Best Solvent To Remove RV Window & Roof Caulk?

For you guys recommending mineral spirits.... are you going back behind the mineral spirits to clean off the petro film left by it? Sucks to work your tail off scraping/cleaning only to apply 'caulk' onto a surface that's got something on it keeping the stuff you're applying from adhering the best it can.

I prefer plastic scrapers & acetone to prep surfaces for caulk/sealants etc.

Depending on what is there (i.e. usually if it's not silicone), you may not need to remove every last particle of it before resealing, just any that's loose or excessive or generally in your way.

I generally use mechanical methods such as the ubiquitous razor blade scraper.

Start with mineral spirits and see if that will remove anything.

For caulk, not silicone I find mineral spirits is best all round remover and plastic razor blades or sharpen the edge of an old credit card.

Remove the bulk with what ever you can use without scratching paint and such, razor knife, knife, chisel, putty knife. Then soak the remaining caulk with mineral spirits. I wet paper towels with ms and cover with plastic wrap and will tape it on walls. Let the MS do the work, then scrap with plastic and use scrubby sponge to clean up the rest.

I do like Drew.

My thought is that if it is so difficult to take off, it must be good to go.

Use a scraper. Cover the last bit of residue with the new lap sealant. Never use silicone. Silicone will be hard to get off, scrape off what you can, cover with the new stuff.

The scraper has an edge. One side is flat, the other is beveled like scissor blades. Put the flat side to the wall. On a scraper that means usually the half circle is on the right.

For ProFlex, a plastic scraper (to avoid damaging the surface) for as much as possible, acetone for the remainder. Be careful - acetone is highly flammable!

Thanks,

Has anybody tried Auto Tech Quick N Easy Adhesive Remover? It seems like the best stuff, at least from the reviews I've seen so far: https://www.amazon.com/Auto-Tech-Manufacturing-AT13-032-Specialty/dp/B00ZAOIM74/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=auto+tech+remover&qid=1568146270&s=gateway&sr=8-1#customerReviews


Somebody said he tried So Brite DSR-5/Re-Mov, Crest Acry-Solv, and Transtar Acry-Solvent, and said only Goof Off works for him. An Amazon reviewer for the Auto Tech solvent said it's better than Goof Off, but it is expensive though. The caulk is tough to get off though, so I want the best solvent out there.

I took the camper to the local RV shop, and it seems the consensus is that everything has to be re-sealed. One of the guys told me that Par Bond is currently on the roof. He also said instead of trying to chase down a leak, it would be better to just strip all the old stuff off, and redo everything.

This seems like a potentially really big job for my aide, so I'm hoping it'll work out. He does have roofing experience, but no RV experience, so hopefully it will be sealed up really well by the time it's all said and done. I definitely want to fix the leak(s), and protect the camper from water damage.

I was talking to my neighbor, and she told me this: "My dad had a leaky trailer, and he would put a couple of coats of snow coat on it. It actually held up pretty well, and I was even able to sell it after he died, and he kids lived in it quite a while. Just saying getting someone to roll on a good coat of that might be easier than a caulking and sealing all the seams. Also that sealant they sell on tv has a paint on kind, and some in a tube, that I hear seals up everything even on the worst conditions. I can’t remember what it’s called. Riteaide had some in its “as seen on tv “ aisle."

I'm not familiar with Snow Coat, or this Paint On Sealant that she's talking about. I did see stuff like Heng's and Henry's RV Roof Coatings, which I'm also not familiar with. Are those just for roofs? And is there any Coating/Sealant for the sides of a camper? I have a 1996 Lance Squire 8000, and the materials the camper is made out of determine which of these Coating Products you need, right?

What can you guys tell me about all this? It would be nice if this sealing job could be done easily, but I feel like I'll have to do what it takes to get it done right, within reason. The guy who sold it to me told me there were no leaks, and we didn't think there were any when we looked it over. I don't think he was trying to screw me, and the camper seems to be in fairly good shape otherwise, but this is giving me a big headache.

Thanks.

Buy some high dollar $$$$$ caulk remover with a fancy high tech sounding name and use it next to mineral spirits. Mineral spirits at about 20% of the cost works as good as any of the ones I have tried in the last 60 years.