Soft Caulk under Eternabond tape

It sounds like you have a plan, I will add this for future folks help.

I have done a fair amount of Eternabond work and in doing this, I was talking with Eternabond about going over Dicor.

From an Eternabond perspective, the dicor gases off while it cures. All that gassing off needs to happen before applying the Eternabond as in some cases, the gas off process will bubble the Eternabond trying to escape. I have had a friend not realize this in the summertime and his E bond did bubble badly.

Temperature affects the curing rates of Dicor. The colder it is out, low temps, the longer this gas off phase takes.

Ideally, a year wait is a non issue for Eternabonding a complete trailer and I have done several campers waiting this amount of time with no issues. New Dicro can last a year no problem.

However waiting a year is not always an option. I have 2 campers now I am doing roof jobs on and I am waiting a 1 month period with the camper at or above 50F 24/7 before applying the E bond over a totally fresh Dicor'ed camper. This aligns with what Eternabond told me. They said wait 3 to 4 weeks, I picked 4 for the gas off.

It seems Dicor told you 2 weeks. Good, that means I should not have any issues. Wish they would of said at what temp. Curious if gas off phase and total cure mean the same thing.

See this spec's page from the Dicor site. It states 100% cure at 30 day with temps 50 to 70F. Click the "Installation" tab to see the cure rates https://dicorproducts.com/product/epdm-lap-sealants/

Hope this helps

John

I called Dicor and they said leave it as it is still curing. Normally take 2 weeks to fully cure even taped over. It will be fine.

As long as the edges of the Eternabond stay adhered, I would not mess with it. Eternabond is very difficult to remove, especially after it sets for a while.

According to Dicor, the lap sealant can take a month to fully cure. Until it does, the curing process could be stiffed by reintroducing certain chemicals that impedes the curing process such as the adhesive from Eternabond tape. Although it appears it will eventually cure, you may have a slightly weaker spot where the Eternbond adhesive curing was interrupted by the "seeping" of chemicals from the tape to the lap sealant. But in the big picture, it's not something that would really impact intended use under normal conditions.

Raining on and off for the next few weeks. Will have to let it go for now. I know when I open a tube of caulk that it eventually hardens and cures even with a cap on the end. So maybe it will cure being covered by the tape.

Going back into my memory banks, I believe Dicor Lap sealant does not "dry" it cures. Drying is the evaporation of chemicals and curing means a chemical reaction takes place.

Many products we use daily like hearing aid batteries use the moisture in the atmosphere to complete the chemical reaction that produces the electricity to power the aids. Foam sealants used in construction cures in the same way.

Either way you will need to expose the Docor to cure. I personally would not cut a slit in the Eternabond, one it is hard to do and second you will introduce contaminates and make cleaning in the cut more difficult when the Dicor cures.

I'd ask Dicor the question. They have a resource center.

SFVdave wrote:
Do you think cutting a slit or hole thru the Eternabond tape would allow it to vent and harden? I could the cover the opening at a later date with Dicor or more tape? I'm concerned that there may be moisture still under the roof and as it heats up from the sun is rising and softening the Dicor.

No, the not trusting the Dicor to seal the leak and putting the Eternabond over it within days was an error. Dicor stay soft for a very long time that is how it forms a great seal.
As stated before if the edge of the tape is tight and sealed leave it until the warmth of summer.

Do you think cutting a slit or hole thru the Eternabond tape would allow it to vent and harden? I could the cover the opening at a later date with Dicor or more tape? I'm concerned that there may be moisture still under the roof and as it heats up from the sun is rising and softening the Dicor.

unless the edges of the tape are coming up and giving and opportunity for water to get under it, I'd leave it alone. Just monitor and make sure you don't have that issue. If it were me, that's all I would do other than regular inspections to make sure the edges of the tape are staying adhered well.

If you feel you must remove it in the summer, use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm it before trying to scrape it off with a plastic flat edge scraper. Then clean the dicor off, clean and prep the surface and start again, letting the dicor harden for a few weeks, then seal with a wide piece of tape to get good adhesion at least an inch or so on each side of the dicor.

I'm cleaning my new campers roof, purchased in the fall, as soon as the temps are stabilized in the 60's and applying Eternabond tape around all edges of the roof and every fixture on the roof (Antenna, AC, Skylights, Fan Vents, Fridge Vents, everything). Prep is everything but when done right, it lasts and performs for a very long time needing inspections and a very occasional patch/replacement, usually due to new damage from a limb.