag to remove any film left from the mineral spirits before applying sealant. The original calking from the manufacturer is tooled when it is installed giving it a clean smooth finished look. I want my work not to be recognized, I want it to look like the original which can’t be done without tooling. Tooling will also give a better seal that’s why myself and Trempro and the RV industry use the tooling process. I appreciate you checking out our channel for some tips, I welcome you to check in anytime.
I worked for the largest curtain wall contractor in the US when I came out of college. Curtain wall is the exterior wall of large multistory buildings so sealants are integral to a successful leak free system. We tested different substrates with a variety of different sealants to determine compatibility, adhesion and cohesion. NOTE some sealants are not compatible with others so it is best to remove all the sealant if it’s not the same. Otherwise failure is near certain. Typically our installers would use 91% isopropyl alcohol or MEK as cleaners. MEK is great for cleaning and leaving ZERO residue. It is real bad $hit for your health however!! We never used mineral spirits because of the residue left behind. Too much to risk on an 80 story skyscraper if your seals start failing! Typically we never had any issue with IPA softening or removing paint but we used Kynar 500 paint on 99% of the finishes. Tremco makes good sealant and so does GE and Dow. I’m not impressed by this Dicor as it hardens and cracks. However I have used it to go over the top of the lap sealants on my roof penetrations just so I could beat the snow incoming at the moment. I think I will use some Eternabond tape as a preventative measure this year. Oh yeah, and tooling is absolutely critical to a proper seal!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH! If you are only running the bead and walking away from it, you are not getting it pushed into the seam/joint and it will not adhere nearly as well. Always tool your joints people.
I have an rv thats real old but works, bought it cheap. the super glue they used is clear, and looks yellowish and cracked. should I sand it off and recaulk it with WHITE Looking paste or the same kind they used? I don't know the exact brand they used. I bought this betanyl tape? and I call myself placing it over the cracks on the roof and don't even know if I did it right.
Finally, someone who knows what they’re doing, professional. Too many out there making videos that are just UA-cam owners but don’t really know what they’re doing
Thanks for watching!
Good comprehensive caulking instruction.
Refreshing to see someone on UA-cam, instructing, who has the right to instruct. Too many not so smart people giving not so good tips...."hacks".
Don't hack life, man...live it and do it right.
Put that on a T shirt
I got rid of all the factory screws that rust and replaced every one of them with stainless steel screws I picked up at the hardware store, and used clear silicone on them as I replaced each one.Thanks for the video.
I was told also to use clear silicone.
Nice technique. As a plumber I have used that style of application on plumbing fixtures for years.
I did mine. Scraped out the old stuff. Cleansed it gasoline. Stinky but works well. Gave it a final clean with glass cleaner. The used painters tape to make a crisp edge. Worked great.
Thank you for the great video. Nice Job.
I worked as a seal inspector for several years. Your techniques are used industry wide. A+
Couple of things. Many cleaners leave a residue. Wiping with the dry rag before the cleaner dries is essential to proper seal adhesion. Clean, clean, clean. Cleaning is the most important part of the entire job. Your cleaning was great.
Leaving the cap off the mineral spirits is a no no, for starters it evaporates, but the big issue is when it accidently gets knocked off the bumper and spills all over. That stuff is not cheap. I could go on and on about little kids finding your open bottle of mineral spirits and drinking it or dumping it all over the place, etc...but I won't ....oops, where did that cap go? Darn, now you have to use a rag as a cap....bummer. I pour some mineral spirits into a smaller bottle with a flip top that can be manipulated with one hand, and if it does get knocked over, when open it, won't glug glug glug all over.
If your concerned about absorbing chemicals through the skin of your fingers, wear very tight thin latex gloves. But if your just a weekend fixer of your RV, it won't be enough to kill you. Do it every day? might consider the gloves.
And finally, spit, yes spit on a bare finger gives the nicest seal and appearance of all. But avoid this practice, your introducing all kinds of stuff into your seal, and your ingesting seal and bacteria. It's just gross. Not to mention that in applications that are industrial and require inspection, spit is NOT APPROVED for any applications. But........if you have an tight area that the rag is making a mess of...............spit on that finger!!! smooth it out....tap that corner down perfect.....wash your hands..
yep i was gonna say i learned from a sealent pro always go both ways to get a proper seal. you got it.
Great informational video Randy, as all of yours are. One of the reasons why we are happy we bought our RV from you. No matter what questions we asked, you took the time to explain and show us,even long after we bought in 2012.
Our pleasure!
@@petesrvtv what kind of caulking do you use.?
Hey mate (yup, I'm Australian...), that was probably THE best video I've seen on how to reseal. Thanks very much - Peter V.
Outstanding. I am caulking my Class A now. I needed the tips!
