Best Sealing? and DRY ROT- w/photos
Hey Everybody, Boy, this gal could use your help. My new to me 1998 Coachmen C class has some significant water damage. I've got the roof sealed off really well, and thats looking good, but now the ...
Forum Discussion
"Dry rot" of wood is somewhat of a misnomer; it's simply normal rot that has since dried.
From what I gather, these panels somewhat commonly have rot problems. The proper solution is to replace the rotted plywood, rather than merely sealing what is there that's not structurally sound. For just the lower bits of these walls, that shouldn't involve a tremendous amount of surgery or dismantling the interior.
It's hard to know what the existing sealant is from the pictures. It almost looks like it's the butyl putty/tape that is used under the corner moldings that is oozing out, rather than something applied afterwards. Thorough cleaning and trimming/scraping off of the existing material, whatever it is, and then applying something on the clean surface is how I would go about sealing the seams. I have generally used OSI Quad, which is readily available at Home Depot and Lowes and similar places and appears to me to be very similar to Geocel ProFlex. I would not really suggest Sikaflex as it's more an adhesive than a sealant and might be very hard to remove if you should ever need to do so.
Acetone works pretty well as a cleaner for these sorts of things. Isopropyl alcohol can also work and is not as strong a solvent as acetone, which is sometimes helpful and sometimes not. You can find acetone in the cosmetics department (nail polish remover) and isopropyl alcohol in the first aid area (rubbing alcohol--look for 90 percent strength).
From what I gather, these panels somewhat commonly have rot problems. The proper solution is to replace the rotted plywood, rather than merely sealing what is there that's not structurally sound. For just the lower bits of these walls, that shouldn't involve a tremendous amount of surgery or dismantling the interior.
It's hard to know what the existing sealant is from the pictures. It almost looks like it's the butyl putty/tape that is used under the corner moldings that is oozing out, rather than something applied afterwards. Thorough cleaning and trimming/scraping off of the existing material, whatever it is, and then applying something on the clean surface is how I would go about sealing the seams. I have generally used OSI Quad, which is readily available at Home Depot and Lowes and similar places and appears to me to be very similar to Geocel ProFlex. I would not really suggest Sikaflex as it's more an adhesive than a sealant and might be very hard to remove if you should ever need to do so.
Acetone works pretty well as a cleaner for these sorts of things. Isopropyl alcohol can also work and is not as strong a solvent as acetone, which is sometimes helpful and sometimes not. You can find acetone in the cosmetics department (nail polish remover) and isopropyl alcohol in the first aid area (rubbing alcohol--look for 90 percent strength).
