rubber spray sealant on roof
Has anyone used a rubberized sealer in an aerosol can to seal up around parts on the roof.
Forum Discussion
All I know is, I have had 5 RVs with Dicor on the roof: 3 Bigfoot products, one Safari/Monoco, one Airstream/Thor. The Airstream and one Bigfoot were used when I bought them (a couple of years old) the others were new. Within 2 years of manufacture the Dicor was failing on all 5. I would call that 100% abject failure (unless success is defined as outliving the manufacturer's warrantee). The picture is from my latest Bigfoot, manufactured 2008 (picture was taken in 2013) so 5 years old, but had obviously failed long before. The complete separation happens on some of the slippery plastics like that refrigerator vent (polypropylene I think) and is actually a Godsend as you can at least remove the failed remnants easily. It was not leaking because of the polybutylene sealant underneath between flange and roof. That is not a unique occurrence, I have many such pictures.
If you must apply something over the top I have had better luck with Eternabond - though the ugly Dicor must be removed first to give it any chance. Wet sealants don't do much good unless they are between the sealing flange and the roof.
I know many here swear by Dicor, the usual advice is that you must slop on some more at frequent intervals. I would rather use a product that can be applied once and last 10, 15, or even 20 years. Fortunately Sika and 3M have been making such products for decades in the form of PU, PE, and PB based sealants. They are more expensive and more difficult to apply which I suppose explains why the RV industry does not use those - and any life beyond the warrantee is of little benefit to them.
If you must apply something over the top I have had better luck with Eternabond - though the ugly Dicor must be removed first to give it any chance. Wet sealants don't do much good unless they are between the sealing flange and the roof.
I know many here swear by Dicor, the usual advice is that you must slop on some more at frequent intervals. I would rather use a product that can be applied once and last 10, 15, or even 20 years. Fortunately Sika and 3M have been making such products for decades in the form of PU, PE, and PB based sealants. They are more expensive and more difficult to apply which I suppose explains why the RV industry does not use those - and any life beyond the warrantee is of little benefit to them.