Awesome job. No BS, straight to the point, lovely looking seal. Appreciated! Keep up the good work, cheers from Hungary!
Thank you, Somogyi! Happy camping!
Outstanding just bought an old RV gonna seal the entire thing after EternOBond tape on the roof...thanks for the tips!!!
Happy camping!
You Rock!! Great lesson 😊👍🏻I just bought my first small 1997 sportsman and I need to seal the outside. I found two areas inside where the wallpaper is bubble but not stained. I’m going to go buy the products you mention today and start the sealing lesson just in case. I live in Florida and we get a lot of rain. I’ll be slowly and doing what you said in your AWESOME video. Thanks so very much.
A happy camper student 🥰🙏🏻
No problem Laura, happy camping!
You caulk the same way I did back when I remodeled houses.
Buy some interior stuff for all the cracks in your house. Any crack where roaches can breed should be sealed up. Cabinets especially. When I did this there was no need to call pest control 4 times a year at our rentals. There was a time caulking contractors advertised for this, then the pest control industry lobbied congrerss to make it illegal to do so. I read this years ago in a Handyman book and it did wonders and it was one of the best gems in the whole book
The fellow knows what he is doing. Good work. Thanks
Thanks Randy for the great video , going to tackle this tomorrow, hopefully get rid of my leak that I developed last weekend !
You made it look relatively easy!
Thank you again pal
Happy to help, Randy!
Props to Karl that videography was on point!!
Great video with good instruction. I've wondered how it's done the right way. I tried last year and didnt do so great. Thankfully I only had a small section. Will tackle all when warmer weather comes. Probably next Spring. Thanks for the tips
Thanks. I'm about to buy an older 5th RV and want to seal it.
You are 'The Man'.
Yeah Buddy, yes he is. Thanks again Randy for another exceptional how-to. I have always used water to set the bead but that mineral spirit looks like it does much better. And definitely keeps your finger cleaner. I am clear over on the other side of the country or I would definitely stop by. Thanks Man, I am Grateful.
Slim Lundeen thanks my friend! If there is anything you would like to see, let me know and we will see if we can’t put it together.
Nice to have professional take on this. Thank you
I use soapy water on my finger when smoothing out the caulk.
I use a spray bottle of water and my finger. No messy caulk joint as the caulk won’t stick to the water and the lines are perfect.
Best caulking video I've seen. Thank you!
]
Happy to help, Chris!
many thanks - will try it your way!
THAT IS EXACTLY HOW YOU DO IT BOYS.
Boy that does look super professional! Thanks for this - I'm about to work on my own RV to prepare for winter camping.
Very well done, great video my friend! Always wondered how they did such a fine job. Now I know. Thanks!
Very skilled.Very good👍 my little rv has got some water ingress,aluminium body ,leak seems to be comming from central sky light and running along to rear bathroom area.No water ingress around sky light but i hear the water running along ,could also be leaks where rear ladder's joined too.
I cut more of a 22.374 degree angle. I just feel it works better.
You make it look so easy.
Great video. I just wish my $34 tube of caulk wouldn’t dry up after I’ve used a tiny bit.
Thank you! I feel confident to try it now!
Thanks for posting this!!!
Wow what a great job I must subscribe dude knows what he’s doing 👍
Glad to help!
Awesome tip!! Thanks for showing it to us....
I wish your shop was in Florida !
Great video. Hopefully It will turn out better than my bath tub calk job. What products dirld you use for the seams?
Great technique...now to do ours! Many Thanks!
Randy in the house!!!
vegasdavetv Hey there Dave! If there is anything you would like me to make a video on, let me know. I will see what we can do. Thanks for the continued support my friend! Randy
That was a great demo thanks for sharing! I do t know what the problem here in Canada when I ask for mineral spirits. Every answer is “huh?” I did this work thousands of times when I was in the RV industry but used acetone successfully. But the breathing of that ship is horrible. I don’t really like this part of maintenance but I gotta tackle my roof this spring..
This is great. I just bought an older trailer house that has a relatively new roof, but I found a couple of seams on the sides where the old caulking was really poorly done and is leaking with heavy rains. This looks like it will work just as well for my application as for an RV, so off to Home Depot I go!
All caulking guns have that release tab to back off the pressure. Good caulking guns do it automatically when you stop pulling the trigger.
Great video and excellent tips! This was helpful!!!
Thanks Randal,nice job
This is great tutorial. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! :)
Wow, what an awesome video. Thanks.
VERY NICE AND INFORMATIVE THANKS !!!
Thanks for the tip! Cant wait to try this out
Good eye with that 22 degree angle…
Great pointers, excellent explanation.
