Eternabond Tape Quick Questions

Thanks again. I also watched some youtubes where guys were doing this, which helped a lot. I got part of the job done and am getting the hang of it. I get no prize for how it looks, but it will do :)

Eternabond does not stick to glass very long. I tried sealing the edges once of our emergency installed new forward facing window for the cabover bed in our Class C motorhome. The Eternabond around the edges on the window glass surface did not make it from the Eastern U.S. all the way back to CA.

Otherwise Eternabond is fantastic stuff. I use it on our RV's fiberglass roof and stays stuck down year after year in the hot sun.

I am confused by the Eternabond info. Is the 4" wide, white tape the material that does not need UV protection or does it--- but you can put the UV protection on later if you don't have any of that handy?

Thanks

I like that it does not stick to your hands and make you go through one of those old Red Skelton skits with sticky tape :)

BFL13 wrote:
I am confused by the Eternabond info. Is the 4" wide, white tape the material that does not need UV protection or does it--- but you can put the UV protection on later if you don't have any of that handy?

Thanks

I like that it does not stick to your hands and make you go through one of those old Red Skelton skits with sticky tape :)

So is the tape a WB-Seal or not?

"(EternaBond® Tintable UV Protector is only required when using WB-Seal on areas exposed to sunlight. All other EternaBond® leak repair products are UV protected and require no other protection. UV Protector can be tinted to match most surface colors. This step can be performed at a future time.)"

This seems to say it is WB-4 "Webseal"
https://www.amazon.ca/EternaBond-WB-4-50-Web-Seal/dp/B005GOM6PM

BTW that $98 looks good! Around here, the RV shops want $ 3.75 a foot from an open roll, and a 50ft roll like that is over $150.

I've not used the Web seal stuff, but am aware of it. After application, it needs a UV sealer applied over top of it. Notice the texture of the top surface.

Compare it to this which has the smooth surface on top, which is the UV protected material already applied.

IIRC, we called Eternabond way back and that's why we with with the white UV protected stuff.

I don't know where you'd use the Webbed stuff instead...maybe over a larger area or somewhere you'd want to see a very uniform surface? It might take some of the rubber roof coating stuff nicely? But I'm guessing at those uses.

Now I don't know what I used! I got some (10 ft) 4" White Eternabond they sold from an open roll. I will have to go back and find out what kind it is, WB-4 or RSW-4. Or does that make any difference to needing the UV protector?

BFL13 wrote:
Now I don't know what I used! I got some (10 ft) 4" White Eternabond they sold from an open roll. I will have to go back and find out what kind it is, WB-4 or RSW-4. Or does that make any difference to needing the UV protector?

The RSW-4 has the white smooth plastic type top layer and that is the UV protected version. It is also the one that you must be very careful and not put it under tension and is difficult to form to very uneven surfaces.

The WB-4 doesn't have the white layer and is not UV protected so it must have a UV protection top coat put on. It is less subject to the tension issues that RSW-4 has and is easier to apply over very uneven surfaces since it more pliable.

The most commonly used is the RSW-4.

BTW even the RSW-4 comes in two thickness of the microsealant, one standard that most use and one with a much thicker layer of the microsealant and that version is better for the more uneven surfaces like maybe the dimpled aluminum you used to see used on roofs.

After what I call extension experience with Eternabond the three keys to a successful install are:

1. Clean, Clean, Clean and I use lacquer thinner on a rag then wipe the surface for a final cleaning.

2. Lay the Eternabond lightly and DO NOT STRETCH or PUT UNDER TENSION and they roll it REALLY REALLY GOOD to activate the microsealant. You can see how I used it on the uneven surfaces around my ladder top in the ETERNABOND LINK in my signature and even on the four corners of my trailer roof. Here IMO the secret is OVERLAP and while the visual results are not often pretty on my trailer it has stuck like cement for almost 10 years now since I first put it on back in the spring of 2008.

3. To help in #2 above I recommend removing all or as much as possible caulking first and to make sure you have at least 1" or more good contact to the virgin surfaces for the microsealant to adhere to. I have had it stick good with as little as 1/4 to 1/2" contact at the edges like going from the roof over onto the top metal insert molding down to where the vinyl insert strip go into the molding. I also had equally BAD LUCK on something as simple as a 1" wide aluminum trim strip that is curved down slightly on each side which is used like along the bottom of trailers to cover where the siding and the lower wider aluminum trim along the bottom of the trailer is.

I'm also a BIG FAN of the double sided version of ETERNABOND for sealing things like screws, lights, etc. and again the link in my signature shows how I used it for those items.

Larry

Picture of Eternabond Webseal:


I covered it with elastomeric roof paint. Still hanging in there strong after five years.

I used 50' of the 2" http://www.bestmaterials.com/detail.aspx?ID=15115 to cover edge seams of a hard top/popup.

Letting the sun warm it up helped application, the edges looked like ****.
The white collected dirt on one corner I touched often - I was not interested in cosmetics.

LarryJM wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
Now I don't know what I used! I got some (10 ft) 4" White Eternabond they sold from an open roll. I will have to go back and find out what kind it is, WB-4 or RSW-4. Or does that make any difference to needing the UV protector?

The RSW-4 has the white smooth plastic type top layer and that is the UV protected version. It is also the one that you must be very careful and not put it under tension and is difficult to form to very uneven surfaces.

The WB-4 doesn't have the white layer and is not UV protected so it must have a UV protection top coat put on. It is less subject to the tension issues that RSW-4 has and is easier to apply over very uneven surfaces since it more pliable.

The most commonly used is the RSW-4.

BTW even the RSW-4 comes in two thickness of the microsealant, one standard that most use and one with a much thicker layer of the microsealant and that version is better for the more uneven surfaces like maybe the dimpled aluminum you used to see used on roofs.

After what I call extension experience with Eternabond the three keys to a successful install are:

1. Clean, Clean, Clean and I use lacquer thinner on a rag then wipe the surface for a final cleaning.

2. Lay the Eternabond lightly and DO NOT STRETCH or PUT UNDER TENSION and they roll it REALLY REALLY GOOD to activate the microsealant. You can see how I used it on the uneven surfaces around my ladder top in the ETERNABOND LINK in my signature and even on the four corners of my trailer roof. Here IMO the secret is OVERLAP and while the visual results are not often pretty on my trailer it has stuck like cement for almost 10 years now since I first put it on back in the spring of 2008.

3. To help in #2 above I recommend removing all or as much as possible caulking first and to make sure you have at least 1" or more good contact to the virgin surfaces for the microsealant to adhere to. I have had it stick good with as little as 1/4 to 1/2" contact at the edges like going from the roof over onto the top metal insert molding down to where the vinyl insert strip go into the molding. I also had equally BAD LUCK on something as simple as a 1" wide aluminum trim strip that is curved down slightly on each side which is used like along the bottom of trailers to cover where the siding and the lower wider aluminum trim along the bottom of the trailer is.

I'm also a BIG FAN of the double sided version of ETERNABOND for sealing things like screws, lights, etc. and again the link in my signature shows how I used it for those items.

Larry

Very helpful. Thanks! Excellent before and after photos. I will have to get more tape and do more of my roof edges now that I know how. The trailer is now almost 15 years old (seems like we just got it---time flies-- :( ) and the roof needs some TLC in places just like your "before" photos.