Petey Pete’s peeps. You should tell beginners to put tape down. Both sides. Or buy the pinstriping tape. You can peal middel strip of tape out. And calk. And peal tape away after you’ve wiped it with finger. Then they learn . Slowley lol
What kind of caulk do you recommend?
Kathy Carbaugh geocell RV
Why would you not use something with RV in the name for an RV?
Nice job. Looks like you may have done that once or twice before.
Good tip, i use too much caulk.
Thank you! Excellent !
Great job,
Great video…
Tky so much I lived by myself and I have a 40ft fifth wheel chal
So maybe I missed this part but are you removing the old caulk first or just caulking over the old? Also, how often does this have to be done?
No he didn’t remove and yearly for insurance
I really want to know this too!!!!!!!!
He removes it if it is loose, and depending on what it looks like. He mentioned using a razor blade I think. Best to pull the old stuff off, then clean it, then go the whole length with new stuff and make it nice.
If the old caulking flakes or peels off with a gentle yet firm swipe of the finger then I recommend removing it all first otherwise both the old and new caulking will flake off eventually due to bad adhesion.
honestly I would just remove the caulking all together takes longer but you will get better product.
Good Afternoon,
Have you ever resealed outside vertical wall seams on a aluminum trailer?? Any help would be great appreciated. Thanks
Very very good!
Thanks Joel!
I spoke with dicor the other day because I'm trying to remove all the crap the previous RV owner did which is literally everywhere and they recommend using mineral spirits to remove their product then to use Dawn and dish soap and then use denatured alcohol to remove the residue of the mineral spirits.
What I don't understand is if you're putting mineral spirits before you were caulking the mineral spirits is going to leave a residue. How is that going to stick??
Ive heard mineral spirits can destroy an rv roof? T or F?
Also😂😂😂😂 You just reminded me WHY a few spots Look like my RV went through an earthquake.....it did & I WAS INSIDE. It was Terrifying i thought a massive truck had hit me but went outside & no one. Was completely freaked out till my friend told me it was an earthquake 😂😂😂
Great video! Now I'm ready to tackle this daunting task! Any hints on how to get old silicone off??
A clean razor, or a caulk scraper work wonders for removing old material.
Thanks ... excellent video ... going to try tomorrow
Excellent video. Thank you!
Randy, names Jim and I just bought a 1978 Tioga 2 16'6" camper and need to reseal the front overhead sleeper window, it has a lot of old calk that I need to remove (they just piled it on over the years) to take the window out and reinstall it and calk it correctly. Can you give me an idea of how to completely remove all the old calking? I thought about using an eraser wheel to take it all off but im not sure if it will work,
the shell of the camper is all fiberglass and I can see light coming through the bottom of the window along the edge between the window and the cut out the window that the window sits in.
Take the window out completely. If you can see daylight under the window, then it's too small for the opening. Get some epoxy or fiberglass and build the bottom up to where it should be in order for there to be no light seen. You can use a single edge blade window paint scraper to remove the caulk. Maybe even a good pocket knife. Correct the window before you attempt to caulk anything.
Plastic Scraper and lots of cleaner. Time and patience. NO Razors!!! NO Metal Scrapers!!
22 degree angle huh? pretty precise pal
I here Jodeci- all my life in the background.
Camera Stage Videos hell yeah, I heard it too. Love that song
Very helpful. Thank you
🔥🔥🔥 video!
When you do windows do you keep the same process ? Frame windows are not so hight so sealant does it go over the window frame? Thanks great video.
Thank you!
Thanks!
Happy to help, Sheldon!
Nice tips thanks 👍👍
Thanks
Thank you
Wouldnt a silicone sealer be a better application due to the flexing and movement that driving an rv or towing a trailer will produce?
What kind of make and model or the sealant do we use? That’s my question. I don’t know which one to buy. There’s so many.
So mineral spirits and a small caulk bead.
YOU ~ ROCK ! !
Yes in the how to. The back of that RV sure has some delam.
It's not delam. Keystone used to use a hung wall on the rear of their RV'S. In 2019 they started using a solid wall on the rear. Nothing wrong with the wall.
Hi, thanks for the video. But, I thought Silicone caulk would not stick to itself.
Somone caulked the transition trim where the rubber roof meets the trim piece along the sides of my grand design. Seems to me there shouldn’t be any there. Am i right? It’s all cracking loose. Should I clean and redo it? I just finished the front lap joint with self leveling. Looks ok. Not as smooth as the oem job.
I can see through the cracks as the wall edges deteriorated. Can I still use this method? I inherited a very old RV that is fiberglass bullet shaped.
Thank you for this!
Great video and tips. One question, if starting from scratch on a fiberglass RV what would be the best sealant to use or that you would recommend.
He has Trempro 644 in his gun
Good video
Does this RV sealant stick to RV sealant? Can you go over the old stuff if it doesn't look too bad?
Randy, thanks for the video. I have a question. Is there a way to not use your naked finger if you're allergic to caulk/mineral spirits? Any glove you might use, or...?
I buy the nitrile disposable gloves, the thicker ones. I cut up a bunch of old t-shirts into small pieces( 12X12" or so) and use a clean section of the rags (dry) to clean the gloved finger, then thrown em out after I cannot find a clean spot on the rag. No need for solvents, cheap and clean.
Hey there Steve, I have never used a glove but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work the same. The glove will need to be tight fitting and solvent rated. Let me know how you make out. Thanks for watching! Randy
Before you smooth light mist over bead and adjoining surfaces with diluted washing up liquid and smooth off with rounded end of an ice pop stick
NICE CAULK ;)
Does the same logic apply to the aluminum sididng
Hey there Sunshine!
I do recommend using the same methods and logic on both the Aluminum and Fiberglass sided units.
Thanks for watching! Randy
Very informative, good video! One question though..Do you ever revoke the old sealant first?
hey there Edward, great question! I will remove the old calking if it is not adhered to the coach well or flaking off due to age. If it has good adhesion and just needs a touch up, I will clean well and coat over just like in the video. Thanks for watching!!
@@RandalMurrayPRV can you use this method when using geocel profiles?
At the risk of sounding like I am stomping your channel, I see this silicone fail constantly. One of the reason I can see here is the cleaning with mineral spirits. MS has petroleum distillates which leaves an oily film. That film will prevent a tight bond. It would not surprise me that the RV industry does this process since they seem to design the coaches to fail...like recommending Dicor for instance.
Trempro recommends cleaning with alcohol such as acetone and even scouring the surface to ensure a tight.
bond. Personally we never tool the caulk, although Trempro recommends tooliing...we don't use Tremco products or any products labeled for RV.
If you can use a gun well you shouldn't need to. Prior to using any product read the tech data sheets.
Cheers.
Use acetone rather than mineral spirits-no petroleum distillates.
I didn't see any silicone. And after cleaning with the mineral spirits he wiped it off with a clean rag.
@RV ROOF INSTALL
What brands do you recommend?
Just to clear things up a little for our viewers. The calking used in the video was supplied by Keystone RV. It’s what they use on the products they build for the most part, as I was sealing a Keystone Cougar. It’s always best to use like products when overlapping for better bonding when you can.
Alcohol and Acetone will soften and or remove solvent based paint like the enamel found on RV’s where as mineral spirits will not. If you noticed I mentioned multiple times to use a clean dry rag to remove any film left from the mineral spirits before applying sealant.
The original calking from the manufacturer is tooled when it is installed giving it a clean smooth finished look. I want my work not to be recognized, I want it to look like the original which can’t be done without tooling. Tooling will also give a better seal that’s why myself and Trempro and the RV industry use the tooling process.
I appreciate you checking out our channel for some tips, I welcome you to check in anytime.
I worked for the largest curtain wall contractor in the US when I came out of college. Curtain wall is the exterior wall of large multistory buildings so sealants are integral to a successful leak free system.
We tested different substrates with a variety of different sealants to determine compatibility, adhesion and cohesion. NOTE some sealants are not compatible with others so it is best to remove all the sealant if it’s not the same. Otherwise failure is near certain.
Typically our installers would use 91% isopropyl alcohol or MEK as cleaners. MEK is great for cleaning and leaving ZERO residue. It is real bad $hit for your health however!! We never used mineral spirits because of the residue left behind. Too much to risk on an 80 story skyscraper if your seals start failing! Typically we never had any issue with IPA softening or removing paint but we used Kynar 500 paint on 99% of the finishes.
Tremco makes good sealant and so does GE and Dow. I’m not impressed by this Dicor as it hardens and cracks. However I have used it to go over the top of the lap sealants on my roof penetrations just so I could beat the snow incoming at the moment. I think I will use some Eternabond tape as a preventative measure this year.
Oh yeah, and tooling is absolutely critical to a proper seal!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH! If you are only running the bead and walking away from it, you are not getting it pushed into the seam/joint and it will not adhere nearly as well. Always tool your joints people.
I have an rv thats real old but works, bought it cheap. the super glue they used is clear, and looks yellowish and cracked. should I sand it off and recaulk it with WHITE Looking paste or the same kind they used? I don't know the exact brand they used. I bought this betanyl tape? and I call myself placing it over the cracks on the roof and don't even know if I did it right.
New drinking game. Drink every time he says caulking. I’m already drunk. Lol
The mineral spirit won’t eat the paint? I want to do my slide out on the outside trim but don’t want issues with a paint thinner.
Do you have to remove old caulking before recaulking